Recent Headlines

2025 - April

April 18 - appeals court pauses Judge Boasberg contempt plan to allow more time for study

Mark Carney holds his own in English language debate; Green Party excluded

Global markets unenthusiastic after Trump announces tariffs

Analysis of measles numbers suggests disease continues to rise, in Ontario


March

Federal election campaign gathers steam; F-35 jets purchase (and military infrastructure spending) rises to top of list of issues

Elbows Up Toronto?.. https://elbowsuptoronto.ca..

New cabinet for Ontario premier Doug Ford, ditto for acting PM Mark Carney

Hudson’s Bay company is kaput; Phone call between Putin and Trump seems to favour Putin more than the western democracies

Strange, grade-school level English “building update” at 25 St. Dennis Dr. mentions increased surveillance and contracting out but does not mention privacy considerations, and does not mention the “building” that has been going on, ergo the ‘south’ building is now taller than the ‘north’ building... no mention of nearby demolitions or recent “town halls”

U.S. isolationism rises. Global support for Volodomyr Zelensky and Ukraine rises after Trump meltdown in the Oval Office. “Ukraine did not start the war; Russia is the aggressor”


February - snap provincial election has Ontario PC's continuing their majority in the legislative assembly

Security conference in Munich focusses on Ukraine, war issues after Trump phones Putin

Michigan attorney general Dana Nessel and other state AG's file lawsuit(s) against Elon Musk; major criticism rises after USAID agency debacle

Another big lithium fire in California sparks concerns

25 percent tariffs set to begin; Trump administration manages a few key fumbles in its first week as Elon Musk and Peter Thiel etc. start to take over

1 Deauville Lane application machinations = more rental demolitions on or near Grenoble Drive?


Late January - concerns rise in Canada about bird flu

Ontario political parties’ plans "kicked into high gear" - Toronto Star item

The idea of a provincial election in Ontario started to build steam; a federal election was imminent as well

On the heels of the "Mountain" and Malibu fire events, strong winds create wildfire situations in Pacific Palisades, Pasadena, La Cañada areas of Los Angeles, destroying thousands of home and businesses

Donald Trump spends January 6 anniversary in Florida, pardons rioters, continues to suggest Canada ought to become the 51st state

PM Justin Trudeau announces resignation


2024

December - Putin throws Bashar Assad's Syrian regime under the bus - nytimes.com/2024/12/12/world/europe/putin-syria-ukraine.html

Justin Trudeau's Finance minister and deputy PM Chrystia Freeland resigns just before Christmas

California housing item - “Landlords beware: Rent-shamers are calling out overpriced listings online

Amazon workers on strike in U.S. - (TORONTO STAR)

Healthcare ("HMO") executive shot in downtown Manhattan

Elon Musk Spent Over $250 Million to Help Elect Trump
- (THE NEW YORK TIMES)

Concerns rise in Canada about bird flu

Last week of November: Canada starts to panic over the possibility that the pending Trump administration would introduce tariffs on Canadian exports

Special council Jack Smith ended the two federal cases (Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol Hill riot, and classified documents at Mar-A-Lago) against Donald Trump

In a major speech, U.S. president Biden said they need a mandatory code of conduct for members of their high court, south of the border (YOUTUBE LINK)

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/07/us/politics/trump-jan-6-pardons.html

Fealty to Donald Trump is #1 consideration in cabinet picks _south of the border -- TORONTO STAR

Kamala Harris concession speech https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WckEFzGku0Q ...(YOUTUBE LINK)

October 2024

Doug Ford signs off on $200 cheques for everybody ahead of a provincial election

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

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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
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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

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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

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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'

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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...

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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

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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)

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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