Dragon’s eye
Mayor David Miller, Toronto-Danforth councillor Paula Fletcher and dignitaries from China opened the Zhong Hua Men Archway at Broadview Avenue and Gerrard Street East, Sept. 12.
All posts by Philip Alves
Mayor ‘may hold key’ to leak info
An investigation into the source of a city hall leak has concluded that the mayor, her executive assistant and a political ally “may hold the key” to the mystery. A June 19 report by former RCMP chief superintendent Ben Soave’s investigative firm, Ben Soave Associates (BSA), was commissioned by the City of Vaughan to uncover how and why copies of cheques and other documents were delivered to media outlets in anonymous brown envelopes late last year.
27 charges for former mayor
Former mayor Michael DiBiase faces 27 charges stemming from an audit into his 2006 municipal election campaign books. The audit by Ken Froese and Glen Davison uncovered several apparent contraventions of the Municipal Elections Act in DiBiase’s campaign records, including overspending his $120,419 campaign limit by $2,712 and accepting ineligible contributions.
West Nile found
West Nile virus has once again turned up in Vaughan, this time in a batch of mosquitoes near Hwy. 27 and Major Mackenzie Dr. These bloodsuckers are the first to test positive for the disease in York Region this year, the region’s health services department reports.
Fresh fall feast
With summer drawing to a close, there’s no better time to celebrate the organic bounty grown on Ontario’s farms. The 20th annual Feast of Fields returns to the Kortright Centre for Conservation Sunday after more than a decade. The event is a showcase of organic food and drink, this year featuring 40 chefs, about 20 or so wineries and breweries, and a farmers’ market.
Bound to be a great time
The city’s favourite mouse is on his way back into Kleinburg and he’s bringing his big ole ball of twine. The 43nd annual Kleinburg and Area Binder Twine Festival — represented by its logo of a mouse in a bundle of twine — is set to transport revellers to a simpler time on Sept. 12.
School hit by tornado won’t be ready Sept. 8
The York Catholic school board has announced its plans for students of the tornado-damaged St. Peter Catholic Elementary School. Repairs are underway but the Woodbridge school won’t be ready when the first bell rings Sept. 8.
School’s back in session
There’s no denying it — there is a definite buzz in the halls of the new Kleinburg Public School. After a year of making due at Michael Cranny PS, staff are busy working alongside construction workers to put the finishing touches on their new school, which is set to welcome students come Sept. 8.
Pets’ lives changed, too
The lives of many Vaughanians — human and animal — were changed forever by last week’s tornado. The Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals was on scene the morning after the storm to help care for pets evacuated from their damaged homes.
Cleanup underway but school won’t be ready Sept. 8
Students at St. Peter Catholic Elementary School and their parents face a change in their back-to-school routine come Sept. 8. The Woodbridge school was in the path of the tornado that ripped through the city last week and will not be ready in time for the start of the academic year, the York Catholic District School Board announced Thursday.
‘Like a scene out of a movie’
What began as a story about the awesome and indiscriminate power of nature quickly became a story of neighbour helping neighbour. Last Thursday, sometime before the supper hour, a ferocious F2 tornado packing a minimum punch of 180 kilometres an hour skipped across Vaughan, tearing roofs from houses, uprooting trees and scarring the communities of Woodbridge and Maple.
Unconfirmed reports say Toronto boy dead after late-night pool mishap
A 16-year-old Toronto boy has reportedly died after he and a group of friends snuck into the Thornhill Outdoor Pool late last night. At about 11 p.m. on Aug. 23, York Regional Police received a call about a boy in distress, Constable Marina Orlovski said today.