The South Bayview Bulldog

South Eglinton residents Sharon and Al, volunteers with South Eglinton Ratepayers’ and Residents’ Association (SERRA) have created a wonderful conversation piece that will be debuted at the SERRA table, at Davisville Farmers Market’s Cause Day on Tues. Aug 4th, 3-7 p.m.  Serr-opoly is a fun way to initiate conversation about some very serious topics.  The board game covers everything from high rise development to heritage trees.  Are you willing to roll the dice against the OMB?  Be sure to visit Sharon, Al and the rest of the SERRA gang next week at the Davisville Farmers Market.

Canada’s elaborate society of rights and expectations has barged right into itself on a Porter airlines flight. A woman is complaining that her “right” was at least threatened because the gentleman, an orthodox Jew, wanted to exercise what he saw as a religious right. Frequently, when “rights” collide, one or both parties say that the other person’s concern isn’t really a right. No no. Welcome to the perfect world of rights.

Yes, Bombardier has made a total muck up of the streetcar contract. Out-of-alignment frames and substandard workmanship has left the City without the vehicles to replace older cars. Only a pitiful handful of cars has been delivered. We’re not sure as Josh Colle, the TTC chair says, that “Torontonians are looking forward to the pleasures of their new streetcars”. Riding a tram isn’t like an evening with an old friend. But never mind. Bombardier is a bit player in the streetcar scandal played out daily in Toronto. Whether it be the enormous cost and inconvenience of maintaining a street railway in 2015, the extraordinary obstruction of  traffic caused by streetcars, the inflexibility of streetcar routing and the time it costs the public or the maddening exercise of building tracks on the street in Leslieville — it is all entirely the fault of elected City Councillors who voted for a 19th century transit system. Please do not talk of the environment. The impact of electric and natural gas buses on the environment is a piffle. Council is talking of blacklisting Bombardier. Fine. But let members also awaken from their long dark night as streetcar zombies.

A strange odour in the Royal Bank at Bayview & Belsize, plus some staff members complaining of sore throats has prompted a call to the Toronto Fire Services to investigate.  Angela Lam of Stainton, Murray & Lam located on 2nd floor, above RBC has informed The Bulldog that at approximately 10:30am she was permitted to return to her office, while the bank remains evacuated.  Fire services are unsure what has caused the odour but it does not appear to be toxic.

City news release names “cooling centres”