The South Bayview Bulldog

Entrepreneur and, in his day, an unbeatable candidate for mayor, Mel Lastman has died at age 88.

Sunnybrook Park Sunday/Al Kivi

This car was parked in Sunnybrook Park during Saturday’s windstorm. Apparently, there were no injuries when this huge tree tumbled onto the vehicle.

Sunnybrook Park Sunday morning/Al Kivi

Crushed by large tree/Al Kivi

Tree down on Astor Ave/Bulldog

There are lingering local blackouts across Toronto Sunday afternoon but most of the outages in Leaside and Davisville Village were repaired by noon. The Toronto Hydro Outage Map showed a small outage in the Eglinton Ave and Sutherland Drive area and small outages in the Jones and Greenwood Coxwell neighbourhoods. One source of power loss was a fallen tree on Astor Ave south of Sutherland (above). Southvale Drive between Rolph and Hanna Rds was closed well into Sunday apparently because of fallen or hanging wires.

Southvale closed between Hanna and Rolph/Bulldog

Out at Scarborough Town Centre the parking lot saw winds that were quite able to flip this Triton snowmobile trailer. Stephanie Emma shot the video.

Scarborough Town Centre/Stephanie Emma

High winds have created a spotted Hydro outage map across Toronto where, by late afternoon, as many as 143,000 homes were without power. Crews are labouring into the evening to restore power in both north and south Leaside and Davisville Village. The video above by Johnny Stumbles shows traffic lights giving off a shower of sparks as the wind sets them twirling. This post from Airdrie and Rumsey tells of a “bang” before the power went out. As late as 10 p.m., there were tapes across Southvale Drive. There was no sign of lines down or hydro personnel although a fire truck blocked Southvale at Rolph Rd.

At Yonge and Roselawn

Mass vaccination held earlier in 2021

The City is urging parents to make an appointment for the one-day-only superhero-themed vaccination event at Scotiabank Arena. It’s Sunday, December 12. There will be activities, entertainment, ticket and toy giveaways and special Toronto mascot and PAW Patrol visitors. A release Saturday tells how to book an appointment for five to 11-year-olds.

Ayesha Verrall

Eva Quildon

Sienna Miller

These determined and interesting women are making news Friday. On the left is Ayesha Verrell, the New Zealand Associate Minister of Health. She’s announced that Kiwiland will enact a law that will prevent young people from ever buying cigarettes in their lifetime. It’s one of the world’s toughest crackdowns on the tobacco industry. Then, meet Eva Quildon, 82, a faithful TigerCat fan and a regular attendant at Grey Cup Games. She says she hasn’t missed one in 20 years. Sunday the TiCats face the Winnipeg Blue Bombers for the cup at Tim Horton Stadium in Hamilton. Finally, actor Sierra Miller has won a large but secret damages award from the Murdoch Sun newspaper in the UK. She insists they committed a crime to learn that she was pregnant. The Murdoch chain is having trouble living down widespread belief that it has tapped phones to get a story.

Safe at any speed?

The appearance in recent weeks of pink, robotic food delivery vehicles on Toronto sidewalks has caused the City to ponder banning such machines. Councillors will vote next week on this question. The food-delivery robots are owned by Tiny Mile. It’s unclear whether Tiny Mile is just a delivery service or has something to do with the manufacture of the robots. In any case, sidewalks are there for pedestrians. Anyone on foot is vulnerable to the approach of such machines as well as bicycles and scooters from behind.

A man has been found dead in an apartment tower in Midtown’s construction-frazzled zone near Redpath and Eglinton Aves. Police were called to the building about 2 p.m. and tussled with another occupant, a man, who they said seemed to be “in crisis”.

Tena Van Andel

Leaside Garden Society’s members and friends will learn all about orchids at February’s meeting set for February 10 at 7 p.m. via Zoom. Guest speaker Tena Van Andel is a master gardener and lecturer. The meeting promises to reveal fascinating facts about orchids and their unique forms, as well as tips for successful home growing.

Vain but courageous effort to save woman driver

A US Coast Guard diver undertook a perilous rescue mission to save a woman driver from the Niagara River above the falls Wednesday. Sadly, the woman, in her 60s, was dead. The known circumstances of the drama are told in the Niagara Gazette

Vladimir Putin and Joe Biden have been on the phone with each other and US sources say that Russia has been fully warned about any invasion of Ukraine. This National Post story tells of Putin’s worrisome notion that the Ukrainians are his brothers. Those with memories think that sounds like Hitler getting ready to annex Austria.

Canada, others follow US boycott of Beijing games

The prime minister has announced that, like the US, Canada will conduct a diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Winter Olympics. The UK and Australia have also declared a boycott. China had said it doesn’t matter. Everyone is out of step but Beijing is the Communist mantra.

Olaf Scholz becomes German Chancellor

Angela Merkel, the woman called the Face of European Governance, has stepped down as Chancellor of Germany. Her successor, Olaf Scholz took office today.