The South Bayview Bulldog

Scotland Yard has arrested a man in London for the online threats against Wilfrid Laurier University on Friday. Metropolitan police say the 22-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of “malicious communications.” He is in custody at a London police station. Waterloo police have compared the threat to one made before a deadly shooting in Oregon earlier this month. The Laurier campus was shut down at 6 a.m. Friday and students and faculty were told to stay away after administrators were tipped off to the threat by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation. The lockdown was lifted at 11:30 a.m., though the university said faculty and staff were not required to come back to work that day. Waterloo police say the threat was made in an anonymous post on the online forum 4chan that used similar wording as a warning made before the Oct. 1 shooting at an Oregon college that left 10 people, including the shooter, dead.

This good-looking group of 53 Division volunteers supervised by Sergeant McGhee was out in Leaside Community today (Saturday, October 17, 2015) on Graffiti Paint Over Blitz. With the officers were Students and Employees. Several areas were painted including roof top areas. The 53 Division would like to thank the Youth in Policing Initiative, Toronto Police Service, the students along with the Community Members who supported this Toronto Police Service Initiative. More pictures 

A $700-million lawsuit alleges the Ontario Liberal Party favoured a Florida wind turbine company because it paid  $18,600 in donations to the party before the 2011 election . New York Times

There is quite a lot of amusing comment on Twitter after the Globe and Mail wrote an editorial endorsing the Conservatives but not Stephen Harper. One tweet said, I endorse The Doors but not Jim Morrison, and another saying I endorse Rye and Ginger Ale but not the Ginger Ale. There are many more. Funny. CBC

The little-known but enormously successful Canadian auto parts maker Linamar Corporation has bought 100 percent of the shares of French aluminum casting firm, Montupet S.A. The deal is said by Linamar to be a move to solidify the company as a global powerhouse in aluminum casting and machining. The success of the Ford-150 pickup is seen by Linamar as a profound once-in-history shift to greater use of aluminum in autobodies. The Guelph-headquartered company paid a rich $105 Canadian for the shares. Linamar has plants in Canada, China, France, Germany, Mexico, the U.S. and India.

The fleeting sleet shower that announced the afternoon rain Friday was quite a surprise. It lasted about 20 seconds before it turned to water. And while pedestrians and window watchers were surprised, the pups tied up outside the coffee shops were shocked. “Yip, yip, yip” they wailed as owners ran to bring them inside, no matter the store rules. It’s coming of course. There may be a bit of snow over the weekend. What can we do?   Weather Channel 

From whispers that Metrolinx (run by Premier Wynne) wants to build  an office and condominium tower at Eglinton and Bayview, to the closure of the south lanes of Eglinton Ave. E., the wild and crazy intersection of Eglinton Ave E. and Bayview Ave. is living down to its hairy reputation (Wild & Crazy 1). Concerns that the provincial transit agency wants to go high at Eglinton and Bayview have been lurking for many months. Early this year Metrolinx began muttering about “recovering costs” by building up on the site of the now vacant McDonald’s, future site of the Bayview LRT station.

MUCH LARGER FOOTPRINT

Now Metrolinx has created a much larger footprint for this possible undertaking by purchasing the two four-plexes on the east side of Bayview to the immediate south of the station. Is Metrolinx going to try to build multiple storeys on the corner like Rio.Can has proposed for Sunnybrook Plaza.  Metrolinx is now looking at a rectangular piece of property on Bayview Ave. that rivals the land assembled by the Brown Group on Bayview between Soudan Ave. and Hillsdale Ave. The Metrolinx property, if it is all used as a foundation for the a tower, will be a premier new address on Bayview Ave. The LRT station would be a sideshow in the basement for commuters

SUNNYBROOK STILL ACCESSIBLE AT THE EAST

Of immediate concern to motorists is the closure of the lanes on the south side of Eglinton between Mann Ave and Bessborough Ave. This information was contained in the Ward 25 newsletter of Jaye Robinson to constituents but it was also a stark reality on the road Friday. Today drivers were honking annoyed and quite cheesed as their more confused brethren took a little too long to figure out what they were supposed to do. All of this has to do with headwall construction for the LRT station. Looks like it will take most of the winter. Here’s a useful tip. Even though you can’t  tell  as you are eastbound on Eglinton,  it is still possible to legally enter the Sunnybrook Plaza at the east end. It is tricky but doable.

The Leaside United Church Awesome Sale began Friday with a long lineup (as usual) well in advance of the 3 pm. opening. Above we see action in the large basement hall off of Field Ave. where such attractions as baked goods and preserves, clothing, glassware, tapes, books and many other items were sold. As Awesome Sale goers will know, there were special rooms set aside for footwear, furniture, sportswear, toys and handbags in the hall (a popular place) The sale returns for two hours tomorrow, Saturday, October 18, 2015, at 10 a.m.

There will be a meeting on Tuesday, October 27, 2015 to provide information and answer questions about the development proposed for lands now designated as 939 Eglinton Ave. E. Most people will know this  as the  Dawsco Plaza on Brentcliffe Rd. but there are other parts included in the proposal. It is set out by the City as a mixed use development proposing 1,500 residential units, 2,950 square metres of retail space, 9,690 square metres of office space, 1,639 parking spaces in 4 levels of underground parking, a 0.22 ha public park and a new public road. The proposal comprises three development blocks. The north block is proposed to be developed with two residential towers with heights of 19 and 24 storeys connected by an 8-storey mixed-use mid rise building along the Eglinton Avenue East frontage. The central block is proposed to be developed with two residential towers with heights of 31 and 34 storeys connected by an 8-storey mid-rise building along the north side of the proposed public road. The south block is proposed to be developed with a 6-storey commercial building at the northwest corner of Brentcliffe Road and Vanderhoof Avenue and a new park to the west. The meeting is set to begin at 7 p.m. in the William Lea Room at Leaside Arena. Pdf City Planning 

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Parents will reflect sadly on the Premier’s earnest assertion that she is frustrated by the continuing elementary school conflict.  No doubt she is, but people also know she is the leader of a political party. The Premier is well aware that if the government were to order the Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario (ETFO) back to work the Liberals would face the wrath of this enormous province-wide union at the next election. The ETFO and its high school counterpart are not what politicians expected when they granted teachers the right to strike. The 1960s saw a well-intentioned spirit of fairness towards teachers  In return the province now deals with unions that hold the school system hostage from the Lakehead to Niagara Falls. The teachers unions wield more power more disruptively than any union since the postal workers were put out of business by email. Sam Hammond, the head of the ETFO, is perhaps the most consistently belligerent union president in the history of Ontario public school education. His politics are about power too. He wants to keep his union in shape to beat up anyone who gets in its way. Many teachers dislike the union but they are intimidated into silence.