The South Bayview Bulldog

828 Shaw St at Leeds St — St Global News/Phil Fraboni

Toronto Fire Service personnel have battled an early morning fire on a bitterly cold Saturday. The four-alarm blaze in a neighbourhood apartment block at Shaw and Leeds Sts has left one occupant in critical condition. At around 6:15 a.m. fire crews responded to a fire at the three-storey building at 828 Shaw north of Bloor Street. The stubborn fire spread quickly and required all the manpower and equipment the service had at hand.

Shaw St apartment fire/City News Chris Langenzarde

Metrolinx has released a time-lapse video above showing the tunnel ride from Laird Station to the Eglinton Maintenance and Storage Facility out near Black Creek Drive. The video is speeded up and the ride takes only about five minutes.

Friday’s talk on Omicron from Dr. John Campbell focuses in part on Ontario and Quebec. Campbell foresees a downturn in the current rampage of infection here by around the end of January. It is much easier for him to speak candidly of course because he is not a politician nor answerable to one. He says Omicron has peaked in the UK. Most interesting.

Chief Public Health Officer of Canada Dr. Theresa Tam doesn’t pull any punches in this 22-minute French and English update about Omicron. Her clear warning is that the worst is yet to come, especially for hospitals. But the broad nature of her message would seem to have been well reported for many weeks. On the critical issue (for most people) of when it all might subside, federal modelling does not say. It predicts “weeks” of Omicron spiral. Whether this includes the two weeks just past or hints at more of the same well into February or beyond is unstated.

Saturday will see bitter cold weather across Toronto and Monday holds the possibility — not yet confirmed — of a major snowfall. The storm that’ll affect Eastern Canada is rooted in what’s happening across the US this week. Two systems—one swooping in from the Pacific Northwest, and another rolling off the Prairies—will merge over the southern states and kick off this disruptive system. Weather Network

Weather Network

Yonge St CTC showing 1929 Grand Central Markets Building/Craig Patterson

Proposed plans for the redevelopment of the Canadian Tire site at 839 Yonge St at Church St. may or may not see a new CTC built at the site. As expected, this valuable downtown property will see towers raised above it. The existing store was recently renovated to reflect the more modern design seen in some Canadian Tire locations. A historic component known as the Grand Central Markets Building was built in 1929 and is heritage protected. It is notable for its Spanish Colonial Revival-style type architecture. It’s hoped the Central Market Building will be preserved and incorporated into the new proposal — Retail Insider

Video has emerged of a genuinely terrifying rescue of a pilot of a small plane that missed the runway and landed instead on busy railway tracks in Los Angeles.

Tony Staffieri has been made permanent CEO of Rogers Communications, the firm has announced. Staffieri replaces Joe Natale, who left the company in November amid a family squabble between Chairman Edward Rogers and his mother and two sisters, who are also board members.

Josée El-Kada

Molly Davis and mom

Eberhard Zeidler

Faces. All of Ottawa is trying to deal with the crushing reality of Josée El-Kada’s death in an Ottawa park where kids toboggan all the time even though it’s illegal. Then, Molly Davis is seen with her mom. Mrs Davis does not have long and she has managed to have Molly’s picture placed on a billboard in Times Square in search of a suitable husband. Finally, the creator of the Ontario Place landmark, Eberhard Zeidler, has died at age 95.

Novak Djokovic, the 20-time Serbian major tennis champion, had his visa cancelled by Australian Border Force officials who rejected his evidence to support a medical exemption from the country’s strict COVID-19 vaccination rules. But how did he get into Australia in the first place? Suspicion grows that somebody got special treatment

Sidney Poitier’s remarkable life and accomplishments

Sidney Poitier has died after a long and full life. In this well-done obituary, Poitier is seen speaking modestly about his enormous showbusiness breakthrough.

Study suggests women more likely to die if surgeon is male

Photo by павел-сорокин on Pexels

A study done at Toronto hospitals has found that women patients may be 30 percent more likely suffer fatal post-operative complications if their surgeon is a man. The reasoning offered is that women surgeons can communicate better with the patient. Or, as mentioned well down in the story, does the 90 percent male dominance of this field make that outcome an inevitable matter of chance?

There was no winner for Saturday’s $32 million 649 jackpot but Friday the $50 million Lotto Max jackpot was won by a ticket holder in Canada’s West. There were also two Maxmillions prizes of $1 million in Saturday’s draw but neither was won. The jackpot for the next Lotto Max draw on Jan. 11 will be an estimated $12 million.