The South Bayview Bulldog

How many? It may be judged a trick question because there’s no way of knowing whether seven cruisers were needed or two might have done the job. It depends on positioning. As these things go, this chase in Virginia was more harrowing than most. Good thing that guy didn’t hurt anyone in his dangerous attempt to get away.

It has been an unseasonably chilly Good Friday and wet as well all across South Bayview. Many residents will have spent time with family or perhaps making a visit to church on this holiest day in the Christian calendar. On South Bayview most shops were closed, indeed they were forbidden from opening under Toronto’s odd and inequitable arrangement of holiday business hours. See our earlier post on grocery stores. But the Starbucks at Bayview Ave. and Belsize Dr. experienced what one employee called “maybe the busiest day I’ve ever seen.” Well, going to Starbucks is part of life too. The William Lea Room at Leaside arena saw a busy Good Friday evening as a very large congregation of Toronto Jehovah Witnesses held a service to mark the day on which Christ died. These congenial and courteous people were eager to have anyone in the area attend their event and offered invitations to all within ear shot. Elsewhere in Toronto, the annual St. Francis of Assisi Parade was held. This classic parade of Roman Catholic origins and culture portrays the passion of Christ and proceeds through Little Italy. Mayor Tory walked in it and is seen with other participants and officials.

Later post above with final score.

The Delphi Automotive driverless car has successfully completed a cross-country drive from San Francisco to New York with very little help from the humans aboard. It apparently needed a hand on certain roads without proper marking and on some highway ramps. Nonetheless, it is being hailed as a success. The CBC report embedded here contains interesting information about the computer’s tendency to do some of the defensive things done by drivers. Engineers made hundreds of notes throughout the drive, as the autonomous car covered 3,400 miles through 15 states en route to a showcase near the New York Auto Show. Overall, company officials said the car performed better than anticipated in a variety of road and weather conditions.

Rescue video of a bearded sailor plucked from his drifting boat is like seeing a man brought back from the grave. This gripping video of Louis Jordan was shot by the U.S. Coast Guard after Jordan was found by a German freighter. Jordan who was reported missing on January 29 told family members he survived by catching fish with his hands and drinking rain water. He was spotted drifting on his stricken sailboat – a 35-foot vessel called Angel – more than 300 km off the coast of North Carolina by the German-registered Houston Express tanker and taken aboard. Frank Jordan, the sailor’s father, told CNN he did not know what had caused his son’s boat to break down. The senior Jordan expressed his thanks to the freighter’s captain by saying: “I do appreciate it sir.” He captain replied: “It is a pleasure for us.”

Martha McCabe

Bennington Heights Martha McCabe has won the 200-metre breaststroke in the qualifying events  for the Toronto Pan Am Games which kick off Wednesday June 10 in Toronto. Martha was in the water at the new Pan Am Sports Centre at 857 Morningside Ave. in Scarborough on Wednesday, April 1. Trials run through to Saturday, April 4, 2015. It a qualifying event for both the Pan American Games in Toronto and the FINA World Championships in Kazan, Russia this summer. Martha won the bronze medal for the 200-metre in 2011 the World Championships in Shanghai. The well-known local girl was Leaside’s first Athlete of the Year in 2013. Martha’s life, apart from university in Vancouver, has been here at home near her birthplace. Now she is in Toronto after graduating from the University of British Columbia with a degree in Human Kinetics. Morning heats begin at 10 a.m. each day at the new facility, with evening finals beginning at 6 p.m. Saturday’s finals will be followed by the live announcement of the national team for the Toronto 2015 Pan Am Games and FINA World Championships. Admission to the event is $5 for heats and $15 for finals with children 12 and under free and various packages available. Live webcast is available at: www.swimming.ca/2015TeamCanadaTrials