The South Bayview Bulldog

Nothing is a bigger indicator of spring-in-the air more than the sound of chainsaws hard at work.  The Bulldog happened by this man taking down one of the big ol’ Leaside maples Wednesday.  He was offering free wood to all passersby.

If the gray skies and rain over the last few days have got you down, there is some sunshine in the forecast to lift your spirits. As we know, weather can surprise us, but right now, the weather experts are expecting temperatures to reach 20 or more degrees on Monday with partly sunny skies!  Let’s keep our fingers crossed.  In the mean time, keep that umbrella handy as we’re getting more rain tonight.  A special weather statement has been issued warning of “significant April rain on the way”.  They also mentioned the s-word.  Yes, there could be some snow mixed with all of that rain.

The Times Group is looking for permission to build 25 and 34 floor towers at the familiar intersection of Yonge St. and Davisville Ave. Urban Toronto

A woman has pleaded guilty to the deadly oversight which caused the death of a child in her charge on a hot summer day in 2013. Olena Panfilova was operating an unlicensed daycare in York Region when she unloaded children from her van and forgot that Eva Ravikovich, 2, was still in a car seat inside the vehicle. It was not until eight hours later that the child was discovered dead from the heat. The case is more egregious because Panfilova lied to authorities that Eva had died in her sleep. She will face sentencing for the criminal negligence charge on May 19. In an email to The Canadian Press, a lawyer representing Eva’s parents said now that the criminal proceedings have concluded, the lawsuit against the daycare operators and the Ministry of Education can move forward.

The new advertisement for Pepsi Cola is making a lot of people angry. Or maybe that should be some people very angry. It seems to be going down especially badly with those who have a lot invested in protest (you pick the cause). It might be said that you dislike the ad according to just how angry you are about everything. Is it a shallow rip-off of protest culture. For sure. Do you care one way or the other? Or do you just prefer Coke or Asparagus juice?

This day, April 5, 2017, has the vitally important semi-annual Leaside Blood Donor Clinics set for NorthLea Public School on Rumsey road. Please make time for this live-saving act. Parents are encouraged to ask their healthy teen kids, 17 and over, to do a good deed. It begins at 2 p.m.

GEORGE TURRELL

The Premier will be looking in as will many other friends of long-time Leaside Arena volunteer George Turrell Wednesday night at the Lea Room. All are invited.

EAST YORK HISTORICAL

And the East York Historical Society will be celebrating 35 years Wednesday evening. All are welcome. 

The Toronto area saw real estate prices soar again last month, with the average jumping 33.2 per cent from the same time last year. The Toronto Real Estate Board says the average price in the area rose to $916,567 — up from $688,011 in March 2016. CP

The North York Community Council voted unanimously Tuesday to defer granting a demolition permit to permit construction of the 35-storey apartment next door to John Fisher School on Erskine Ave. Councilor Jaye Robinson (Ward 25) was in a fighting mood over the high-rise development. “I think it speaks volumes that every single City Councillor voted to defer this item,” she told the CBC. It is unclear however just where Robinson and other opponents can take their cause. They have deferred the permit twice before. The development has already been approved by City Council — unanimously — according to a statement from the developer, KG Group. Each has a different version of just what happened when the Ontario Municipal Board approved the development. The OMB and KG Group characterize the 2015 mediated settlement as a victory for both sides. But opponents say the City clearly opposed the project — planning papers show this — and mediation was a lesser evil than the outcome if opposition continued.

Chemical weapons have again been used in Syria against rebel populations including children. This horror comes four years after the US and Russians did a deal to supposedly see such weapons removed from Syria. In Hong Kong, the Pink Star diamond has sold at auction for $490 HK dollars. That’s something like $85 million Canadian. Below that, the latest in the current genre of animated movies for grownups and kids is Boss Baby. Alec Baldwin is the voice of the intolerable infant. And then finally video of a woman escaping from police which is both scary and a bit funny all in once. She is said to be fleeing from a kidnapping attempt in Detroit.

The recall of Robin Hood brand flour because of an E. coli outbreak in the four western provinces has been extended to Ontario and the rest of Canada to the east. The original recall issued last month by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency on 10-kilogram bags of flour was limited to B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. One illness has been confirmed from consuming the flour, and 24 other cases are being investigated.​Several of those who fell ill reported having contact with Robin Hood flour. Food inspection agency officials say any 10-kilogram bags of Robin Hood brand all-purpose flour with a best-before date of April 17, 2018, should be thrown out or returned to the store where they were purchased. The recalled product’s UPC is 0 59000 01652 8.

#TTC 56 Leaside: s/b via Duplex, Orchardview, Yonge, Roehampton, Redpath; n/b Redpath, Soudan, Berwick; 9 pm-5 am. Tunnel borer removal.

— Transit Toronto (@transittoronto) April 5, 2017

Transit Toronto details of closures on Eglinton between Dunfield and Holly