More than 600 area residents have signed an online petition calling for a halt of construction of an 80-room homeless shelter in New Toronto.

Work is underway for the shelter that will be located on the site of a City parking lot at 66 Third Street. It is one of 19 shelters being built in the City that are slated for completion in 2030.

A petition was started by a resident identified as Karin K. on January 9 that has attracted a lot of attention, as expected.

More than 550 concerned residents have signed the petition in six days.

“This proposed facility will not only house those who are homeless but also accommodate refugees, asylum seekers, and individuals recently discharged from the local jail,” the petition states.

“…  the fact that such a large-scale operation was passed without consulting the very people this decision affects, the residents as well as local businesses,” it noted, adding the planned facility is located close to a seniors residence and junior middle school.

It called for a pause in the project and public consultations with the community. This is the second attempt by City officials to build a large shelter in New Toronto. A 2020 attempt to install a 95-bed shelter at 2950 and 2970 Lake Shore Blvd. W. failed due to community backlash against the plan.

Community reaction to the shelter has been mostly mixed by residents.

Some residents claim the area has a number of agencies for the needy, an upcoming home for the deaf and blind and the major South Etobicoke Detention Centre, on Horner Avenue.

“These sites will help respond to demand and stabilize the shelter system,” according to City officials. “The City is committed to working with the local community to support the success of the shelter”

The new facility will be less institutional and ‘more home-like,’ according to the City, and will feature natural materials and amenity spaces.

The suites will be smaller containing each about 80 single beds, will be better designed, help offset capacity as temporary shelter sites close and provide shelter in areas of significant of Black and Indigenous focused spaces.

The shelters will be decorated with art and symbols so people of different backgrounds feel welcome.

Pets will be allowed in the shelters, which will have spaces for counselling, harm reduction and other health care services, according to a report.

Similar shelters are planned for 1615 Dufferin Street, 2535 Gerrard Street E., 2024-2212 Eglinton Ave. W., 68 Sheppard Ave. and 1220 Wilson Avenue.

The petition can be found at change.org

The Kipling and Evans Avenues area is so hot with development activity these days that the neighbourhood is steaming.

The area, which is already home of many large warehouses, may soon be home sweet home for almost 5,000 new residents as nine towers ranging up to 42 storeys are proposed.

A proposal is in the early stages to build mixed-use towers in a six-block area ranging from 12 to 42 storeys at 350, 360, and 364 Evans Avenue, and 14-16 Arnold Street, a huge lot at the northeast corner of Evans and Kipling, that now houses a brewery and commercial businesses.

The mega-project, which is going through the application process, promises to deliver 4,623 residential units and include green spaces, retail areas, a daycare and public park.

It will take a while for the plan to go through the application process as the development has to be approved by Community and City councils.

Some residents are already complaining of a lack of health care services for the new residents and traffic congestion to travel on local roads and the Gardiner Expressway.

An Official Plan Amendment (OPA) application has been filed to transform a commercial site from Core Employment Areas to Mixed Use Areas.

The proposal includes outdoor space in the podiums and rooftop spaces. Also planned is a 4,300 square metre public park at Kipling and Evans. Connecting the blocks would be a new public road and two private roads.

There would be 2,053 parking spaces and 240 for visitors in two underground levels and in two floors of a building.

TTC buses connect the site to Bloor Line 2, GO trains, and MiWay buses at Kipling station, to Royal York station and Sherway Gardens. Bus stops are also located along Evans and Kipling avenues.

The area will become busier with more traffic congestion as at least 12 major development proposals or projects are underway and includes: 1156 The Queensway at 9 storeys, Joya Condos at 12 storeys and 1230 The Queensway at 13 floors, according to Urban Toronto reports.

Larger projects near Kipling include 1306 The Queensway with three towers from 13 to 41 storeys, and 1325 The Queensway with two towers at 35 and 46 storeys, according to Urban Toronto.

North of the Gardiner, proposals include 2 St. Lawrence with three towers up to 20 storeys, 10 Zorra at 28 storeys, IQ Condos Phase 3 with three towers from 18 to 42 storeys, and 40-60 St. Lawrence featuring three towers from 26 to 43 storeys.

Then there is 1025 The Queensway that proposes a large-scale replacement of Cineplex Queensway Cinemas with 12 towers ranging from 7 to 46 storeys.

There is also a 43-storey high-rise planned to go directly across from the Long Branch GO Station that is at the hearing stage.

There is also a 43-storey high-rise planned to go directly opposite Long Branch GO Station on the site of small open mall that will be demolished.

Officers and staff of the Toronto Police Service are mourning the senseless death of Sgt. Ryan Russell who was killed 14-years-ago by a crazed snowplow driver who was later set free.

Russell, 35, an 11-year police veteran based at downtown’s 52 Division, was killed on January 12, 2011, as he was attempting to stop the barefooted driver of a stolen snowplow when he was struck on Avenue Road, just north of Davenport Road.

The father and husband had been promoted to the rank of sergeant just six months before he succumbed to his injuries at St. Michael’s Hospital. His son Nolan, then 2, is now 16-years-old and friends said he is ‘a twin of his father.’

A full honours police funeral service was held at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre that was attended by hundreds of officers from across North America. Some 10,000 mourners showed up to pay their respects to the valiant officer.

“Ryan was a wonderful dad. He loved spending time with his son Nolan,” his wife Christine said then. “When you work so many crazy shifts, you really cherish your family time. He was a super hands-on dad.”

“Young fellows and the older ones on his platoon just gravitated towards him,” according to a former officer and friend. “He had that infectious personality.”

Richard Kachkar, now 60, of St. Catharines, was charged with the first-degree murder, but after a lengthy trial the defence successfully argued that Kachkar was not criminally responsible.

Kachkar was granted a full discharge by the Ontario Review Board in April 2017.

He was banned from consuming alcohol, carrying any weapons or using non-medical drugs.

“A violation of any of these conditions would mean that he’d be arrested anywhere in Canada, with or without a warrant,” police said.

Two weeks after Kachkar was freed, the Russell family received more bad news: the police horse named in honour Russell had died suddenly in his stall from eating a poisonous plant.

Sgt. Russell is among the more than 280 Toronto Police officers who have died in the line of duty, who are remembered on an Honour Wall. The force was created in 1834 and today has more than 5,500 officers and about 2,000 support staff. It has a budget of more than $1 billion yearly.

It is Canada’s largest municipal police service and the fourth largest in North America.

Lace up Toronto Maple Leafs fans as your favourite team is set to hold a multi-day practice at an iconic lakeside arena later this month.

The Maple Leafs are slated to hold an outdoor practice at the Prince of Wales Rink, located in the Third Street park, as a street event planned from January 23 to 28.

The event attracts hundreds of Leafs’ lovers from across the region, some who travel hours to see their favourite players and obtain photographs.

Join us for a weekend full of outdoor and on-ice activities, states a club website.

“Cheer on your Toronto Maple Leafs as they take to the ice at one of Toronto’s most iconic outdoor rinks and spend the weekend celebrating the game of hockey at all levels,” according to the promotion.

The park and open air rink are steps away from Lake Ontario on Third Street. It has a beautiful view of downtown Toronto and is a favourite for locals to watch the annual CNE Air Show.

Etobicoke Community Council has approved the six-day event and is seeking permission from Transportation Services to temporarily shut six area streets for the practice, which is always a fan favourite.

City officials said the Maple Leaf’s host an outdoor open practice every year for the fans to come out and enjoy.

“This year, the outdoor Leaf’s practice is set to take place in Etobicoke-Lakeshore at the Prince of Wales Park,” according to City staff. “As part of the set-up and staging of the event, the event organizers have requested a few road closures.”

The streets to be closed includes: Third Street from Lake Shore Drive to the dead end, Lake Shore Drive from Third Street to the dead end of the street and Second Street from Morrison Street to the end.

The Leafs’ annual outdoor practice is a free, public event that usually takes place at Nathan Phillips Square at City Hall. The event features a number of activities that last year included a Toronto Professional Women Hockey League (PWHL) skills competition and a Leafs alumni signing session.

Further details on the event are pending. Being considered is a Blue versus White alumni game, and viewing parties for a Toronto Sceptres vs. New York Sirens PWHL game and the Maple Leafs as they take on Ottawa Senators.

The beloved rink was built in 1967 and rebuilt in 2017. Area residents claim it is a ‘well-kept secret’ in the community.

One alleged South Etobicoke double killer is in custody and another is hiding deep underground.

It has been almost five months and an Alderwood man sought for killing two women has completely disappeared from a police dragnet.

There has been many reported sightings of 33-year-old Joseph Ayala, of Toronto, who has been on the lam since August 23 for the alleged slaying of two female family members.

Ayala is wanted for second-degree murder after an 82-year-old woman and a 60-year-old woman were found dead in an Etobicoke home.

“We continue to search for Mr. Ayala,” said Toronto Police spokesperson Cindy Chung. “There have been many sightings of Ayala reported, none of the recent sightings have been confirmed to be him.”

Officers have searched for the accused in area parks, shorelines, railway tracks and remote areas without luck.

Some claim the suspect is living off the grid and hiding out in a homeless encampment.

There has been alleged sightings of the suspect walking along Evans Avenue, Royal York Road and other areas of the community. Some place him as far as Mississauga.

Unfounded posts on social media claim the killings occurred after the women reportedly wanted to sell their home, and the suspect did not want to move.

Police are asking the public to continue reporting any possible sightings so they can investigate.

The incident has left area residents not going out at nights and locking their doors.

Luckily, the other fugitive killer who was one of Canada’s most wanted was arrested by a heavily-armed police SWAT team on January 8 in Mississauga.

An armed and dangerous Philip Grant, 34, had managed to evade capture for just over two years.

He was allegedly behind the January 3, 2022 killings of Minyali Wur, 24, and Chudier Reat, 20, of Mississauga, in a high-profile gun battle at an office building on Thirtieth Street.

The men were gunned down in cold blood in a facility used by many people.

A woman was also found at the scene with injuries, but she survived.

Grant appeared for a bail hearing on January 8.

Parts of New Toronto were converted to Chicago for a TV series to portray the hometown of U.S. 1970s serial killer John Wayne Gacy, also known as the Killer Clown.

The Paramount real-life thriller Devil in Disguise follows Gacy, one of the most sadistic and notorious serial killers, who was dubbed the Killer Clown because he volunteered as a clown for sick kids.

The so-called “community leader” secretly kidnapped, murdered and buried 33 young men and boys under his house near Chicago, Illinois from 1972 to 1978.

Some businesses in the Lake Shore Blvd. W., and Sixth Street area had their exteriors converted to represent scenes for the horror house where Gacy killed the men and boys.

One well-known accounting firm was converted to a wooden small-town bar, another a food store, with a fake U.S. recruiting office and bank across the street.

About a dozen vehicles from the 1970s were parked in a nearby lot for filming.

The streaming series stars Michael Chernus as the serial killer, Gabriel Luna and James Badge Dale as detectives.

“It’s heartbreaking for me to think of what his victims could have done with their lives had the system not failed them so tragically,” Chernus said on Instagram. “…we (hope) we can play some part in preventing this from ever happening again.“

Gacy was a building contractor, and divorced father of two, who committed all of his known murders inside his ranch-style home.

After he was arrested in 1978, 26 of his victims were found in the crawl space of his home. He was sentenced to death in 1980 and executed by lethal injection in 1994. He was 52.

Gacy was a children’s entertainer at one point, dressing up as “Pogo the Clown.” He was given the name, “The Killer Clown.”

The series will be hitting the small screen later this year.

 

JANUARY 6 TO FEBRUARY 28 Homework Club for girls seven to nine years old at the Jean Augustine
Centre, at 101 Portland Road. The classes with certified tutors are in person from Monday to Friday
from 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. A range of activities are offered. E-mail info@jeanaugustinecentre.ca or call
416-253-9797.

JANUARY 6, 13, 20, 27, STONEGATE CHC afternoon drop-in on Mondays and Tuesdays from 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. for children up to six years of age and their caregivers at 10 Neighbourhood Lane, Unit
201. For more e-mail early.years@stonegatechc.org. Indoor running shoes required.

STARTING JANUARY 8 USE mindfulness to improve sleep or anxiety at 3:00 p.m. online with Corin De
Sousa. The class develops strategies to build your coping skills and resilience. You will gain tools to
manage everyday stress or worry. The meditations can also help with anxiety or pain management. E-mail Jasmind@lampchc.org or ericao@lampchc.org or phone 416-252-6471 ext. 308.

JANUARY 8 AND 15 WELLNESS SELF-MANAGEMENT series at 6 p.m. at LAMP CHC, 185 Fifth Street, if you are feeling stressed out or overwhelmed join us for a free workshop series to learn simple strategies
to embrace your wellness with coach Mary Craig. Class will focus and breathing, muscle relaxation. E-mail jasminD@lampchc.org or anthonya@lampchc. org or phone 416-252-6471 ext. 308.

STARTING JANUARY 13 Chair Yoga with Meaux on Mondays at 10 a.m. and Wednesday at 1:15 p.m.
for a gentle seated workout to strengthen muscles and mobility and improve balance using bands or
light weights. For more contact jasmind@lampchc.org or anthonya@lampchc.org call 416-252-6471 ext. 308.

JANUARY 13 QiGONG WITH KATY on Mondays January 13, 20, 27 at 11 a.m. at LAMP CHC. Qigong is an ancient Chinese practice combining gentle movements, breathing technique, and meditation to
balance energy in the body. QiGong reduces stress and anxiety, enhances balance and flexibility,
boosts energy, and improves mental clarity. To register,email JasminD@lampchc.org or ericao@la
mpchc.org phone 416-252-6471 ext. 308.

JANUARY 14, 21, 28 FREE DRUMMING WORKSHOPS AT LAMP CHC, at 1 p.m. for workshops with Chris and let the rhythm take control. No experience required and come unleash your inner groove. Great activity for brain health. E-mail rosema@lampchc.org or Jasmind@lampchc.org or call 416-252-6471 ext.
308.

JANUARY 14 SOUTH ETOBICOKE COMMUNITY Land Trust 2025 planning session at 6 p.m. at LAMP
CHC and become part of a transformative movement. As a member, you’ll have a say in preserving affordable housing, green spaces, and community amenities for generations
to come. For more contact info@SECLT.ca

STARTING JANUARY 16 on Thursdays at 10:30 a.m. Chair Yoga with Briar at LAMP-CHC for a gentle-seated workout. Stretch and enjoy some music and movement with Certified Hatha Yoga instructor
Briar Boake. Build your core strength and improve your flexibility. Contact jasmind@lampchc.org call
416-252-6471 ext. 308.

JANUARY 18 CELEBRATION OF LIFE memorial for long-time New Toronto resident and good guy Tony
James Gear from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. at St. Margaret’s Anglican New Toronto church, at 156 Sixth Street.
All are welcomed to remember Tony.

JANUARY 19 MP JAMES MALONEY New Year’s Levee from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. at the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 643, 110 Jutland Road. For more information call 416-251-5510.

MONDAY WALKING GROUP & Qigong from 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. meet at LAMP CHC and join as we
experience nature and take in the Fall beauty. Walking with or without poles, move at two speeds and enjoy gentle Tai Chi-like practice called Qiqong. To register e-mail jasmind@lampchc.org
or phone 416-252-6471 ext. 257, 308.

JANUARY 24 FREE HEARING SCREENINGS at LAMP CHC, 185 Fifth Street, if you experience trouble hearing? Canadian Hearing Services will be at LAMP to screen for hearing loss in order to book an
appointment, contact jasmind@lampchc.org at 416- 252-6471.

JANUARY 29 LAHAAG AFFORDABLE HOUSING Meeting at LAMP CHC, 185 Fifth Street, 6 p.m. for a
continuing conversation of the development of coop housing in South Etobicoke. Also an invitation to
participate in the leadership renewal team planning session. For more and to register email info@lahaag.ca

JANUARY 30 COOKING CLASS at Among Friends at 10 a.m. with LAMP dietician Eileen Chan for a fun,
hands-on session as you whip up Taco, lentil soup, pineapple salsa, or guacamole. To register, email ericao@lampchc.org or phone 416-252-6471 ext. 257 Hosted at Among Friends location, at 2788
Lakeshore Blvd West Unit #1.

JANUARY 31 MARKLAND WOOD GOLF CLUB at 1:30 p.m. to hear Mark Goulart, a FIFA Senior Project
Manager, reveal the extensive renovations being made to Centennial Park for the 2026 soccer tournament. The park was to have been a FIFA team training ground. All are welcome. $20. RSVP by January 24 to website kingswaywomensclub.wordpress.com

FEBRUARY 5 THE FUTURE OF CO-OP Housing Part 2 at 6 p.m. at LAMP CHC, part of a Building Affordable Housing Series. Guest speaker is Tom Clement, Executive Director of the Co-Op Housing
Federation of Toronto. To register e-mail JasminD@lampchc.org or phone 416-252-
6471 ext. 308.

FEBRUARY 12, 19, COPING WITH ANXIETY WORKSHOP at 6 p.m. at LAMP CHC for free workshop with wellness coach Mary Craig to learn coping mechanisms, mindfulness and wellness toolbox
strategies. To register e-mail jasmind@lampchc.org or phone 416-252-6471 ext. 308.

JANUARY 6 KARAOKE FUNDRAISER by the Long Branch Neighbourhood Association to
raise money for a legal defense fund to ‘fight the height,’ a major development at 220, 230 and 240 Lake Promenade and 21 and 31 Park Boulevard. The fundraising singalong takes place from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. at the Long Branch Social House, 3595 Lakeshore Blvd. W. The application, which is under appeal, will see five apartment buildings demolished, many people relocated and five towers up to 30-storeys built.

A Go Fund Me page has been created to help the family of former Toronto Police Det. John Park who died on duty last month of a medical issue.

Almost $200,000 has been raised to help the officer’s family. A funeral service attended by dozens of colleagues was held for him on December 30.

Park started his 14-year career at 22 Division in South Etobicoke before moving to the force’s Hold Up Squad.

He passed away on December 19 while executing a search warrant at a North York high rise, according to police.

Park, 40, leaves behind a wife Tina, and two children, aged 5 and 9. Three books of tributes from friends and the public to the officer were left at 22 Division and Police Headquarters. They have been given to his family.

“There are no words to express the sorrow we feel right now,” Deputy Chief Lauren Pogue said. “This is every family’s worst fear, when a loved one works as a police officer and does not come home safely after their shift.”

She said the grieving family did not have a husband or dad this Christmas season.

“He served our city with courage and a great sense of duty,” Pogue said. “Losing a friend and colleague has a profound impact on our officers.”

Dozens of officers lined the streets outside the hospital where Park was pronounced dead to show respect for their colleague.

Clayton Campbell, president of the Toronto Police Association, said members are coming together to support Park’s family.

“It’s devastating. It’s just such a sad situation in the hospital right now.” Mayor Olivia Chow said she was “heartbroken” by the officer’s death, and has been in touch with Chief Myron Demkiw.