The South Bayview Bulldog

The LCBO property on Lakeshore Blvd. has sold to Menkes Developments Ltd. for $240 million. It appears a partnership including Menkes, Greystone Managed Investments and Triovest Realty Advisors will propose a 24-storey office tower that will house a new LCBO head office and a large liquor store, commercial space, a “residential community” and a public park. The government says it is putting net proceeds from the sale toward infrastructure projects. Menkes says construction on the office tower will start in the fall of next year and is expected to be complete in early 2021.

A woman seriously hurt in the collapse of scaffolding at the demolition site of the former House of Chan will take legal action against the City, Metrolinx and the demolition company. Her name is Hannah Somerset, 66, as provided by her lawyer, Ryan Murray. Mr. Murray said Ms. Somerset suffered a head injury, fractures in both legs and feet, a spinal fracture and a large laceration on her left foot. 7 hurt as demolition for Crosstown LRT falls onto Eglinton 

Several homes under construction have been destroyed by fire in northeast Brampton. The housing complex is in the area of McVean and Countryside Drives.

Galen G Weston

Galen G. Weston says his retail network pharmacies and supermarkets is ready and eager to dispense medical marijuana. Mr. Weston says he believes patients will benefit more if marijuana is delivered through a pharmacist as opposed to receiving it through the mail, as some do now. Weston says that’s because pharmacists are already trained to deal with managing controlled substances. He says Loblaws is open to dispensing medical marijuana at both Shoppers Drug Mart and grocery locations if they get approval from the federal government. The Liberal government has also committed to regulating and legalizing recreational marijuana as well as for medical reasons but since the election campaign has dampened its enthusiasm for this and drawn out the time for it to happen.

CBC has located the man who shot some unbelievable dashcam footage that illustrates the severity of the situation that residents of Fort McMurray are facing. Burning embers are falling like rain onto their cars as the flames encroach onto the escape routes. Have a look.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced that Ottawa will match individual donations made to the Canadian Red Cross to help those affected by the raging wildfire in Fort McMurray, Alberta. Fire officials in Alberta do not yet know what started a galloping wildfire that has driven the population out of Fort McMurray but they believe the only relief will come from rain. Winds of 70 km/h have fanned the fire to an astonishing 85,000 hectares overnight. It is burning on several fronts. The main fire, south of the city, is expected to continue to burn out of control today and perhaps for many days to come

Nominations close on tomorrow (Friday, May 6, 2016) for public school trustee in Ward 14, Rosedale-Centre. The election is set for Monday, June 20 to replace the late Sheila Ward who had served on the Toronto and District School Board since 1997. She died in February. TDSB Ward 14 Toronto Centre-Rosedale (City Wards 27 and 28) nominations may be entered or withdrawn until 9 a.m.to 2 p.m. at the Election Services office, 100 Queen St. W., first floor (north). To be eligible to run candidates must be:
• a Canadian citizen
• at least 18 years of age
• a resident in the area of the jurisdiction of the Toronto District School Board
• a public school supporter
• not legally prohibited from voting
• not disqualified by any legislation from holding office
Candidates must provide the following:
• nomination paper
• proof of qualifying address within the Toronto District School Board jurisdiction, and
• $100 nomination filing fee (cash, credit card, debit, certified cheque or money order made payable to “Treasurer, City of Toronto”).

The City will announce the final list of candidates after nominations have closed. The final list of candidates for Trustee, Toronto District School Board Ward 14 will be posted on the City’s election website at http://www.toronto.ca/elections/by-election. With Toronto news release 

This is a longer account by a man who escaped from flames a number of times as he tried to get out of the town of Fort McMurray. His description of desperate residents piling into the back of pickup trucks without even knowing where they were going is quite compelling.

The Liberals will set up a four-member independent panel to examine whether Canada Post should end mail delivery. The  Prime Minister, Mr. Trudeau, promised to restore home-delivery during the election campaign but so far he has only put further cuts on hold. The Public Services Minister Judy Foote says “all options” will be on the table including a genuine blast from the past — post office banking.  It is a curiosity which has outlived the memory of most people having been eliminated in 1968. The five big banks won’t be so keen on this idea.

Michael Ford will run to occupy the Toronto Ward 2 seat on City Council seat left vacant by the death of his uncle, former Mayor Rob Ford.  Young Ford has served as a Toronto District School Board trustee. The byelection is set for July 25.

A wildlife expert, Brad Gates, has concluded that damage done to at least one of the new lockable green bins was caused by rats or squirrels. He concludes this based on the size of the teeth marks in the plastic lids as shown in a photo taken by a Scarborough householder. Mr. Gates also says it appears the new bins have been made of a lighter plastic which permits smaller creatures to penetrate the bins. He also guesses that the lighter plastic was used to accommodate the weight of the locking mechanism on the lid. Mr. Gates may not be the final word on the useability of these bins but his knowledge of animal teeth marks seems sound.

Toronto City Council has voted 38 to 3 in favour of the pilot project that would see bicycle lanes along a section of Bloor n St. W. from Shaw Street to Avenue Road. The decision will see the removal, at least for the length of the pilot and maybe permanently, of 135 parking spaces and $840,000 in parking revenue. The much-hyped debate and vote on Wednesday suggested that the outcome of the vote would be much closer than it was. The issue of bike lanes has something for everyone. Advocates say it will make the City greener, help business and speed cyclists safely on their way.

SCEPTICS

Sceptics and those simply against more bicycles on the road say such lanes are an attempt to forcibly limit the use of automobiles, a waste of roadway and an attack on small businesses on the street.  The pilot may start as early as August and is set to last for one year. One complaint was that there were no criteria for deciding whether the pilot has been a success. Among the many voting in favor was Ward 25 Councillor Jaye Robinson who previously had opposed it but had been converted by staff information. Indeed, many supporting the scheme are not in the cycle lobby but like Mayor Tory say the pilot is “the right thing to do.” It could mean anything.