The South Bayview Bulldog

The Liberal government will repeal Section 43 of the Criminal Code which now protects parents and teachers who use spanking and other ‘reasonable’ force against children. The decision appears to make it essentially impossible to legally employ even the mildest form of force as a punishment without a qualifier in the new legislation. The Supreme Court of Canada upheld the ‘spanking law’ in 2004, ruling that physical force could be used by parents and schoolteachers on children between the ages of 2 and 12 years old. It said teachers could only physically remove a child from a classroom or “secure compliance with instructions” but could not use force as a form of corporal punishment. The high court said Section 43 could only be used as a defence for “minor corrective force of a transitory and trifling nature”. This rare consideration may or may not be referenced an any new law.

The children’s clothing store Never Grow Up at 1725 Bayview is moving. Sources at the shop say details aren’t fully worked out but will be posted on the store site 

Some are calling this picture trashy but that might be harsh. Rebecca Dunbar says she had it taken as a joke and posted it to Facebook. There’s been lots of comment with 75 percent of the reaction negative. It is a subject of sufficient interest that it overrides the idea that what people do on their Facebook pages might be their own business. The First World has chosen to be offended. On the other hand, it takes a fairly self-involved nursing mom to want to share this with the world. What do you think? CBC

It is the weed of choice as a poll by Forum Research indicates that 39 percent of Ontarians  between the age of 18 and 34 say they will buy and use marijuana in the coming year if it is legalized.  Over all, the poll found that 22 per cent of respondents would use the drug in the next year. That is compared to 17 per cent who said they had consumed marijuana in the last year presumably illegally.

A story on the sentencing of Miguel Oliveira in the cycling death of a much-loved school teacher Tom Samson in November of 2012 contained a suggestion that Mr. Samson “scooted” through a red light. Mr. Samson was riding his bicycle on Lansdowne Ave when he was struck by cars crossing Lansdowne on what was apparently a green light. A complaint to the South Bayview Bulldog took issue with the suggestion that Mr. Samson tried to “scoot” across Davenport while the light was red. Albert Koehl pointed to an agreed statement of facts at the sentencing of Miguel Oliveira on his conviction for leaving the scene. The Crown conceded that Mr.Samson was “at zero or very slow velocity, within the westbound centre lane ” at the time of the accident. Mr Koehl adds that this would be consistent “with the rider making a proper left hand turn.” His complaint does not deal with the state of the traffic signals at the time of the accident. The other driver was Manuel Martin. He was not charged. It was his testimony that the cars were travelling through a green light in opposite directions on Davenport. Rd.  The issue of responsibility for the accident was never the subject of any charge only Mr. Oliveira’s decision to flee the scene. The South Bayview Bulldog apologizes for any incorrect suggestion of how Mr. Samson entered or was in the intersection. The story as first published made the point that there is frequently a rush to judgement. in the case of bicycle fatalities.

Leander Andy Elder posted an interesting tip on his Facebook page today noting that his friends Jeff and Diana recently purchased a four-bedroom condo in Barcelona. They are making it available to rent. Andy suggests a visit to the website for more details. His readers (and friends) like Peter Neal and Kimberley Fearon Zincone have already shown interest. Andy is the owner of the Grilltime meat shop at 62 Laird Drive.

The McMullen family is a South Bayview legend as founders and keepers of Summerhill Market. The dizzying success of the super high-quality grocery store and its satellite store on Mt. Pleasant Rd. near Sheldrake Blvd. attracts customers from distant parts of Toronto. North Toronto homemakers of particular taste deprived of Pusateri’s by last summer’s fire make the trip south. Then they wait for the Summerhill grocery cop to wave them into the snug parking lot beside the CP tracks. A footnote to the Summerhill saga is the closing of the nearby ice cream store known as Scoops. It was managed by Brad McMullen, currently manager of the main store. Ice cream in the cone is a seriously seasonal business. This alert comes in Friday’s arrival of the 12.36 e-mailer authored by Marc Weisblott and owned by St. Joseph Media, publishers of Toronto Life. The new year will see all grocery stores in South Bayview sizing up the new Whole Foods store soon to launch at 1860 Bayview (corner of Broadway). Will such effete “foods” as coconut water be able to knock out Summerhill Markets unreconstructed butcher shop favorites like marinated lamb rack? Or the deli with every processed meat including Veal Bolonga known to Italy and Germany combined? We think not.

Five Canadians were among more than 30 people mowed down by a woman driver who apparently purposely sped along crowded sidewalks on the Las Vegas strip Sunday. One person is dead. Two of the Canadians are still in hospital. Both are reported to have sustained critical injuries. The driver, Lakeisha Holloway, is in custody after she appeared to deliberately aim at people with her car.

A TTC bus driver has complained that a woman threatened him and spit on him for no reason. It happened Friday, October 30, 2015, at approximately 5:40 p.m. on a bus near Bathurst Street and Finch Avenue West . She is  described as white, Russian, 50, with light-brown collar-length hair. She was wearing a dark winter coat, sunglasses, purple leggings and brown boots.