South Bayview Bulldog Admin

Mr. Levitt gets “attractive offer” on a new Ferrari

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Toronto lawyer Howard A. Levitt (inset) is a man who knows an exciting car and a good deal. After his $192,000 silver-gray beauty was submerged in the Simcoe Street underpass, the local dealership offered him what has been called “a very attractive offer” on  a new one. Same colour and everything. It was one of the most tweeted pictures to come out of the great July downpour — that’s the one that stranded a GO train. Mr. Levitt had to abandon his car because he was scheduled to appear in court in Ottawa. Wisely, he chose to catch his flight rather than try to get his car out of the soup. Previous post 

Timeless flashback asks how to pick the real Constable Hall?

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It was August 2013 and a genial policeman was helping people through the bomb-damage mess of sidewalk reconstruction on South Bayview. The Bulldog wrote this: 
The west side of Bayview Ave is still a mess with sidewalk repairs but hapless pedestrians can at least take a moment to talk with Constable John Hall (left) who is safely getting people on their way. There would be no trouble picking the real PC Hall if he were in a lineup with Hulk Hogan. But, the Toronto copper does have one of the better Hogan style mustaches we’ve seen. Of course, PC Hall has to keep his face hair more conservative than the flamboyant wrestler showman. Say hello to the affable PC John and tell him you admire his HH mustache.

Toronto ranks fourth among 140 in livable cities

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Count them down — Melbourne, Vienna, Vancouver, Toronto and Calgary. They are the top five cities judged most livable in the whole darn world.  It is a judgement call to re-define all judgment calls but at the end, one would have to say that the Economist (magazine) Intelligence Unit has picked some nice places. Note how few are in Europe. And how many are in Canada. And that none is in the U.S. The annual survey of 140 cities uses more than 30 factors to determine a city’s livability with a score out of 100. Vancouver scored 97.3 with high scores in areas such as health care, education ,culture and environment. Cities are also scored on political and social stability, crime rates and the standard of infrastructure, including public transport.   Vancouver held the No. 1 spot for nearly a decade but lost marks this time for crime rates, availability of quality housing and congested road networks. Anyway, there’s Toronto at number four all sweaty about “gridlock” and “what-the-hell-has-the-mayor-done-now?” Still a good place to live, especially a little patch just west of the Don River called by carefree scribblers South Bayview. 

Premier Kath last smoked pot in about 1978

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The Premier says she smoked pot 35 years ago. That was the last time she did that, the 60-year-old leader of the Ontario Liberal Party said today (Wednesday, August 28). Unlike her federal counterperson, Justin Trudeau, the Don Valley West (Leaside and East York) MPP said only  that the country needs a “good debate” about the legal status of the weed. So, no toke shops yet on Millwood Road it seems. 

The Sentry to close on Bayview this week

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The Sentry, a fixture at 1633 South Baview for 17 years, will close this week. The owner says sadly that he will retire from retailing on the street.  The Sentry sold models toys and catered to crafts and hobbyists. 

Cyclist struck on misty Kennedy Rd. north of Eg

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A man on a bicycle was struck and injured by a car on Kennedy Rd. north of Eglinton Ave. E. this misty morning. The accident happened, according to police, when the man was crossing from east to west at Kingsdown Drive/Stratton Avenue about 5:50 a.m. A driver was southbound in the poor visibility when the collision occurred. Reports from the scene say the cyclist is apparently in stable condition in Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre.

Car renewal fees jump from $82 to $108 by 2015

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Car licenses and drivers fees are increasing beginning September 1. And they will continue to go up over a two-year period. On Sunday, the present car registration will jump from $82 to $90 and then again in 2015 up to $108. The cost of renewing a drivers license will jump from $75 to $80. The increases are stiff and there is much grumbling but then we spend a lot in Ontario. These recommendations come from the so-called select report of Don Drummond, the retired economist hired by Dalton McGuinty to scare Ontarians and soften them up for fiscal restraint. The first thing Drummond recommended — and government instantly rejected — was the repeal of all-day kindergarten.  Billions spent, billions in taxes. It’s all related. 

Fired 80-year-old employees get $1.16 million

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Employee relations expert Sheryl Smolkin tells of an award to a couple in their 80s who were fired from their Hamilton-area welding firm by the new owner, even though they had an agreement to continue to work there. Both were active and in good health,. The court awarded the couple $1.16 million in severance awards.  Sheryl Smolkin

Rain floods Simcoe Street, strands taxi and riders

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The heavy rain Tuesday night caught a Beck Taxi driver and his passengers off guard when the vehicle conked out in the deep water on Lower Simcoe Street. Firefighters arrived and (upper left) woman passenger wraps arm around welcome rescuer. Water was said to be as much as a metre deep at one point. Upper right, the slosh to dry sidewalk through quite foul-smelling sewer water. Lower left, an interview with CP24. Lower right, now Beck Taxi has to get its water-logged jitney back to Thorncliffe Park. At one point water filled the taxi up to the passengers knees as they sat in the back seat. This is the second time this summer the underpass has flooded.  

79 Thorncliffe cited as “most complained about”

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The apartment building at 79 Thorncliffe Park Drive is the most complained about apartment in the city, according to the Toronto Star.  The reported 59 official complaints cite such things at cockroaches, mice and water leaks, it is said.  In fairness to the landlord, it should be noted that 79 Thonrclife is the address of two large high-rise buildings, not one.  Toronto Star

Rank and file cops in Ontario to get tasers

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Today’s decision by the Ontario government to allow rank and file police to use tasers takes law enforcement into an unknown land. It isn’t necessarily a bad place. But some will wonder if the simple human nature of ordinary cops can adapt to a weapon that disables but doesn’t kill. The old  cartoon about the student being tasered because he didn’t show his university ID comes to mind.  In other words, police practice at the most routine level will have to be watched very carefully.  The Minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services Madeleine Meilleur says her department will stay on top of how the weapons are used.  Here’s why the ministry should figuratively walk the beat with ordinary cops. The threat to use the taser can be abused.  Misuse can occur even when no one is actually whacked with a 500-volt stinger. It also remains true that no police officer will risk going up against a gun with a  taser. In such cases, there is a high probability that someone will be shot. The announcement has raised a day-long complaint from the family of Aron Firman. The 27-year-old young man who died from a taser bolt in an encounter with OPP. Mr. Firman  was mentally disturbed. Circumstances of the case seem incomplete. The family’s lawyer, Julian Falconer, says this a “band aid” application in response to the death of Sammy Yatim. And it may be. But neither Mr Falconer nor the government has a fix for “adrenalin judgement”. Training will not halt the chemical jolt that is rooted in the survival instinct.  It is good to remember that deaths frequently occur not because men and women are cops, but because they are human. Start there to find a solution.

Maple bacon jam was source of cronut poison

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The cause of the bacterial toxin that sickened at least 223 people at the CNE last week was the maple bacon jam on the cronut burger. As a result, the jam has been removed from sale and further efforts are under way to find out how it became poisonous. And although the Epic Burger concession at the CNE has now re-opened, it will no longer sell the Cronut Burger. Presumably the name has been ruined for public use now and forever.  The cronut, by the way,  is a hybrid creation crossing a croissant and doughnut. Rather like crossing a cucumber with a zucchini. Ugh.