Is the TTC out of control? Is it doing what City Council tells it to do? This complaint is not unknown and this time Josh Matlow (Ward 22) insists that the transit authority seems to be ignoring Council’s direction on how to lay-off liability for possible overruns on the Scarborough subway. TTC Chair Josh Colle has an elaborate denial. It is a tangled tale which Tess Kalinowski of the Toronto Star  seems well able to tell. But it is tangled.

SportsNet

The long-awaited attempt to fly around the world in a solar-powered plane has gotten under way from Abu Dhabi Monday morning. Takeoff came around 7 a.m., well before midnight Toronto time. The aircraft is called the Solar Impulse-2. It took off on a trip that may take five months and will see the plane cross the U.S. to land in many places including New York. The pilot at takeoff was Andre Borschberg. He will share the duties with a fellow Swiss, Bertrand Piccard. The plan will stop at various locations around the globe, for rest, to carry out maintenance and to spread a campaigning message about clean technologies. Before taking off, Borschberg told BBC News: “I am confident we have a very special aeroplane, and it will have to be to get us across the big oceans.

Divisional court has slashed the amount of legal costs four Southwestern Ontario families will have to pay to three wind-turbine companies building huge windmills near their homes as part of Ontario’s alternative energy program. The turbine firms had demanded #$340,000 from the local homeowners near Goderich because they lost their action  to have the construction of wind farms stopped on health and environmental grounds. The court said that $67,000 was the proper amount. The court noted that the families fight against the wind turbines was more than a personal crusade. Globe and Mail 

Loblaw Companies released statement today (Monday, March 9, 2015) that it has plans to build as many as 50 new stores in Canada this year, part of a $1.2 billion investment that will create 20,000 jobs.  The investment includes construction projects for new and existing stores, e-commerce expansion, and continued investment in supply chain and IT. “True to our strategy, our investment will create better access to fresh food, wellness solutions closer to home, e-commerce convenience, and a family of stores that elevate grocery, pharmacy, apparel and banking experiences,” Loblaw president Galen G. Weston said in a release. The release does not specify which  markets are likely to be targeted by Loblaws but The South Bayview Bulldog has long speculated that sooner or later Loblaws will want to bring its hidden store on Redway Road back out onto the street where it will attract more traffic.

This video from The Telegraph newspaper in London presents data from the University of Chicago. We’re not sure it’s not an ad for Match.com which gets mentioned but it purports to be a scholarly accounting. It is fun to watch though just the same.

Kathy McLachlan tweeted a charming picture which she took today on one of her regular walks around South Bayview. She observes correctly that there was a pretty light in Mt. Pleasant Cemetery. The winter sun and deep snow seems to work together on that. You can see the whole picture by clicking on the re-tweet of Ms McLachlan’s tweet in the column at the left. Other people commented on Twitter (Leaside) on what a pleasant day it was for a walk.

In Baltmore, weather forecaster Candice Dold was left hanging when she threw to the station weather character, Traffic Jam Jimmy. Jimmy was not ready to say anything except “Can I get a fish sandwich?” at the McDonald’s window. Jimmy explained that he had been on the road for hours and was famished.

Fiona Boylan’s COBs Bread was more than neighborly with this seasonal treat

COBs Bread was sharing Hot Cross Buns with friends and neighbors over the weekend. Here are some of the happy recipients.