see all the sunshine girls that appeared in the Toronto Sun in 2017
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Tuesday, January 2, 2018
Wednesday, December 20, 2017
Tuesday, December 19, 2017
Three people were rushed to hospital with gunshot wounds after a gunman opened fire on a car in the intersection of Dixon Rd. and Skyway Ave Rexdale, Toronto
Toronto Police say the gunfire erupted around 10:20 p.m. at Dixon Rd. and Skyway Ave., just west of Hwy. 27.
It’s believed the victim’s grey Toyota Camry was stopped at the intersection when a second vehicle pulled up next to the passenger side.
A gunman reportedly opened fire from the second vehicle, which then drove off.
The Toyota’s front and rear passenger side windows were shot out and the three men inside, possibly in their 20s and 30s, were hit.
The three victims were rushed to hospital but the extent of their injuries was not immediately known.
No arrests have been made and no description of the shooter or second vehicle has been released.
Police say the investigation is ongoing.
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The Dempsey building at the northwest corner of Yonge and Sheppard of North York and the locations transformation.
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Monday, December 18, 2017
Mark Young, 52, was found fatally shot in the St. Lawrence Market area on Dec. 16, 2017
Mark Young, 52, was found suffering from multiple gunshot wounds around 12:30 a.m. Saturday at 25 Henry Lane Terrace, a TCHC building near Lower Jarvis St. and The Esplanade.
He died at the scene. No arrests have been made or suspect descriptions released.
Witnesses reported hearing four shots ring out along with “screaming and yelling,” police said Saturday.
Young is the city’s 61st murder victim of the year.
Anyone with information is asked to call police at 416-808-7400.
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With Caddy's closing, another Toronto strip club bites the dust
For decades, Caddy’s Adult Entertainment provided blue collar men with an escape from the drudgery of their lives, wives and troubles.
But now, Caddy’s is shutting down the neon lights, thumping music and bevy of beauties. The sounds of Bob Seger’s Strut and Styx’s Lady have long since faded.
The strip joint is a casualty of changing times and an emerging new morality. It joins Jilly’s, House of Lancaster, Cheaters and probably dozens of others on the peeler palace slag heap.
“The business used to be a lot of fun,” said Mary Taylor, a former stripper who’s founder of the Exotic Dancer’s Association.
“And it was a way for girls to put themselves through school or put some money together for a fresh start. That’s all gone.”
In 1998, there were 47 strip joints in Toronto. That number has plummeted to around 12, according to the City of Toronto’s Municipal Licensing and Standards office.
It’s not the end, but you can see it from here.
“It’s called the Internet,” added Valerie Scott, a former stripper and sex worker activist. She also sees something more insidious in the naked truth facing strip clubs.
“The religious right and radical feminists have formed an unholy alliance in the U.S., and it’s coming here,” said Scott, who noted many municipalities have grandfathered their cabaret licenses, meaning they won’t be issuing new permits.
Former hotbeds of peeling have seen the disappearance of dozens of the clubs. Hamilton is down to one strip joint while Oshawa has none.
Strip joints are barred altogether from St. Catharines.
Some smaller communities have not been as aggressive as Toronto in eradicating strip clubs but their days could be numbered, too.
“For politicians, closing strip clubs is win-win. They get cheered from the right and the left,” Scott said, adding that local political hacks “are only too happy to oblige.
“There is no outcry and they are dying a slow death.”
With a burgeoning new morality in the U.S., the impending demise of net neutrality, and a retreat from “anything vaguely sexual,” Scott believes the end is nigh.
“But with a crackdown on Internet porn looming, you never know, strip clubs could become popular again,” she said.
One regular patron said the action has moved to backpage.com, massage parlours and the web.
“You go to a lot of strip joints these days and it’s just a dozen or so sad sacks, they’re not much fun anymore,” the enthusiast said. “Even Niagara Falls is down to just two … when the dollar was low, there were half a dozen filled with free-spending Americans. Not now.”
And there is also a dancer deficit.
Osgoode Hall professor Alan Young said the stripper shortage is killing the business.
When Canadian women — particularly from Quebec — began turning their noses up at doffing their duds in dimly-lit rooms full of lonely men, strip club owners had to turn elsewhere.
“The origins of the demise of strip clubs began in the Harper era when certain VISA restrictions were placed on women coming from Eastern European countries for work in strip clubs,” Young told the Sun.
“The majority of strippers came from Eastern Europe and with the shortage of strippers many clubs started to close.”
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Saturday, December 16, 2017
Ride the TTC for Free on December 17 Ontario Celebrating Largest Expansion of Toronto’s Subway System in Nearly 40 Years
Ontario is celebrating the largest expansion of Toronto's subway system in nearly 40 years by making the TTC free on December 17, the first day of service for the new Line 1 extension into York Region.
Steven Del Duca, Minister of Transportation, along with John Tory, Mayor of Toronto and Josh Colle, TTC Chair, were at Sheppard West TTC station today to announce that on Sunday, December 17, people can ride the entire TTC network for free in celebration of the subway extension opening.
The new Line 1 extension is among the largest subway expansions in North America in recent decades, with six new stations and 8.6 kilometres of new track. Riders will get from the new subway terminus at Vaughan Metropolitan Centre to the Sheppard West station in about 14 minutes and to Union Station in 42 minutes. Students will also be able to take rapid transit to York University for the very first time.
Building better public transit for commuters and families is part of Ontario's plan to create fairness and opportunity during this period of rapid economic change. The plan includes a higher minimum wage and better working conditions, free tuition for hundreds of thousands of students, easier access to affordable child care, and free prescription drugs for everyone under 25 through the biggest expansion of Medicare in a generation.
Quick Facts
- The Line 1 extension (or Toronto-York Spadina Subway Extension (TYSSE)) will add an estimated 36 million transit trips and eliminate 30 million car trips per year, helping to ease traffic congestion, improve air quality and fight climate change.
- The project adds more than 2,800 parking spots at three commuter lots along the new extension.
- The Line 1 extension is the largest subway expansion in the region in nearly 40 years, with a total cost of about $3.2 billion. The province provided $974 million to the project through the Move Ontario Trust. The City of Toronto is providing $904 million, the federal government up to $697 million and York Region $604 million.
- The six new subway stations are Downsview Park, Finch West, York University, Pioneer Village, Highway 407 and Vaughan Metropolitan Centre.
- The subway’s new terminus at Vaughan Metropolitan Centre is a major new transportation hub in York Region. It connects directly to the vivaNext rapidway on Highway 7 — part of an extensive rapid transit network of dedicated bus lanes that York Region Transit is building with up to $1.4 billion in funding from Ontario.
- Ontario and the City of Toronto are cutting costs for commuters in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area. Starting on January 7, 2018, adult, senior, youth and student TTC riders will pay a TTC fare of just $1.50 when they use a PRESTO card to transfer to or from GO Transit or the Union Pearson Express.
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Murder-suicide suspected in deaths of Toronto billionaire Barry Sherman and wife Honey
Officially, Toronto Police aren’t commenting on the tragedy — other than to call the deaths of one of Canada’s richest couples “suspicious.”
However, sources say police were working Friday night on the theory the demise of the billionaire Apotex founder and his wife, which has stunned the city and those who knew them, may have been a murder-suicide.
Sources close to the case believe Honey may have been killed in a secondary location in the $6.9 million Old Colony Rd. house and then moved to the location where she was later found with her deceased husband.
“Forensics need to be done and post-mortems on the bodies, but at this stage it appears there was no forced entry and no evidence of anybody else in the house,” a police source said.
Emergency responders found the pair hanging from a railing that surrounds lap pool inside the house southeast of Bayview Ave. and Hwy. 401.
Insp. Bryan Bott, who heads up the Homicide Unit, would not confirm or comment on the details of the case but he did tell the Toronto Sun “at this time we are not searching for any suspects.”
Bott said homicide detectives will conduct a full investigation and all avenues will be explored.
That said, police did not immediately find a suicide note and a search of the massive house, which will include reviewing of the home’s video surveillance system, was just beginning.
If autopsies and forensics change the scenario, a source close to the case said senior homicide officials will update the public.
Sources said Sherman — believed to be worth almost $5-billion — did not show up for work at Apotex Thursday, which did not immediately raise alarm bells.
A real estate agent, who was selling the couple’s house, went to the home and made the grisly discovery after she was unable to contact them to make an appointment for a showing.
Police tape surrounds the home of Apotex founder Barry Sherman and wife, Honey Sherman after they were found dead on Friday, December 15, 2017.
It was a horrific day for the couple’s grown children, who apparently heard about the death of their parents through media and social media rather than police.
Meanwhile, there was an outpouring of grief from those who knew the Shermans.
“On behalf of all Toronto residents, I want to express my deepest condolences to the Sherman family,” Mayor John Tory said in a statement.
“I am shocked and heartbroken to learn that Barry and Honey Sherman were found dead in their home today,” he said, explaining he has “had the privilege of knowing them both well for many years.”
“Barry and Honey were kind, good people who will be greatly missed,” Tory said. “The philanthropic and economic contributions they have made to Toronto put them in a class of their own.
“Toronto Police are investigating and I hope that investigation will be able to provide answers for all of us who are mourning this tremendous loss,” he added.
Postmedia CEO Paul Godfrey, who has known the couple for decades, described the Shermans as “a dynamic couple.”
“Barry was very reserved and not an outgoing person while Honey was outgoing and a leadership person who took command of situations,” he said.
“Barry could walk into a room, go and sit in a corner and no one would know who he was,” Godfrey said. “But when Honey walked into a room, she took over the room.”
Mostly they made sure charitable causes were funded.
“They gave a lot of money to charity,” said Godfrey. “They didn’t lead extravagant lifestyles even though they could have. Instead they gave millions of dollars to charitable causes to improve the quality of life of the people of Toronto.”
Godfrey described the Shermans as “the number one contact for Jewish people who had a cause” but also for charities outside the Jewish community too.
Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center President and CEO Avi Benlolo said the Shermans were “among the community’s philanthropic giants and have been incredible supporters of the organization.”
Police secured the home of Apotex founder Barry Sherman and wife, Honey Sherman after they were found dead on Friday, December 15, 2017.
It was an eerie scene outside their sprawling mansion Friday night, with a For Sale sign on a front lawn covered in snow, the lights still ablaze and yellow crime scene tape surrounding the property.
Neighbours — some stopped by to drop off flowers for the much-loved couple – were clearly shocked by the gutwrenching news.
An unidentified woman delivered flowers to the home of Apotex founder Barry Sherman and wife, Honey Sherman, after they were found dead on Friday, December 15, 2017.
The coroner arrived late Friday to remove the bodies, which may have been in the home since Thursday.
Meanwhile, Apotex put out a statement saying the generic drug company was aware of “the tragic news that Barry and Honey Sherman have unexpectedly passed away.”
“All of us at Apotex are deeply shocked and saddened by this news and our thoughts and prayers are with the family at this time.”
A steady stream of tributes poured in all evening.
“He was the best friend I ever had,” said a choked up entrepreneur, TV host and film maker Frank D’Angelo, who was a business partner of Barry Sherman.
“I have had a lot of calls but I don’t want to say anything until we understand what happened here,” he said. “I have no way to cope to tell you how I am feeling right now.”
Many who knew the couple were grieving in similar ways.
“Two weeks ago it gave me immense joy to present a Senate medal to one of the kindest and most beloved members of Canada’s Jewish community,” tweeted Senator Linda Frum. “Today I am gutted by the loss of Honey and Barry Sherman. Our community is steeped in grief. I am heartbroken.”
Health Minister Dr. Eric Hoskins tweeted he is “beyond words” to learn his “dear friends” were found dead.
Hoskins later sent out the following statement:
“I cannot begin to find the words to express my deep sorrow and profound sadness at the tragic loss of my dear friends, Barry and Honey Sherman. My wife, Samantha Nutt, and I deeply valued our friendship with Barry and Honey. They were generous philanthropists, kind and compassionate individuals, devoted to their family, their friends, their community, this province and this country. Their leadership and investments in health care leave a legacy we are all better for. They will be deeply missed, including by their Apotex family of more than 6,000 Canadian employees and their many friends and colleagues. Our thoughts and prayers are with their family, friends, colleagues and their Apotex family. Barry and Honey, may you rest in peace.”
The couple had also delved into political endeavours, including hosting an event for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and another with Finance Minister Bill Morneau.
But their first love was helping people.
“People I bumped into are in a state of shock tonight,” said Godfrey. “There will be a major hole in Toronto and in the Jewish community. People like the Shermans don’t come along every day.”
He said their passing has come as a surprise to friends and family since “they had everything to live for,” including their children, a new home they were planning to build in Forest Hill and a planned trip next week for Florida.
Instead all there is are questions about what happened here?
SHERMAN HAD THE Rx FOR MAKING MONEY
Barry Sherman’s glittering billion-dollar business career was bedevilled by a family dispute that spanned more than 50 years.
Sherman and his wife Honey were found dead Friday under mysterious circumstances in their sprawling mansion at 50 Old Colony Rd. near Bayview and the 401.
With an estimated net worth of $4.7 billion, Sherman’s business and personal dealings during his long career have courted wild success and controversy.
Born into wealth in 1942, he had a stellar academic career (entering the University of Toronto at 16 and later receiving his Doctoral degree from MIT).
His uncle Louis Lloyd Winter founded the pharmaceutical giant, Empire Laboratories, which would later become Apotex Inc. — Canada’s largest generic pharmaceutical company.
But when his uncle and aunt died in 1965, leaving their four children orphaned, the aspiring impresario was given the opportunity to buy the company from the executor.
Fifty years later that deal still leaves a sour taste in the mouths of Louis’s children, who feel they were cheated out of their inheritance. A judge tossed their lawsuit in September but they are appealing.
The Winter children claimed Sherman never gave them the royalties and opportunities they deserved. In court, they claimed he had failed in his “fiduciary duties.”
Sherman sold Empire in 1972 and started Apotex in 1973, which would make him a billionaire.
More recently, he orchestrated a boardroom coup over beer baron, aspiring movie star and late night talk show host, Frank D’Angelo. The ubiquitous D’Angelo was allegedly pushed upstairs at the brewery he founded by his financier friend, Barry Sherman.
Not surprisingly, Sherman’s 24-year-old son Jonathan took over.
In 2015, the Jewish Defence League picketed outside Sherman’s North York mansion because he was holding a fundraiser for Liberal leader Justin Trudeau.
In September of this year, Sherman asked the Federal Court to shut down an investigation into fundraising activities he helped organize for the Liberals.
The probe by Karen Shepherd, the federal Commissioner of Lobbying, was launched following complaints about two events. One was a $1,500-a-head private dinner with Trudeau that Sherman hosted on Aug. 26, 2015. The other was a Nov. 7, 2016, fundraiser featuring Finance Minister Bill Morneau for which Sherman was selling tickets for $500 apiece.
It’s estimated he donated more than $50 million to the United Jewish Appeal and millions more to other charities.
Sherman and his wife leave behind four children.
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Vaughan hostage taker wore suicide vest, demanded to speak with Trump
And he was threatening to use his entire arsenal inside an RBC branch — at the corner of Major MacKenzie Dr. and Dufferin St. in Vaughan — where he had up to 13 hostages Wednesday.
“He was waving his gun around,” said a person who was on the scene. “He was not demanding money. He asked for no money. He said he wanted crystal meth and he wanted to talk to Trump.”
He also asked for panicked bank employees to call police.
Police are working to determine whether his arsenal or threats were real. But York Regional Police did not take any chances. After a robot was deployed inside the bank, two officers took him out with gunshots.
“I am glad that they did,” said one person who was inside the building before being told to get out by police. “It was a scary situation when a guy has bombs and a gun.”
This investigation is still very much in its early stages with forensics to determine what was authentic. The province’s Special Investigation’s Unit, which investigates police shootings, was all over this taped-off scene Thursday.
One source who was on the scene said officers tried everything they could to get the man to surrender and to free his hostages.
“In the end there was no negotiating with him. He didn’t want to talk anymore,” said the insider, who described him as appearing emotionally unstable.
One of the working theories is suicide by cop. Little is known about the dead man so far. The SIU had not yet released his name.
Who was this mystery man and why did he drive a car from the Bathurst St.-Teston Rd. area four kilometres to the bank with a suicide vest?
“He is Middle Eastern,” confirmed a police source. “I believe he’s originally from Egypt.” One witnessed said there was no references to any religious or terror allegiences in the man’s rantings. The only thing political was the name “Trump.”
Police were guarding the scene of a nearby, spacious, recently built, two-floor luxury home at 130 Lady Delores Dr. where the deceased is said to have been living. Neighbours describe it as an uneventful abode.
With a York Regional cruiser holding the taped off scene, the front door of the house had remained open since late Wednesday evening when police came in. There is broken glass visible on the front step.
“We are awaiting a warrant to search the house,” explained York Const. Andy Pattenden.
When explosives are part of a probe, it’s not unusual to have specialists take a look for live explosives or any products or equipment that could make such devices.
No one has confirmed if the bombs or weapon the dead man displayed were operational. But one person in the building at the time of the incident, said the hostages felt they looked real.
One person I talked with who was inside the building when the hostage taking went down, described it as one of those pat-the-police-on-the-back moments.
But ultimately that will be up to the SIU to decide.
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OMB approves Toronto's new ward boundaries and 3 new city councillors
On Friday, the Ontario Municipal Board approved a City of Toronto council decision to add three more councillors and make changes to the ward boundaries.
That move had been challenged by some citizen groups and two members of city council — Justin Di Ciano and Giorgio Mammoliti.
But on Friday, the OMB ruled the city can redraw the wards so each has a population of roughly 61,000 residents.
That will increase the number of wards from 44 to 47.
In its ruling, the OMB said it’s not the “perfect” decision, but it was better than all the rest.
The 47-ward model will achieve the goal of “effective representation.”
Mammoliti said it was a sad day for democracy.
“This was done with no regard for the fact that a number of communities had no consultation, no voice, on this matter,” Mammoliti said.
“It’s going to create chaos,” he said. “How will council run with more members? It will make life more miserable and the decision was made to accommodate the bureaucrats and not the taxpayers who don’t want 47 members in council.”
City council approved the decision to make ward changes over a year ago.
The OMB decision was made in time for the city to redraw ward boundaries in time for the next civic election.
The move will create three new wards in the city centre, one in North York and the majority of others would be redrawn. It will also eliminate Ward 18 Davenport into other boundaries.
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