Southern Japan on high alert after two quakes in 24 hours

A desperate search for survivors is underway in Southern Japan even as authorities and residents brace themselves for the possibility of a third quake. Rescue crews scramble through rubble Saturday in a race against time following the magnitude-7.0 earthquake that struck Japan’s Kyushu Island, the same region rattled by a 6.2 quake two days earlier. A total of 25 people have died in both earthquakes, according to current estimates. The death toll in the latest Kyushu earthquake is 16 people, according to Kumamoto Prefecture’s disaster management office.

Service at Humphrey’s for Kathy Gooch Saturday at 11 a.m.

kathy gooch

Kathy Gooch

Funeral services for Kathryn (Kathy) M.Gooch will be held Saturday at 11 a.m. at the Humphrey Funeral Home chapel at 1403 Bayview Ave.  Ms. Gooch died suddenly at home on Thursday, April 7, 2016 at the age 61. Kathy Gooch was predeceased by her parents, Reverend Canon Francis Gooch and Bernice Gooch, Kathy leaves behind to cherish her memory her brother David Nelson Gooch, his wife Cathy and nieces Megan (Jon) and Erin (Mark) of Winnipeg and her brother Peter Francis Gooch of Toronto as well as numerous aunts, uncles and cousins. She will be sadly missed by many friends and work colleagues, especially her closest friend Margot Doey-Vick. Full obituary is here.

Door to door firm faces 142 charges under Ontario law

A company called the Ontario Energy Group and its director Eugene Farber have been charged with 142 counts of violating the Consumer Protection Act in the wake of hundreds of customer complaints against the door-to-door sales firm. The government says complaints have been appearing since 2009. The company sells air conditioners and furnaces. The charges were laid Friday and include using false, misleading or deceptive practices, failure to deliver a valid contract and failure to issue a refund. CBC

Sorry officer, we were busy kissing and stuff you know

A couple in Montana was so busy making out they missed three armed robbers holding up a bar early Monday morning, surveillance video appears to show. Billings police are looking for three suspects who hit the Tap Inn at gunpoint and the cops probably didn’t get much of a description from the two lovebirds. Very funny. Except for the robbery.

Record number of homes sold in Canada during March

The Canadian Real Estate Association reports a slowdown in Vancouver and Toronto markets even as agents sold a record number of homes overall.  CREA says about 60 per cent of all local markets showed an increase in transactions, including Edmonton, Calgary, Montreal and Victoria. The national average price for homes sold through its members was $508,567, up 15.7 per cent from a year earlier. Excluding the Vancouver area and Toronto area, which have Canada’s most expensive real estate, the national average would be $366,950 — up 10.4 per cent from March 2015.

Doctor called nurses, patients “stupid” and “useless”

A top doctor at Brockville General Hospital has been suspended by the College of Physicians and Surgeons for four months because of rude and abusive behaviour toward women.  The targets of Dr. Jayant Bhatt’s choice epithets like “stupid” and “useless” were his patients, nurses and other female staff. But the language was even worse than that from time to time. Dr.Bhatt apparently missed all those portrayals of sweet and kind physicians ranging from Young Doctor Kildare to Marcus Welby.  He had been known to dismiss nurses questions with “shut the f— up.” An investigation launched by the College revealed some patients refused to be treated by him. The information has come to light from the College’s discipline committee decision which found that Bhatt’s behaviour amounted to professional misconduct. It took away his licence to practise medicine until the end of July. “The details of your comments and arrogant behaviour can only be described as egregious and completely unacceptable,” the committee said in addressing Bhatt, a specialist in internal medicine. “The committee was particularly concerned that the behaviour was directed almost exclusively at women colleagues, patients and co-workers.” The future will see what Dr.Bhatt can manage in this regard. He has a long history of such conduct and one nurse who had the courage to tell him off said he changed his manner for a short time but then returned to his obnoxious ways. This matter was brought to the College’s attention by Brockville General Hospital.

Andre Marin remains in Ombudsman’s lovely spotlight

marin feat

Andre Marin

André Marin isn’t going quietly. The former Ontario Ombudsman is suing the Ontario Legislature and his former office for wrongful dismissal because he wasn’t granted a third five-year term. It is an unseemly grievance from this man-of-the-people Ombudsman. He had a knack of dramatizing his triumphs in defense of ordinary folk. A kind of civil service superman. Now however he claims he was misled and humiliated by Premier Wynne’s office. His document, filed with the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in March, states he “suffered personally, professionally, financially and emotionally as a result of relying on misleading representations and assertions as well as the oppressive and high-handed actions” of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario and the Office of the Ombudsman of Ontario.