Extra, Extra: Mel’s Bells Are Hell, John Tory Believes Private Sector Will Mostly Fund Olympic Bid, and Sons of Russian Spies Fight For Canadian Citizenship

By Sarah Duong

Every weekday’s end, we collect just about everything you ought to care about or ought not to miss.

Photo by BruceK from the Torontoist Flickr Pool.

• With the Olympic bid deadline of September 15 fast approaching, John Tory is asking private sector leaders to “step up” with funding if they want to submit a bid for the chance to host the 2024 Summer Olympic Games. Tory said at the launch of the United Way’s annual fundraising drive this afternoon, “I believe that if there is to be one (a bid) it should be largely financed by the private sector. That’s been done elsewhere and could be done here if there’s the will and interest in doing so.” He added, “The concerns about finance are on my mind too.”
• Ding-dong merrily on high, Mel Lastman’s bells were ringing. The infamous bells, nicknamed “Mel’s Bells” at Mel Lastman Square north of Yonge and Sheppard, rang all night, every hour on the hour, leaving at least one person devoid of her much needed Z’s. Michelle Herder, who lives across the street, said, “So it rang 12 times and we had this song that goes on afterwards that usually goes twice a day, but all night it’s been going every hour.” Tweeting 311, she stated, “People need to sleep. (Bells chime as I type this) Toronto is breaking its own noise by-law.” 311 hopes to fix the issue by tonight. Mel Lastman, known to create much noise, was nowhere to be found.
• The sons of two Russian “deep cover” spies arrested and deported on charges of espionage are fighting to keep the Canadian citizenship they acquired while their parents secretly worked for Russian intelligence under assumed identities. The two sons, Timothy and Alexander Vavilov are accused by Canadian intelligence of being Russian operatives; Timothy, 25, stated in his affidavit, “I am first and foremost Canadian. I have lived for 20 years believing that I was Canadian and still believe I am Canadian, nothing can change that.” Alexander Vavilov’s citizenship was revoked by the Federal Court on August 10 on suspicion of his ties to Russian intelligence. The case for Timothy is ongoing.
• From today’s edition of 12:36, Toronto’s new lunchtime tabloid newsletter: Cops continue to watch the #TrumpUnstableAntenna. The streets directly beneath 325 Bay remain “indefinitely” closed. Trump Toronto operators Talon International Development took more than 10 hours to admit something might’ve gone awry with its phallic spire yesterday. Along with the wacky hashtag, it provided a perfect analogy: “I will say I smiled a little bit when I heard the word stabilization and Trump used in the same sentence,” said Tory, adding that he expects Talon to pay for the cost of the chaos. (Want more 12:36? Subscribe to it now.)