The South Bayview Bulldog

Attractive green pine and spruce boughs with decorative cones and red wood have arrived on Bayview Ave. to start the Christmas shopping period. It is the work of the new Business Improvement Area which is looking forward to its first such season on Bayview. Very nice.

William and Kate have released two pictures taken by the Duchess of their daughter Princess Charlotte on Sunday. Charlotte was born May 2 and will turn seven months Tuesday. The photos by the 33-year-old Duchess of Cambridge were taken at home at Anmer Hall, Norfolk, in November. Charlotte looks too wonderful for words in a floral dress and pink cardigan with a pensive pose in the first shot and a good laugh in the second.

Telephone criminals continue to extract millions of dollars from gullible people by telling them they owe the government money. This scam is alive in both Canada and the United States and may originate in phone room operations in India, says the U.S. treasury department. The signs were seen in South Bayview as early as August when calls hit homes in Leaside, Moore Park and Rosedale. Some of the calls employed recorded messages demanding a callback, apparently an attempt to filter easier targets. Toronto Police are warning that the onslaught continues with fraudsters getting people to hand over more than $800,000 this year by threatening that they will be arrested and jailed immediately if they do not pay within hours of getting the call.

ONE MAN LOST $500,000

In the U.S. bogus collectors posing as agents of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) have extracted more than $15 million from more than 3,000 people. One U.S. man lost $500,000. It staggers the imagination how someone might amass such money and be naive enough to let it go in such a way. Victims are told they owe either the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) or the IRS large sums of money and that an arrest warrant exists for  their immediate detention. They are told to go to the nearest Post Office and, and incredibly say Toronto police, told  to send the money to a Connecticut address using MoneyGram

YOUR DAY WILL COME

One IRS investigator said he had received a call from the fraud gang himself.  He said he told them “Your day will come.” Maybe, but the persistence of this criminal activity is almost as alarming as the crime itself. It is worrisome that people can build untraceable systems and continue to steal without getting caught. Most big businesses — banks and money transfer firms — are on the alert for customers who may be about to fall for this racket.  Some people have been stopped by tellers who may hint kindly about why a withdrawal is taking place. So far, says the IRS, only two people have been arrested in Florida and are accused of somehow assisting in the racket.

Leaside Junior Wildcats saw Whitby Wolves Samantha Isbell score the winning goal on a powerplay in overtime Saturday night at Leaside Arena. Isbell scored the first Whitby goal as well at 12 minutes of the third. Both Whitby markers were scored while the Wildcats were shorthanded. The home team might have won the game on speed and guts alone but they were unable to capitalize on any of the five powerplay opportunities they had. Whitby netminder Rachel McQuigge stopped all but one of some 26 shots. That goal was scored by Maria Hinds with help from Siobhan Birch and Caitlin Heale at 16.34 of the third. McQuigge committed frequent sheer robbery on Leaside including her save on Megan Pardy’s memorable breakaway in the third. The loss drops the Wildcats to eighth in the 20 team PWHL with ten wins, well behind in games played however by six of the seven teams ahead of them. Danielle Toland stopped 25 of 27 shots in net for Leaside.  Boxscore

Toronto Fire Service fought and extinguished a two-alarm fire in a dwelling at the rear of the Giffen-Mack Funeral home at 2570 Danforth Ave. near Main St. Thursday. The midmorning fire call required fire fighters to chop their way into the fire scene and find the source of fire behind a wall, it was reported. Damage was estimated at $200,000 but the business was saved.

Paris will be the scene beginning Monday of COP21. It is a greatly anticipated gathering of world leaders who want to do something about climate change, as it is understood by scientists. COP we are told stands for Conference of the Parties, that is, those who care.  The 21 is the Century of course.  In all of this, however, some Europeans leaders may wish that the COP in question was a different sort of policeman. Maybe one designed to deal first with terrorism. Francoise Hollande said that mankind has as much duty to fight climate change as it does terrorism. So saying he gave one the same ranking as the other.  The buoyancy of COP21 is attributable in part to the presence of Justin Trudeau, who has given some the belief that climate change is more important to him than anything.  Today Quebec Premier Coullaird made a stem-winder of a speech against terrorism The CBC seems to think he has other things on his mind than the environment.

Maurice Cody School Winter Fair is open this morning (10 a.m.) at the corner of Belsize Ave. and Cleveland St. It runs until 3 p.m and parent organizers promise wonderful attractions for parents and kids. They ask you to enter by the Cleveland Daycare Centre. Coat Check is up the stairs and Passport Pickup is at the bottom of the stairs. Please see map of the fair for all the things to see. Maurice Cody Winter Fair 2015 Map below. Parents site

The newly-rebuilt Hodgson Public School outdoor rink at 276 Davisville Ave. is now open. Some 50 rinks across the City opened yesterday. Another is Rosedale Park Rink on Scholfield Ave., the scene of many great events including Mayfair. Outdoor rinks