The South Bayview Bulldog

Plan your Saturday shopping carefully. Metrolinx has warned that Bayview Ave will be closed between Soudan Ave and Eglinton Ave all day Saturday and into Sunday to let crews remove a tower crane used for the construction of the Leaside Station Main Entrance. The road closure will be implemented on Saturday August 7, 2021 at approximately 4 a.m. and will remain in place through to the morning of Sunday August 8, 2021. The closure has implications for the business district to the south has drivers try to find their way.

Buses running but diverted, police on duty

During this work, no through traffic will be permitted on Bayview between Soudan and Eglinton. Bayview will remain open north of Soudan Avenue for local traffic only. Traffic control personnel and police will be present, while this work takes place. Significant traffic, pedestrian, and TTC changes will be in effect. See further details on pedestrian traffic and buses at the release

Congestion likely on Mt. Pleasant, side streets

The knock-on effect of closing Bayview is very likely to be congestion on Mt. Pleasant and on side streets such as Hanna Ave, Banff Rd and many others.

NDP leader Andrea Horwath has reversed herself on the need for Ontario school teachers to get vaccinated. She took a lot of heat from her own members (see below) for saying teachers could refuse as a matter of their human rights. Of course, there’s that other little rights matter called kids getting sick and dying. It’s clouded in the murk of history but some recall 1950s kids getting jabbed for the deadly and crippling curse of polio without mom and dad even being asked. Meanwhile, the Ontario government has all but said teachers must be vaccinated but not quite. Oddly, teachers’ unions are in a tizzy about it. Calm down. Kids unvaccinated for childhood diseases must leave class. Teachers have the same right to leave. It’s called unemployment.

An Ontario athlete, Damian Warner, has won gold and set an Olympic record in the decathlon at the Tokyo Olympics. Warner ended the 10-discipline event with a fifth-place finish in the 1,500 metres and became the first Canadian to win gold in the decathlon. Warner, 31, is from London, Ontario. He shattered the Olympic record with 9,018 points. The previous Olympic record was 8,893 points, shared between Ashton Eaton of the United States (2016) and Roman Sebrle of the Czech Republic (2004).

Bill Gates has told CNN that his now finalized divorce from his former wife Melinda is a great source of personal sadness. He also said his meetings with sex offender Jeffery Epstein were a big mistake. CNN

Penny Oleksiak

Local swimming hero Penny Oleksiak is ruminating on her Twitter account about high school days and the teacher who insisted that Penny’s pursuit of competitive swimming was a waste of time. No doubt, except for the girl destined to become Canada’s most decorated Olympian. Penny’s Twitter account

It appears that the new one-way conversion of Roehampton Ave. (east) and Broadway Ave (west) is causing a lot of confusion among drivers. Those who are used to turning into the street from unmarked driveways and lanes often go the wrong way. There’s not enough signage. Others just don’t know about the change. FB

• New one-way sections of Roehampton and Broadway Aves

Ontario’s back-to-school plan has been released and it doesn’t look too different from what was tried last year. It flopped.

Cuomo groped, kissed and hugged staff says probe

The New York Governor, Andrew Cuomo is denying the findings of an investigation into what many women call his feely, touchy style in the office.

Kyle Lowry heads south

So cute!

A French zoo says a giant panda on loan to France from China has given birth to two female twin cubs. The zoo says the baby pandas “are very lively, pink and plump.” pic.twitter.com/ATPlOnhteJ

— The Associated Press (@AP) August 2, 2021

🇫🇷🐼 #HuanHuan, a giant #panda on loan to #France, gave birth to twin cubs very early Monday.#Pandas reproduction, in captivity or in the wild, is notoriously difficult. Read more: https://t.co/1yIyOOC3ZP pic.twitter.com/GOvF130xCE

— FRANCE 24 English (@France24_en) August 2, 2021

Good morning! Civic Holiday Monday brings with it closures across the city. Here's what you need to know: https://t.co/sBtW1aOeus

— CityNews 680 (Inactive) (@680NEWS) August 2, 2021

Named Scarborough, the brand new film is based on the award-winning book by Catherine Hernandez which follows the lives of three young children over the course of a schoolyear in Scarborough. The children navigate poverty, abuse, and the challenges of living in a low-income area in one of North America’s largest cities. – BlogTO, TIFF