A 55-year-old motorcyclist died Sunday, September 6, 2015, at 10:33 a.m. when he lost control of his Harley Davidson bike on Lake Shore Boulevard in the 1100 block of that street. The vehicle hit the centre median as it slid out of control. He suffered critical injuries from he later died. The investigation is said to be continuing by the Traffic Services Branch.

A pleasant bit of whimsy from London where an old building has been renovated and installed with “bicycle lanes.” Well, whatever they’re called the key consideration was that the builder had extra space. Space might be an issue for anyone else thinking about a job where he can cycle between the cafeteria and the washrooms.

It’s been a long and joyous musical road from the The Happy Gang in the  1940s to the 28-year reign of Rockin’ Ray Michaels. But now one of Canada’s oldest radio stations will drop music and go all-sports. Spectator

Local cab company Beck Taxi has issued a news release Tuesday (September 8, 2015) calling for more affordable taxi fares. The Thorncliffe Park based company says there should be a decrease in both the so-called meter drop (the second you sit in the cab) and the in-transit fares. At present the meter drop is $4.25 with in-transit rates at 25 cents for each 0.143 kilometres. Beck says: “Taxi fares are regulated and set by the City of Toronto. To help encourage City Hall to make fares more affordable, Beck has launched an online petition for Torontonians to sign and demonstrate to councillors that riders support more reasonable and affordable fares. The petition can be viewed and signed by visiting http://get.yourbeck.ca/fares/

Long interview with Peter Mansbridge reveals this commitment not to try to hang onto power if party comes second.  CBC

Tuesday  morning will see the return of both elementary and high school kids to class. There are uncertain conditions at both levels as the elementary teachers have yet to reach an agreement with the province,  and high school teachers have yet to approve an agreement which was reached by their union, the OSSTF, in August. Altogether some 817,000 children are scheduled to begin classes in Ontario. The most fractious-sounding voice in this uncertain hour is that of the head of the Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario Sam Hammond. Talks between the ETFO and the province are set to continue Tuesday as the kids enter school but Hammond’s rhetoric has parents tense. The union could walk out at any time after giving five days notice. Neither side wants to give in. The province is trying to achieve “net zero” increases as it struggles with an enormous provincial debt now pushing $300 billion.

Police have named the man wanted for the 12.30 a.m. stabbing death of Russell Sahadeo two days ago in Noble Park in North York. He is Ton Quoc Hoang Ngo, of Toronto, also known as Tommy Ngo. The incident occurred as Mr. Sahadeo walked in the summer darkness with men friends and a girlfriend. An incident occurred which ended in knife-play. Sahadeo was injured and died soon after in hospital. Hoang Ngo is described as Asian, standing five-feet-seven inches tall, with a slim build. He has short black hair cropped in a brush-cut, possibly with spikes on the top.Police warn that the suspect should not be approached. Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to contact police at 647-801-6813, or Crime Stoppers at 416-222-8477 (TIPS).

Here we get a glimpse into police activity as this 53 Division “ghost car” stops, handcuffs and and searches a man on Yonge St. at Birch Ave before letting him go. Curious, except it seems almost entirely a case of mistaken identity, and equally a misapprehension that this man was quite dangerous. A search of his knapsack and, as reported by our sister blog Yonge and Roxborough News, much talk on two cellphones. Then the man is released (with an apology we hope) and sent on his way.

A teenager packed a  clock designed to look like a bomb into his luggage in Toronto this week and is now charged with mischief after he tried to get on a plane with it.  The product is marketed by a U.S. company Nootropic Design and is called the ‘Defusable Clock.’ The “clock” is designed to start a frightening tick tick countdown just like a real bomb. The charge against the young man is mischief. The clock carries a warning, which many will call entirely disingenuous.  ‘Don’t bring this to school or to work, and certainly don’t bring it anywhere near an airport! ‘Seriously, don’t get yourself into trouble.’  Sure, that will stop every immature or nutty kid right in his tracks. Not

A three-hour blackout in Leaside as far east at Laird Drive and across large parts of Davisville Village put a damper on Sunday night activity beginning shortly after 6 p.m.  South Bayview business was in darkness. McSorley’s Wonderful Saloon closed early. But by 9 p.m  hydro crews had restored power after performing a series of checks and re-checks to find alternate routing. It was a process of elimination according to the hydro men at the corner of Manor Rd. and Bayview. They say they still don’t know exactly where the problem lay. The fix was not without problems. There was a repeat 15-minute blackout along Bayview at 10.20 p.m. The blackout hit sometime after 6 p.m. and caused stomach-churning traffic conditions at corners like Bayview and Manor Road “Drivers (expletive deleted) just blundered through intersections.” said a woman trying to get down to Bayview and Millwood Rd.

PEOPLE SURGE BACK

When power did resume it caused a resurgence of activity along the street with Hollywood Gelato filled in moments. The feeder failure is only part of how the outage spread and was then fixed. In Moore Park, there were tell-tale mini blackouts during the hour before the outage. This indicated the feeder (or wires) were under pressure of breaking from something, perhaps a tree branch. When power finally did fail in the south end, the Hydro switching office was able to route power to some areas sooner than others merely because of their location.  Video: The South Bayview Bulldog at Manor Rd. and Bayview Ave. about 9.15 p.m.