Toronto

York Region’s former medical officer of health dropped his head and gasped as he was found guilty this morning of assaults on young boys dating back to the 1950s.The allegations against Owen Slingerland, 90, were made by four men who said they were assaulted the family doctor – who was also a United Church elder and Boy Scout volunteer – in the community of Mount Albert between 1959 and 1970.The court fell silent as Justice Anne Mullins read her verdict in the Newmarket courtroom.Slingerland, who retired in 1988, has been free on bail. He leaned on his cane and appeared stunned as he listened to the verdict on a special hearing device provided by the court.He had been charged in 2010 and pleaded not guilty to all the charges of indecent assault.During his trial, Slingerland testified he gave medical examinations to boys in a church basement during a Cub Scout meeting to help them gain merit badges.

Children today are half as likely to walk to school as their parent’s generation and this is one of the key reasons only 5 per cent of them get the recommended amount of physical activity, according to a report from a national charity trying to improve the fitness level of youngsters.Active Healthy Kids Canada found that while 58 per cent of parents walked to school when they were young, only 28 per cent of their children do today.“By driving our kids to and from their destinations, we may be robbing them of an important source of physical activity and contributing to lifelong unhealthy habits,” says Dr. Mark Tremblay, chief scientific officer of the organization.The organization is encouraging parents to chauffeur their children less often.If children walked for all trips of less than one kilometre rather than being driven, they would take an average of 2,238 additional steps a day, according to the organization. That in turn would translate into 15 to 20 minutes of walking.Canadian physical activity guidelines call for children to get 60 minutes of physical activity a day. The organization releases an annual report on the activity level of children. It gave them a “D” for active transportation, which includes walking, biking, in-line skating or skateboarding.The report states that 62 per cent of Canadian youth use inactive modes of transportation to get to and from school. These include car, train and bus.“By making small changes to the way we travel to destinations, we can have a big impact on the physical activity levels of our children,” said Kelly Murumets, president of PARTICIPACTION. “Not only will we get them closer to achieving the recommended guidelines, but we will also provide opportunities for social engagement with their peers.”

With all of Toronto waiting for Mayor Rob Ford to address last week’s explosive allegations of crack-cocaine use, the mayor instead attempted to change the channel by declaring he would no longer be supporting a downtown casino. Ford spoke at length on the floor of council Tuesday, not about the allegations but about his opposition to a downtown casino. “We need to continue to fight for the taxpayer. To find efficiencies. To keep this city the best place to work and live,” he said. “We need to keep improving our customer service day in and day out, and that’s exactly what I plan to do.” “I will not support a casino if it’s not in the best interest of Toronto. I never campaigned on this,” Ford, who has been a loud supporter of a downtown casino, said. He said Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne has made it clear she doesn’t want a downtown casino. Ford now says he’s focused on getting a full casino at the Woodbine racetrack facility. “There should be tables at Woodbine. There should be a full casino at Woodbine,” Ford said. Ford looked sombre and remained silent upon his arrival at city hall Tuesday morning as a crowd of reporters grilled him on last week’s crack cocaine allegations that have made headlines around the world. “Move back from the elevator,” an aide instructed journalists, blocking microphones from getting any closer to the chief magistrate when the elevator doors opened outside his office. The mayor remained inside, en route to the council chambers one floor above. RelatedAll eyes on Toronto city hall as Mayor Rob Ford expected to respond to crack video allegationsEven if alleged video of Rob Ford smoking crack surfaces, the city can’t force the mayor to resignChristie Blatchford: Rob Ford owes his supporters the cold, hard truth over crack allegationsPosted Toronto Political Panel: Will crack allegations be enough to sink Mayor Rob Ford? Minutes later, Ford was seated in the packed chambers, where a debate on a downtown casino proposal was about to start. His brother, Councillor Doug Ford, was also in his seat. Doug Ford told CKNW, a Vancouver radio station, this weekend that he would respond today to reports regarding the alleged footage. But Tuesday morning, Rob Ford’s spokesperson said there was no press conference planned. U.S.-based website Gawker reported the controversial video story last week, saying editor John Cook viewed the cellphone footage he claimed appears to show Ford smoking crack. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan DenetteToronto Mayor Rob Ford sits during a City council meeting at Toronto City Hall on Tuesday May 21, 2013. Ford ignored a crush of reporters waiting outside his city hall office this morning in the hopes he would address allegations that he was recorded on video appearing to smoke crack-cocaine. The Toronto Star published a report later also claiming two of its reporters had viewed the video. The Star also said Ford used a homophobic slur to describe Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau and made racially-charged remarks about the high school football players he coaches. On Friday, Ford slammed the Star report on the video as a smear job and called it “ridiculous,” while his lawyer Dennis Morris called the reports “false and defamatory.” Morris told The Canadian Press on Sunday that he had not received any instructions from Ford about launching legal action against the Star and Gawker, saying the matter was in “pause” until it’s known whether a video will become public. The media outlets reported the video was shown to them by an alleged drug dealer who has been reportedly trying to sell the video for at least $100,000. Gawker has been trying to crowdsource $200,000 to buy and publicly post the footage and had raised $84,839 by early Tuesday. Deputy Mayor Doug Holyday said Ford is going to have to address the crack cocaine allegations sooner rather than later. “

Justin Bieber’s pet monkey is now the property of Germany. Mally the monkey was seized by German customs March 28 when Bieber failed to produce required vaccination and import papers for the animal after landing in Munich for a European tour. He had until midnight Friday to produce those documents. Customs spokesman Thomas Meister said after offices opened following a holiday weekend that officials received no documents. He said the customs authority issued an order later Tuesday formally transferring ownership of the animal to the German state. Christof Stache/AFP/Getty ImagesMally the capuchin is now the property of Germany after his former owner Justin Bieber failed to produce documents. Bieber, 19, has six weeks to contest the decision if he wants to do so. Germany’s Federal Agency for Nature Conservation said the monkey would be sent to a zoo somewhere in Germany, but officials declined to say exactly where to avoid security problems. Mally, a capuchin monkey, has been cared for at Munich’s animal shelter since being taken into quarantine. The shelter’s manager says Mally, who is now 20 weeks old, has fared well and gained weight in its care. The shelter has criticized Bieber for keeping such a young monkey as a pet, saying it shouldn’t have been taken away from its mother until it was a year old. Experts say capuchin monkeys also need to be kept in groups as they are very sociable animals. German authorities now hope to reclaim the cost of Mally’s upkeep at the Munich shelter over the past two months, including care, food and vet visits. Meister said a bill would be prepared and sent to Bieber. He put the cost at several thousand euros (dollars) but said authorities would not detail the specific amount. RelatedJustin Bieber has four weeks to claim his monkeyJustin Bieber must pay for abandoning his monkey in Germany, officials say

From Damien Cox’s Spin on Sports blog:-It seemed unlikely that Bell and Rogers, once they announced their joint takeover of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment more than 18 months, would passively stand by and watch the giant corporation run itself.But then, nobody was quite sure how, precisely, it would unfold, or whether the two companies would stymie one another with competing visions, particularly after their acquisition of 75 per cent of MLSE was formally approved in August.Well, it may have taken a while for the unfolding to begin, but it has turned into a tidal wave.On New Year’s Day, 2013, a corporate snapshot would have seen Tom Anselmi as Chief Operating Officer without a suit above him, Brian Burke as president and general manager of the NHL Maple Leafs and Bryan Colangelo as president and general manager of the NBA Raptors.In just over five months, all that has been swept away.Oh, Anselmi’s still there, and apparently Colangelo will be too once his peculiar firing/reassignment is officially made clear today. Theoretically, Burke also still works for the team in some capacity.But the power structure and the personalities behind it all have changed.Anselmi has been superseded by Tim Leiweke, the flashy new MLSE president and CEO. How that relationship will spill out over time is unclear.Burke, of course, was dismissed on Jan. 9 before Leiweke was hired, bad luck for Burke possibly given that he and Leiweke hold each other in high regard. Dave Nonis, much more low-key in his approach, has been running the hockey department.Colangelo, kicked upstairs, won’t get a chance to show Leiweke what he can do with the basketball team, which seems neither fair nor unfair, really. Colangelo had a good kick at the can and came up well short.With that, Leiweke will now move on to the hiring of a new basketball boss, and presumably sometime this week or next will turn his attention to the hockey operation.It will be fascinating to see what he thinks of that.Nonis has several years left on his contract, but that would be unlikely to hold up Leiweke if, like Colangelo, Nonis doesn’t measure up in his eyes.Leiweke wasn’t brought in on big ticket amidst the sound of a brass band playing to work with people he didn’t hire if he doesn’t like the way they do their job.Nonis is in a somewhat more envious position than was Colangelo. He just took over, and the team made the post-season in a campaign shortened to 48 games by a lockout only to lose Game 7 to the Boston Bruins in rather shocking style.The Leafs are closer to the ultimate goal of winning a Stanley Cup than they were a year ago.But they are not close.Nonis has a vision, and that’s to develop a young team that grows together. He’s unlikely to start trading young assets and futures for immediate help, although he might trade young assets and futures for other young assets. For example, he might trade Toronto’s first round pick (No. 21) if some other team has a 19- or 20-year-old former first round pick they want to move.Or maybe he might move 22-year-old Jake Gardiner, a marvel in the post-season, if he can get into the top 10 selections of this year’s draft.Nothing’s off the table. People need to understand that, and given the way young teams develop, they also need to understand that while the Leafs very nearly upset the Bruins, there’s a decent chance Toronto won’t be as successful next season as it was this season.Leiweke may or may not share that outlook. He and Nonis, you should know, barely know one another, and haven’t spent recent weeks having beers on patios and trading war stories.“It will be my GM, and I will have his back,” said Leiweke today of the next Raptors GM, and presumably, he’ll want to feel exactly the same way about the individual running the Leafs.Leiweke made it clear when he was hired he was just going to stay out of the way

Councillors are expected to hammer the final nail in the coffin of the downtown casino Tuesday.

It was a gaffe worthy of Anne Hathaway: On Saturday, actress Eva Longoria accidentally exposed herself at Cannes, after lifting up her long lace dress to avoid dunking it in a puddle. Zunino Celotto/Getty ImagesMoments after the incident: Eva Longoria, perhaps surprised that she'd just exposed her bare bottom on the red carpet. The incident took place Saturday at the Cannes Film Festival, on the red carpet in advance of a screening of the film Jimmy P (Psychology of a Plains Indian). Longoria doesn’t act in the film, but her wardrobe malfunction has given the title — which stars Benicio Del Toro and French actor Matieu Amalric — some unintentional publicity. Andreas Rentz/Getty ImagesLongoria seemed to have a good sense of humour about her wardrobe malfunction. And while some were unsure if Longoria wasn’t wearing underwear or if her undergarments of choice were flesh-toned, the actress was keen to avoid a repeat performance, tweeting a photo of her dress for Sunday night – a sheer black number with clearly visible underwear – with the note “No wardrobe malfunctions tonight!!!” Here's my dress for tonight! No wardrobe malfunctions tonight!!! say.ly/oyB5Reo— Eva Longoria (@EvaLongoria) May 19, 2013 Longoria had also exposed some skin earlier in the week at Cannes, and although her Friday outfit was less contentious than her stunt on Saturday, many were surprised to learn of Longoria’s tattoo – a small cross on her lower back – clearly visible through her cut-out dress at the premiere of Le Passe. Pascal Le Segretain/Getty ImagesNo skin off her back: Eva Longoria's Friday outfit at Cannes exposed a small back tattoo. The Cannes film festival, which began May 15, runs until Monday May 26. RelatedCannes film festival jewellery heist sees $1-million in baubles stolen from hotel roomTake it till you make it: Sofia Coppola on exploring the brand of celebrity in The Bling Ring at Cannes

Another week, another Griff Bag, another hijacking. Sound about right? Because there’s a new slice of read-submitted insanity up at the Toronto Star, and… much like last week… what else do you really want us to do here on a the first morning of the week? Try to come to grips with how awful the Jays have looked against the effing Yankees this season? Fuck that. Let’s just let Griff’s readers get under the ol’ skin and watch the magic happen (or not happen, as the case may be). As always, I have not read any of Griffin’s answers. If there’s a question you’d like me to answer, email it to askrich@thestar.ca and maybe he’ll select it for a future mail bag. Fingers crossed! Q. Hi Richard Stoeten, Been reading your column/blog for years, enjoyed it immensely. Question for the mailbag: Is the decline of Ricky Romero unprecedented? In the sense that within the span of two seasons he went from having a 15-win/2.92ERA season in 2011 and in 2013 he has struggled in Single-A Dunedin and after two starts in Buffalo he seems to be overmatched in AAA ball. How can someone so fundamentally lose the skills and talents that got them to the position to get a $30-million contract as a professional athlete. I know we’ve seen pitchers somewhat unexpectedly fall apart before but it’s mainly been relievers (Gagne, Axford, BJ Ryan, etc). From a 15-win season to being barely able to strike the kids in A-ball out is mind blowing. Thanks, Mike The Romero thing is undeniably weird, though not unprecedented. The old timers will remind you of Steve Blass, who had five better-than-decent seasons with the Pirates in the late 60s and early 70s, then suddenly, inexplicably  forgot how to throw strikes. Recently there have been valuable pitchers like Rick Ankiel, Dontrelle Willis, and Jonathan Sanchez– all of them, like Romero, left-handers, oddly enough– who lost the ability to throw strikes. Granted, that isn’t a huge group for Romero to have seemingly found himself in, but this king of thing does happen (and while Ricky’s ERA and win totals are impressive, those just aren’t good enough metrics to base saying he was better than any of that group on). Has it really happened to the Jays’ one-time ace, though? For me it’s still too early to tell. Yes, the early returns have been ugly, and I know a lot of fuckfaces out there want desperately for validation of their ignorant knee-jerk thoughts from various points along the way that Romero is finished, but it really is still only less than 20 innings across all levels in 2013. Plus a brutal Spring Training. Plus a full season as one of the worst pitchers in all of baseball. Plus an entire career of not being able to get lefties out, which has probably got to be the biggest concern of all, actually. I don’t think coincidentally, in Romero’s best season, 2010, he faced the lowest single-season percentage of left-handed batters of his career, and had his most success against lefties, though they still hit him to the tune of a .343 wOBA. Twenty-five per cent of the batters he faced that year were lefties, but by the time of his dreadful 2012, the rate had climbed to 32%. Couple that increase with the .390 wOBA left-handers posted against him– which actually isn’t terribly out of line with his career rate, as from 2009 to 2011 lefties put up a .363 wOBA– and you have all the makings of the disaster that we saw. So, for all the talk about mechanics or confidence, the fact is, regardless of whether he can throw strikes, with the book being out on him, it actually doesn’t sound entirely implausible, assuming that clubs other than the Rays employ managers competent enough to have noticed the splits, that his days as a useful big leaguer truly are over. But the mechanics, for whatever it’s worth, are new right now, Romero did pitch in 2012 with an elbow that required surgery, and he’s struggled with command problems once before, spending

Fuzion Chenin Chardonnay 2012 Mendoza, Argentina, ON $7.95 A very tasty white with baked fruit aromatics of orange and peach with some honeysuckle notes. The palate is rich with a good depth of flavour and good length. Great for drinking on its own or as an aperitif with pastry nibbles. Steve Thurlow, WineAlign.com This wine is highlighted in Steve Thurlow’s Top 50 Values Report last week on WineAlign.com

The 11th-annual HarbourKIDS festival delighted children with all sorts of circusy entertainment.Performers with the Zacada Circus perform at the HarbourKIDS Festival. On Saturday afternoon, inside a Harbourfront Centre dressing room, the Zero Gravity Circus was getting ready to take the main stage for its first performance of Victoria Day weekend. Jen Gregopoulos, owner and director of The Circus Academy, a school that trains kids in the art of circus performing, was brimming with excitement. The performers, most of them teenaged girls, were already feeling the jitters, but it was nothing they hadn’t been through before. “These kids all train at the circus academy, and we’ve put together a show called Alice. It’s an acrobatic show based on the story of Alice in Wonderland,” said Gregopoulos. “They’ve been training really hard for it.” All of Lewis Caroll’s characters were there, in makeup and costume: The White Queen, the Cheshire Cat, the Queen of Hearts, and the caterpillar. Cirque de Soliel’s Courtney Stevens was hosting the performance as the Mad Hatter. The performance was part of the HarbourKIDS festival, an annual kid-focused event that features circus performers, vaudevillians, and plenty of activities to keep the little ones entertained. It’s now in its 11th year. Zero Gravity Circus’ Alice included a lot of aerial work on ribbons, ropes, and trapeze, but no death-defying stunts, since the performers were novices. The Circus Academy provides training in more advanced techniques and tricks if any of its students choose to learn them. Some of them do. Another Zacada Circus performer. “We take them as young as two,” said Gregopoulos. “We’ve got full recreation programs. We do summer camp, March break camp, birthday parties, after-school programs, day-time programs. From that, kids audition to be part of the performing troupe.” Zacada Circus School, from Stoney Creek, Ontario, also had students performing at this year’s HarbourKIDS festival. They gamely took to the trapeze and the silks. Many quirky, kid-friendly characters were making the rounds of the festival grounds. Mullet the Dinosaur Adventurer took kids on a quest for dinosaur bones. “Clearly, I’m dressed as a paleontologist,” he said, with a gigantic Edmontosaurus bone in his hand. His face was painted white, with mossy green flakes glued around his hairline. There were red contact lenses in his eyes. Princess Penelope Pamplemousse wove through the crowds in a rainbow-coloured tutu and striped tights. She got her start in Berlin, but after finding no love over there, she came to Toronto in search of her Prince Charming. “He is so late!” she said. “I’ve kissed frogs, ya know? I’ve bitten apples. I’ve found seven short guys and gave them all hats. I know how to French kiss. I watch Beyoncé videos,” she said. A man with the stage name Rosco high-fived people with a giant, human-sized balloon gorilla that he’d strapped to his back. This was his fifth year, and each year he comes with a different animal. (He’d made the gorilla himself, out of 150 individual balloons.) Some of the kids in the audience were giving him a hard time, though, pinching and poking him when he wasn’t looking. The life of a circus performer, it seems, isn’t always fun and games.