The South Bayview Bulldog

There has been a gripping exchange of questions and answers as Crown Attorney Milan Rupic cross examines PC James Forcillo at his trial for the shooting death of Sammy Yatim.  The media are reporting this compelling extract:

“In your mind, officers are entitled to bark orders and make demands and expect people to follow, and you were amazed when someone didn’t follow,” said the Crown.

“Police officers are entitled to choose what they think will work best in a particular situation,” Forcillo contended.

“Your job is not to win but to resolve the situation with the least amount of force necessary,” Rupic later went on.

“My job is to get the situation resolved,” Forcillo said firmly. “But one way or the other, Mr. Rupic, I’m going home that night.”

Rupic also said that Forcillo intended to kill Yatim when he fired nine times.

“Are you suggesting that firing nine bullets at somebody is not likely to kill him?” Rupic asked.

“I fired the bullets at him because I thought he was a threat to my life,” Forcillo said.

“I’m asking if you knew you were likely to kill Sammy Yatim,” Rupic asked.

“I am not considering whether these bullets are going to kill him. I’m considering whether or not they’re going to stop him.”  The trial continues Monday

There has been an extraordinary act of kindness on the part of a wealthy Guelph businessman who will spend at least $1.5 million of his own money to sponsor 50 Syrian families and re-settle them in the Guelph area. He is Jim Estill, owner of Danby, a manufacture of kitchen appliances.  Estill is required under the private refugee sponsorship program to commit to meet all of a newcomer’s needs for the first few months of their time in Canada. Amazing generosity. CBC

 

The life-altering Eglinton Crosstown LRT is changing life in Forest Hill just as it is in Leaside. Terranata Developments wants to build a 15-storey condominium on a site right beside the new LRT station at the corner of Eglinton Ave. W. and Avenue Rd. The station will sit on the space now occupied by Mac’s and the Subway sandwich store. The highrise would take out the time-honoured and much-loved Yitz’s Deli plus two other properties which are now vacant. Together they make up the working name of the project — 346, 350, 352 and 356 Eglinton West. Two of those numbers — 352 and 356 — represent the former Oink Oink. Only Yitz’s is still occupied and doing business. A community meeting Tuesday, November 24, 2015, saw a litany of complaints about the height, location and increase in density that would flow from a 112-unit building. Funny how the world did not see this coming when the TTC said it must have a transit line across Eglinton. Councillor Chrstin Carmichael Greb (Ward 16) has been fielding a lot of complaints. Her office is saying the concept is way too high. Zoning permits as many as seven storeys but, as we have seen on the east of Yonge, that is no restriction in the minds of developers. Pressure is intense to go higher especially at major intersections.  Yitz’s is in place for the forseeable future, according to management. But sooner or later — it might be five years — Yitz will have to move or call it a day.

Organizers at St. Cuthbert’s Anglican Church are reminding everyone who wants to help with the Community Canned Food Drive that they can be assigned a route to help pick up donations. Just go to the  Church side entrance (opposite Humphries Funeral Home) or to Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church at the corner of St. Clair Ave E and Clifton Rd, near Mount Pleasant. Be there by 9.30 a.m. tomorrow. It is a good way for students can earn volunteer hours.

DONATIONS OUTSIDE BY 9.30 A.M.

And you can donate by leaving your canned goods for pickup on the front porch by 9.30 tomorrow. The food drive is an ecumenical effort of local churches: Leaside Presbyterian, Leaside United, Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Rosedale Presbyterian, Rosedale United, St. Anselm’s, St. Augustine’s, St. Cuthbert’s and Northlea United.

Toronto Zoo has released pictures and video of both four white lion cubs and two Giant Pandas as they grow to a larger size. The white lion cubs seem to be growing faster and are shown in video (below) playing and yawning. The zoo said a checkup has confirmed that all four cubs born to four-year-old mother Makali are healthy. They are all male. The cubs were born on Sept. 26 and 27. This is Makali’s first litter of cubs. The Giant Panda cubs of mother Er Shun Zoo are looking much more like pandas now. Video below

Police have found Winston Reid, 49, dead.  He was the father of the late Simone (Shanni) Reid, 18, and was being sought by police as a person of interest in his daughter’s death. Mr. Reid’s body was found in a minivan parked near Kennedy Rd and Elgin Mills Road in Markham late Tuesday. There has been a post mortem but no results have been released. Ms. Reid was found dead in Scarborough on November 13, 2015 and it is said that her father was the last one to see her alive. Previous with picture  

This video is extraordinary for the lucky escape of the man in the backhoe who was trying to knock down a smokestack after two attempts with explosives had failed. It is also special for the remarkable point of view offered by the drone which was shooting the work. This was in Avondale Mills, Alabama two days ago.

A herd of Yuletide reindeer (or maybe elk) are gathered at the Davenport Nurseries location at Davisville and Bayview Ave. at the former Garden Court Nursery location.

The RCMP have held a media briefing Thursday, November 26, 2015, to seek information about two men seen acting suspiciously near the Rogers Centre on August. The Mounties said in a news release they want to identify the men who were spotted by a member of the public exhibiting ‘suspicious behaviour’ on the John Street Bridge, south of Front Street at around 3:30 p.m. on Aug. 31. In their briefing, police said there is no need for concern but even so they want to know the names of these two men just to be safe.

PM WAS THERE THAT DAY

Supt. Lise Crouch spoke at a news conference in Milton. She said police have turned to the public with in hope of identifying the men so they can rule out the possibility of criminal intentions. Crouch said police are “pursuing all avenues” to find the men. “A passerby observed two males exhibiting suspicious behaviour while on the John Street bridge in the area of the Rogers Centre.” Prime Minister Stephen Harper was at the Rogers Centre on the same afternoon. He was watching batting practice before the Toronto Blue Jays played the Cleveland Indians. At the time they were spotted, the Toronto Blue Jays were playing an afternoon game at the Rogers Centre.

IF YOU SEE SOMETHING, SAY SOMETHING

The images show persons who are described as 20 and 30 years with a medium build and brown skin. One of the men was wearing a green and white striped shirt with red trim, blue jeans, blue Adidas shoes with yellow laces and a watch. He was carrying a backpack and sunglasses. The other man was wearing a blue and yellow striped shirt with purple stripes, dark blue jeans, blue Puma shoes with yellow laces, a watch and sunglasses that were hanging on his shirt buttons. Such briefings and concerns, which were unknown before the present era of terrorism, are facilitated by programs which ask the public to report suspicious things. They often called  If You See Something, Say Something.