Recent headlines
October 2024
J.D. Vance attempts to play down the January 6, 2020 riot at the U.S. Capitol in televised debate with Tim Walz
Iran attacks Israel with ballistic missiles
September ended with Hurricane Helene trashing roads from Florida to North Carolina
More use of drones by Ukraine to attack Russia
Tension in Middle East continues following exploding Hezbollah pagers in Lebanon
On the heels of their loss in Toronto-St. Paul's, Trudeau Liberals lose federal by-elections in Montreal (riding of LaSalle–Émard–Verdun) and Winnipeg (Elmwood–Transcona)
U.S. Secret Service challenged by another assasination attempt on Donald Trump, this time at his golf course in Florida
Displaced people arrive daily in Chad, Africa as a war between rival factions continues in Sudan
Severe storms continue (eg. Shanghai, China in mid-Sept.) with major flooding almost everywhere - SE Asia, the Watertown N.Y. area, downtown Toronto
----------
July 27 - crash of transport truck hauling lithium battery packs ties up California highway for hours
July 22 - lithium-ion battery problems said to have caused 29 fatalities and hundreds of fires in New York
July 21 - Biden ends his re-election campaign, endorses V.P. Kamala Harris who proceeds to set records for political fundraising
Heavy rain in Toronto brought major flooding
Earlier, there was the big NATO summit meeting... and calls for President Biden to step down started to rock American politics
https://www.thestar.com/opinion/star-columnists/donald-trump-leaves-the-stage-bleeding-as-a-violent-nation-looks-set-to-explode - column in the Toronto Star by Rosie Dimanno[/color][/size]
Early July - Hurricane Beryl follows June's "heat dome" over southern Ontario... Beryl cuts swath through Caribbean and reaches U.S. near Galveston, TX; heavy rains in region reach up to the Great Lakes
----------
June - Power outages at 25 St. Dennis Dr. in Toronto linked to "infrastructure upgrades"
U.S. surgeon general calls for warning labels on social media products
Dozens of agency and NGO web pages are instantly rendered out-of-date as Akelius Network's ‘Toronto Renters Forum’ is taken down without warning
Toronto city council to consider sub-committee's vote for renoviction by-law aimed at landlords
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatoon/sask-urging-federal-government-to-ban-ai-voice-cloning
Earlier in June - 55/75 Brownlow Ave. building edges closer to demolition
U.S. Supreme Court scandals continue as critics of former president Donald Trump express frustration at the slow progress of the classified documents trial
----------
Mid-May
May 10th - Vermont senator Bernie Sanders re-election campaign video
April 17 - Liberals pledge housing assistance in federal budget; First Nations are quick to criticize funding levels
Foreign interference inquiry dominates Canadian news
April 15 - Donald Trump's hush money trial begins in Manhattan
April 11 - big rains in Pakistan and Afghanistan
April 5 - No Demovictions says they scored a win at the Planning and Housing committee meeting at city hall
2023
The New York Times reported that thousands of migrants were being apprehended daily in the last week of December, on the U.S. border with Mexico.
Heavy duty wildfires approached Yellowknife, NWT in the third week of August, and there were reports of poor air quality around Kelowna B.C.
2nd week of August - summit of countries that border the Amazon rainforest - the world's largest carbon sink?
August - Donald Trump was indicted again, in part on conspiracy charges. There would be four charges going into the new year
More rain hit Nova Scotia, and on the west coast the BC wildfires continued
July 2023 - Ontario's "progressive" conservatives got a smack on the wrist, losing two provincial by-elections; the LPO took both of the available seats in the Legislative Assembly. There was reportedly a 30% voter turnout in Kanata-Carleton, and about 15% in Scarborough-Guildwood.
Powerful storms hit Ottawa, Nova Scotia. Also Washington DC (random Youtube link)
Toronto Star item about price gouging by supermarket chains has the NDP calling for a tax on windfall profits
Late June - CP reported that opioid-related deaths are up among teens, young adults (Toronto Star link)
Mid-June - Toronto Star says federal government is dragging its feet on climate change, fossil fuels sector
David Johnston quits foreign interference job
Early June - wildfires burn across Canada. Donald Trump faces second indictment, this time for mis-handling documents
May 24 - wildfires continued to burn in the west/northwest. David Johnston releases his take on foreign election meddling in Canada
May 16 - U.S. senate considers rapidly evolving A.I conundrum
The other side of the coin: “Bank warns mortgage delinquencies could rise by more than one third...” - Toronto Star item, May 9
https://www.thestar.com/business/2023/05/09/failed-mortgage-payments-expected-to-spike-as-more-homeowners-struggle-with-rising-costs.html
(Heh... the edge becomes the center (sic) - Roman/size]
May 8, 2023 - CBC had an item about notices of termination that were... accompanied by a strange cover letter in London Ont. The local M.P.P. was apparently on the case: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/london/landlords-lying-to-tenants-mpp-says-that-should-be-illegal-1.6833914
Late April - Rent strike in Thorncliffe Park?... https://toronto.citynews.ca/2023/04/30/thorncliffe-park-tenants-call-for-rent-strike/amp/
A first quarter 15.1 per cent year-over-year hike in the cost of renting a one-bedroom condo “is setting the stage for a resurgence of buyers” - Toronto Star item about a TREB analysis of the housing market
Thurs. April 27 - Former Vice-President Mike Pence spends 5 hours behind closed doors with the special counsel investigation into the Jan. 6 riot
Criticism of Doug Ford/Ontario Place/the spa/the Science Centre continued through the end of the month of April; separately (but reminiscent of the "Therme spa" idea - are they actually downplaying the proposed height of that?) someone was proposing a 77 storey condo adjacent to Niagara Falls
April 24 - “Sales of new GTA homes, condos continue to slide” - Toronto Star headline
April 23 - Rosie DiManno column in the Toronto Star = a rare mention of Tenblock and the St. Mary St. tenants - https://www.thestar.com/opinion/star-columnists/2023/04/23/please-help-toronto-councillors-moved-by-tenant-stories-but-theyll-be-demovicted-anyway.html
April 20 - activists target buildings in St. James Town https://toronto.citynews.ca/2023/04/20/toronto-medallion-corporation-apartments-tenants-protest/amp/
“Permits to build new Ontario condos soar” - mid-April item
April 14 - Rat horror stories in New York... the problem is big here too! https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/14/nyregion/new-york-city-rats.html
April 11 - a rare mention in the Star of the pre-pandemic cuts to public health that were floated by Doug Ford
And a huge ruckus was on in the U.K. over the NHS and doctors' wages (Toronto Star item)
April 10 - City of Toronto says shelter system is strapped for funds
Hansard item about about expanding the condo tribunal
Circa April 5 - “Ontario to beef up tenant protections, housing minister says” • Canadian Press item mentions virtual hearings at the LTB and quotes Jessica Bell M.P.P.
Early April - The Star posted a multimedia rundown of the post-war buildup in these parts. And a majority of Parisians voted to ban electric scooters in a referendum. The first of at least two early April New York Times items on this topic actually mentioned gyropods
Late March - “Liberal MP Coteau urging fix to public input plan in federal riding redistribution process” - item in the Hill Times (Ottawa)
Another Airbnb/condos item - https://thelocal.to/airbnb-short-term-regulation-loophole-toronto/
“Housing crisis in New York City” https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/29/nyregion/nyc-suburbs-homes-hochul.html
“Significant investment needed to stem housing crisis: Ontario municipalities” - headline in 'Queen's Park Briefing'
----------
Mid-March 17 - “Raccoon dogs emerge as possible COVID-19 source in new analysis” - Bloomberg wire item in the Toronto Star
https://www.thestar.com/news/world/2023/03/17/raccoon-dogs-emerge-as-possible-covid-19-source-in-new-analysis.html
Circa March 10-11
“Toronto’s condo explosion is just getting started: A record 100 towers could go up every year — and these neighbourhoods will be most impacted”
“Key neighbourhoods will be completely transformed”
- see www.thestar.com/business/2023/03/11/_“condo-city-toronto-is-just-getting-started...”
Circa March 9 - Air bnb scandal in downtown "ghost hotel" condo
Early March item - "shock at riding boundary changes" www.toronto.com/news/absolute-shock-greets-proposal-to-merge...
----------
1st week of March:
“Oilsands companies are asking for public money to help fight climate change”
“Why are Canada's big banks writing the country's new green investment guidelines”
----------
In the Flemingdon Park/Don Mills/'North York'/east Toronto area, late February of course saw the “virtual public consultation” about Osmington Gerofsky (OGDC) Corp.'s proposal to build new condominiums on St. Dennis Drive. The proposed and, um... surrounding new buildings will be probably similar to previous ones eg. small lobby, services and amenities, big footprint overall, relatively short life span and little or no attention paid to climate change and the environment etc. The ODGG thing didn't exactly make the main stream news, but you can at least read a nascent file about it here, last updated on March 30 and it's still pretty raw, sorry. (Audio files and other multimedia are pending... see also this animated GIF file, about 8 Mb)
----------
Late January 2023
Akelius building in Parkdale mentioned in a Global News item about rising rents coast-to-coast. .Global had previously covered the tenant complaints at the former Minto building at 31-35 St. Dennis Dr.
2022 - March - Saudi blogger Raif Badawi released from prison www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-60714086
J.D. Vance attempts to play down the January 6, 2020 riot at the U.S. Capitol in televised debate with Tim Walz
Iran attacks Israel with ballistic missiles
September ended with Hurricane Helene trashing roads from Florida to North Carolina
More use of drones by Ukraine to attack Russia
Tension in Middle East continues following exploding Hezbollah pagers in Lebanon
On the heels of their loss in Toronto-St. Paul's, Trudeau Liberals lose federal by-elections in Montreal (riding of LaSalle–Émard–Verdun) and Winnipeg (Elmwood–Transcona)
U.S. Secret Service challenged by another assasination attempt on Donald Trump, this time at his golf course in Florida
Displaced people arrive daily in Chad, Africa as a war between rival factions continues in Sudan
Severe storms continue (eg. Shanghai, China in mid-Sept.) with major flooding almost everywhere - SE Asia, the Watertown N.Y. area, downtown Toronto
----------
July 27 - crash of transport truck hauling lithium battery packs ties up California highway for hours
July 22 - lithium-ion battery problems said to have caused 29 fatalities and hundreds of fires in New York
July 21 - Biden ends his re-election campaign, endorses V.P. Kamala Harris who proceeds to set records for political fundraising
Heavy rain in Toronto brought major flooding
Earlier, there was the big NATO summit meeting... and calls for President Biden to step down started to rock American politics
https://www.thestar.com/opinion/star-columnists/donald-trump-leaves-the-stage-bleeding-as-a-violent-nation-looks-set-to-explode - column in the Toronto Star by Rosie Dimanno[/color][/size]
Early July - Hurricane Beryl follows June's "heat dome" over southern Ontario... Beryl cuts swath through Caribbean and reaches U.S. near Galveston, TX; heavy rains in region reach up to the Great Lakes
----------
June - Power outages at 25 St. Dennis Dr. in Toronto linked to "infrastructure upgrades"
U.S. surgeon general calls for warning labels on social media products
Dozens of agency and NGO web pages are instantly rendered out-of-date as Akelius Network's ‘Toronto Renters Forum’ is taken down without warning
Toronto city council to consider sub-committee's vote for renoviction by-law aimed at landlords
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatoon/sask-urging-federal-government-to-ban-ai-voice-cloning
Earlier in June - 55/75 Brownlow Ave. building edges closer to demolition
U.S. Supreme Court scandals continue as critics of former president Donald Trump express frustration at the slow progress of the classified documents trial
----------
Mid-May
May 10th - Vermont senator Bernie Sanders re-election campaign video
April 17 - Liberals pledge housing assistance in federal budget; First Nations are quick to criticize funding levels
Foreign interference inquiry dominates Canadian news
April 15 - Donald Trump's hush money trial begins in Manhattan
April 11 - big rains in Pakistan and Afghanistan
April 5 - No Demovictions says they scored a win at the Planning and Housing committee meeting at city hall
2023
The New York Times reported that thousands of migrants were being apprehended daily in the last week of December, on the U.S. border with Mexico.
Heavy duty wildfires approached Yellowknife, NWT in the third week of August, and there were reports of poor air quality around Kelowna B.C.
2nd week of August - summit of countries that border the Amazon rainforest - the world's largest carbon sink?
August - Donald Trump was indicted again, in part on conspiracy charges. There would be four charges going into the new year
More rain hit Nova Scotia, and on the west coast the BC wildfires continued
July 2023 - Ontario's "progressive" conservatives got a smack on the wrist, losing two provincial by-elections; the LPO took both of the available seats in the Legislative Assembly. There was reportedly a 30% voter turnout in Kanata-Carleton, and about 15% in Scarborough-Guildwood.
Powerful storms hit Ottawa, Nova Scotia. Also Washington DC (random Youtube link)
Toronto Star item about price gouging by supermarket chains has the NDP calling for a tax on windfall profits
Late June - CP reported that opioid-related deaths are up among teens, young adults (Toronto Star link)
Mid-June - Toronto Star says federal government is dragging its feet on climate change, fossil fuels sector
David Johnston quits foreign interference job
Early June - wildfires burn across Canada. Donald Trump faces second indictment, this time for mis-handling documents
May 24 - wildfires continued to burn in the west/northwest. David Johnston releases his take on foreign election meddling in Canada
May 16 - U.S. senate considers rapidly evolving A.I conundrum
The other side of the coin: “Bank warns mortgage delinquencies could rise by more than one third...” - Toronto Star item, May 9
https://www.thestar.com/business/2023/05/09/failed-mortgage-payments-expected-to-spike-as-more-homeowners-struggle-with-rising-costs.html
(Heh... the edge becomes the center (sic) - Roman/size]
May 8, 2023 - CBC had an item about notices of termination that were... accompanied by a strange cover letter in London Ont. The local M.P.P. was apparently on the case: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/london/landlords-lying-to-tenants-mpp-says-that-should-be-illegal-1.6833914
Late April - Rent strike in Thorncliffe Park?... https://toronto.citynews.ca/2023/04/30/thorncliffe-park-tenants-call-for-rent-strike/amp/
A first quarter 15.1 per cent year-over-year hike in the cost of renting a one-bedroom condo “is setting the stage for a resurgence of buyers” - Toronto Star item about a TREB analysis of the housing market
Thurs. April 27 - Former Vice-President Mike Pence spends 5 hours behind closed doors with the special counsel investigation into the Jan. 6 riot
Criticism of Doug Ford/Ontario Place/the spa/the Science Centre continued through the end of the month of April; separately (but reminiscent of the "Therme spa" idea - are they actually downplaying the proposed height of that?) someone was proposing a 77 storey condo adjacent to Niagara Falls
April 24 - “Sales of new GTA homes, condos continue to slide” - Toronto Star headline
April 23 - Rosie DiManno column in the Toronto Star = a rare mention of Tenblock and the St. Mary St. tenants - https://www.thestar.com/opinion/star-columnists/2023/04/23/please-help-toronto-councillors-moved-by-tenant-stories-but-theyll-be-demovicted-anyway.html
April 20 - activists target buildings in St. James Town https://toronto.citynews.ca/2023/04/20/toronto-medallion-corporation-apartments-tenants-protest/amp/
“Permits to build new Ontario condos soar” - mid-April item
April 14 - Rat horror stories in New York... the problem is big here too! https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/14/nyregion/new-york-city-rats.html
April 11 - a rare mention in the Star of the pre-pandemic cuts to public health that were floated by Doug Ford
And a huge ruckus was on in the U.K. over the NHS and doctors' wages (Toronto Star item)
April 10 - City of Toronto says shelter system is strapped for funds
Hansard item about about expanding the condo tribunal
Circa April 5 - “Ontario to beef up tenant protections, housing minister says” • Canadian Press item mentions virtual hearings at the LTB and quotes Jessica Bell M.P.P.
Early April - The Star posted a multimedia rundown of the post-war buildup in these parts. And a majority of Parisians voted to ban electric scooters in a referendum. The first of at least two early April New York Times items on this topic actually mentioned gyropods
Late March - “Liberal MP Coteau urging fix to public input plan in federal riding redistribution process” - item in the Hill Times (Ottawa)
Another Airbnb/condos item - https://thelocal.to/airbnb-short-term-regulation-loophole-toronto/
“Housing crisis in New York City” https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/29/nyregion/nyc-suburbs-homes-hochul.html
“Significant investment needed to stem housing crisis: Ontario municipalities” - headline in 'Queen's Park Briefing'
----------
Mid-March 17 - “Raccoon dogs emerge as possible COVID-19 source in new analysis” - Bloomberg wire item in the Toronto Star
https://www.thestar.com/news/world/2023/03/17/raccoon-dogs-emerge-as-possible-covid-19-source-in-new-analysis.html
Circa March 10-11
“Toronto’s condo explosion is just getting started: A record 100 towers could go up every year — and these neighbourhoods will be most impacted”
“Key neighbourhoods will be completely transformed”
- see www.thestar.com/business/2023/03/11/_“condo-city-toronto-is-just-getting-started...”
Circa March 9 - Air bnb scandal in downtown "ghost hotel" condo
Early March item - "shock at riding boundary changes" www.toronto.com/news/absolute-shock-greets-proposal-to-merge...
----------
1st week of March:
“Oilsands companies are asking for public money to help fight climate change”
“Why are Canada's big banks writing the country's new green investment guidelines”
----------
In the Flemingdon Park/Don Mills/'North York'/east Toronto area, late February of course saw the “virtual public consultation” about Osmington Gerofsky (OGDC) Corp.'s proposal to build new condominiums on St. Dennis Drive. The proposed and, um... surrounding new buildings will be probably similar to previous ones eg. small lobby, services and amenities, big footprint overall, relatively short life span and little or no attention paid to climate change and the environment etc. The ODGG thing didn't exactly make the main stream news, but you can at least read a nascent file about it here, last updated on March 30 and it's still pretty raw, sorry. (Audio files and other multimedia are pending... see also this animated GIF file, about 8 Mb)
----------
Late January 2023
Akelius building in Parkdale mentioned in a Global News item about rising rents coast-to-coast. .Global had previously covered the tenant complaints at the former Minto building at 31-35 St. Dennis Dr.
2022 - March - Saudi blogger Raif Badawi released from prison www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-60714086