Random Access

A family of raccoons did what concerned human residents of Port Credit could not do Friday: stop demolition of the Gray House, at least temporarily.
Resident Dorothy Tomiuk, who was documenting the destruction of the property in pictures, reports that the advances of the power shovel were halted around 5 p.m. when the last remaining family occupants of the property appeared on the roof, no doubt frantic about their litter and their property values.
They refused, quite sensibly, to face eviction in the bucket of a power shovel. Frank Giannone of Fram/Slokker ordered activities shut down for the night so they could decamp, which we can only hope they did successfully.
The rest of the demolition took place Saturday reducing the old homestead, which once had one of those wonderful wrap-around porches on it, to a pile of bricks.
* * *
Ontario Conservative leader John Tory met with Effie Triantafilopoulos and some of her supporters over the weekend and you can bet he got an earful.
And why not? Triantafilopoulos, a lawyer and long-time top-level federal civil servant political veteran, former council and provincial candidate Brad Butt and self-made businessman Zoran Churchin must be feeling betrayed by their party, after they spent a ton of time and money signing up new members for the Mississauga South Tories.
Turned out it was a colossal waste of time.
Instead they will watch the man they expected to unseat, Tim Peterson, waltz into a walk-over nomination as the only candidate.
Under Tory regulations, a sitting member of Parliament can’t be challenged, so Peterson will be an independent until nomination day and then become an instant Tory candidate.
“It was a very angry weekend for a number of people,” said Butt. “I know a lot of my supporters are very disappointed because this came out of the blue.”
Or did it? The fact that Peterson and Tory were apparently feeling each other out about the switch for months puts things in a different light for many people.
How do you think former MPP Margaret Marland feels? A strong supporter of Triantafilopoulos, she was told shortly before the last campaign, which she lost to Peterson by 234 votes, that he admired her so much, he would never run against her. He changed his mind then too.
There will be a lot of people sitting this one out for the Blue team in the South, including Peterson’s brothers who won’t be dropping in to campaign like last time, or helping out with fundraising.
“I think the Liberals will be looking for a very strong candidate,” says Butt, “someone with a very high profile. They’ll throw every penny they have in there and give Tim the fight of his life.”
* * *
Since when did Billy Talent get to be a Toronto band?
Seems that whenever a Mississauga group or athlete gets famous, the pundits in the Toronto press blur the geo-political boundaries to their credit. The Juno coverage was full of the nasty T-word in describing the boys from Streetsville.
By the way, jazz singer Lori Cullen who grew up in Mississauga and now lives in T-town lost the Juno for Best Vocal Jazz Album to some unknown named Diana Krall.
Never mind. Jaymz Bee, the peripatetic jazz everyman of JAZZFM.91 agrees with yours truly that Cullen’s Calling For Rain was the gem of the five albums nominated. “It was the most exciting, interesting and creative” of the nominees, Bee said today. Damn straight.