Good morning, Etobicoke! I'm Bri, and fall has officially arrived. The equinox came and went this week, the lunchbox rotation has hit its first rut, and someone on your street has definitely already put out a skeleton. Let's get into this week's news.

In this week's newsletter:

🏭 Still Waiting: the auto plant deadline passes with no deal and no strike
🎃 Gourd Times: Pumpkinville opens Friday at Sherway
🔑 Rent Check: Ontario just shortened the clock on late rent
🚓 Under Investigation: a body found in a burning car at James Gardens

Plus: Ribfest by the lake, Nuit Blanche turns 20, and a 4:30 p.m. ballot deadline 🗳️

🏭 Deadline Passes, Casting Plant Still Waiting 🏭
Last week we flagged Sunday's contract deadline at the Etobicoke Casting Plant. It came and went with no deal and no strike. The reason: Ontario requires conciliation to finish before either side can legally strike or lock out, and Unifor and Stellantis are still in it. Unifor calls a strike a real possibility and says strike votes would come next. The plant's future remains unconfirmed. It's a stalemate, but not a silent one.

🎃 Sherway Gardens Goes Full Pumpkin Spice 🎃
Pumpkinville opens Friday in the Sherway Gardens parking lot, back for its seventh year with a reimagined layout. The draw is more than 1.5 million lights to wander through, then a fall fair with midway rides, carnival games and over 15,000 real pumpkins. Tickets are sold by date and time slot, and it runs until November 1. Yes, it's still September. The pumpkins do not care.

🔑 Late On Rent? The Clock Just Got Shorter 🔑
If you rent in Etobicoke, the rules changed Monday. A landlord's notice for unpaid rent (the N4) now gives you seven days to pay, down from 14. Paying more than seven days late three times in six months now officially counts as persistent late payment. And to raise repair issues at a hearing over unpaid rent, you must first pay half the arrears claimed. A notice still isn't an eviction.

🚓 Body Found In Burning Car At James Gardens 🚓
Toronto police are investigating after a body was found in a burning vehicle at James Gardens, off Edenbridge Drive near Royal York and Dundas, just before 1 a.m. Tuesday. The cause of death has not been determined, but the homicide unit has been notified. Police are also looking at whether it's connected to a similar fire in Scarborough about 90 minutes earlier. Anyone with information is asked to contact police.

📌 Quick Hits
Mail-in ballot requests for the October 26 election close today at 4:30 p.m. Voter cards start arriving September 28, and advance voting runs October 6 to 11. Nuit Blanche turns 20 on Saturday, October 3, and Humber Polytechnic's Lakeshore Campus is once again an official hub. A Thorncrest Village home at 66 Thorncrest Rd. is listed for $5,998,000, about two and a half times the $2,325,000 it sold for in 2015. Saltwater pool included, humility sold separately."

Finding a good contractor in Etobicoke shouldn’t feel like a gamble. Meet Scoop Approved ↓

Got a red bag on your doorstep? Fill it by Saturday. Daily Bread Food Bank, headquartered right here on New Toronto St., is running its Purolator Red Bag Campaign ahead of Thanksgiving. Volunteers dropped bags across the city last weekend and will collect them Saturday morning, September 26. If one landed at your place, fill it with food donations and have it ready.

Want to help collect? Daily Bread still needs volunteers Saturday morning in South Etobicoke and The Kingsway. Expect lots of walking and lifting up to 10 lbs. Kids 11+ are welcome with a signed waiver, and 11 to 14 year olds need an adult with them. Sign up here and pick your neighbourhood. It's a very good way to earn your turkey. 🦃

🎯 3 Truths and 1 Lie: Etobicoke Edition

A) The name "Etobicoke" comes from an Ojibwe word for a place where alder trees grow 🌳
B) The BAPS Mandir in north Etobicoke is built from more than 24,000 hand-carved pieces of stone and marble 🛕
C) Centennial Park got its name because it opened for Toronto's 100th birthday 🎂
D) The first Toronto stretch of Highway 401, built in 1951, started at the Humber River 🚗

———

Answer: C is the lie! Centennial Park opened in 1967 for Canada's 100th birthday. Toronto turned 100 back in 1934. The mandir has 24,151 pieces and no central steel frame, and the 401's first Toronto section ran from the Humber to Avenue Rd.

Like being in the know? Share the love! Forward this newsletter to friends and neighbors who’d enjoy staying up-to-date on all things Etobicoke. 📬

Thanks for reading! See you next week for more of what’s happening in Etobicoke.

-Bri