Three weird things from the amazing world of weird things

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So now we know it isn’t a hockey cup bomb

A funny thing happened on the way to the Stanley Cup final this week. They x-rayed the Stanley Cup. You know, just to make sure it wasn’t a hockey cup bomb.  It is now history that the Chicago Blackhawks won this treasured sports relic Monday night for the first time since 1938 on home ice. But that’s not weird.  How about the New York Mets. They must have been jinxed when their play-by-play guy Ron Darling did a quick whip around through the roof at Rogers Stadium and spotted the Sky Needle. Yes, it’s hilarious. But then, the Blue Jays have had incoherent broadcasters too. The Mets lost 8 to 0. One writer said they neglected to show up. More likely they got hurt by the Sky Needle.  And then we have the lookalike stakes of a lifetime. Below on the left is Robert Downey Junior next to a Calgary man, Steve Venegas.  This is photo-shopped for clothes and hair but the news agency swears that the faces were not altered.

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Success! 28 Bayview bus will run 7 days a week in 2016

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Weekend service will run 7-days-a-week by mid-2016

The TTC meeting scheduled for Monday, June 22, 2015, will address a report from Mitch Stambler, head of strategy and service planning. It calls for the adoption of an enlargement of the 28 Bayview South bus service into a seven-day-a-week route which would effectively end the absence of service on Bayview Ave between Moore Ave and the business district at Bayview and Millwood. The so-called “TTC dead zone” on Bayview has been a source of complaint by south-end residents for many years. The proposed 28 Bayview South service will be the first full-time buses to be seen on that portion of Bayview since the construction of the Yonge Street subway in the 1950s. The 88 Leaside heads east on Sutherland on its outbound route to South Leaside and Thorncliffe Park.

SERVICE WILL START IN MID-2016

The new 28 bus route cannot be started until mid-2016 because an additional delivery of buses is needed. But when that is in place, it will permit residents of Moore Park, Bennington Heights and the Crestview apartments bus access to the business district. All neighbours on adjoining streets like Southvale, Leacrest, Astor, Bessborough and Rolph will be well placed to use this service. On the Davisville Village side of Bayview, shoppers heading north and south (say to Loblaws) will find the 7-day-a-week service of use.  The TTC stop outside Hasty Market and Gymboree at Bayview and Moore will be a busy transfer point between the 88 Leaside and the 28 Bayview  At the north end riders will be able to shop and visit medical and dental services or they may transfer to the 11 Bayview for destinations further north like Leaside High School and Sunnybrook Hospital. The South Bayview Bulldog has communicated with many families, including seniors, who wanted to be able to go to their preferred business district by TTC. The work of Ward 26 Councillor Jon Burnside has helped to get this matter focused at the TTC and it was under his auspices that the TTC decided to review service on Bayview Ave.  There is a clear benefit for the merchants of South Bayview and their BIA.  Members might wish to get their name on lighted bus signboards (it only makes sense).

Never Grow Up South Bayview opening set for July 4, 2015

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Never Grow Up, the Oakville children’s wear store, has announced that it will open its South Bayview store on Wednesday July 1, 2015. A Facebook notation says: “We are SO beyond excited to announce our firm opening date for our Bayview location. We want to apologize for the long delay in opening this location!  We had so many setbacks for this store but we finally did it. We can’t wait for you guys to come see our second location”  Well okay. Never Grow Up will be very welcome as it fills the space at the former Newsome store at 1725 Bayview. That’s just up the street from Alex and Bev Simmonds shop, Dolly Jewellers. Very good company to keep

Todmorden Mills Eco-Art-Fest promotes sustainability

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Mary Fragedakis (Ward 29) and festival Eco-Art-Fest producers will join representatives of the Toronto Museums and Heritage Services to launch the second annual Eco-Art-Fest. Events will kick off at 6 p.m. with remarks at 6.30  p.m. tomorrow (Thursday, June 18, 2015) at the Todmorden Mills Heritage Site, 67 Pottery Rd. Every  Friday, Saturday and Sunday from June 20 to September 13, this celebration of arts and culture will promote sustainability and environmental awareness. Visitors may experience public art installations by leading Canadians, all-ages art-based activities, fresh food, live music and art tours at Todmorden Mills. More information is available at the Eco-Art-Fest website 

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Federal websites swamped in “denial of service” attack

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A number of Canadian government websites were crashed Wednesday by an unknown person or persons who used the handy disguise of Anonymous. Government sources and individual ministers have confirmed the attack which is said to be a “denial of service” type. This is caused by a flood of demands that leave the server unable to answer. The reason is said to be retaliation for a new anti-terrorism law passed by Canada’s parliament. In a video posted on YouTube said the law violated human rights and targeted people who disagree with the government.

Toronto students will get “truncated” report cards

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The Toronto and District School Board will mail out a truncated report card to 154,000 students in Grades One to Eight despite the elementary teachers work-to-rule campaign. There will be similar arrangements made by school boards in Durham and York. In Peel Region, the school board says it will provide only letters of promotion. This as the talks with both the elementary teachers and the Ontario Secondary School Teachers Federation (OSSTF) head into a summer of what will surely be rank frustration. The government says there can be no increases. The elements are the children and the cost.  Once again the public seems condemned to negotiate against its own interests. Globe and Mail

Alert Ready test takes over TV with advice on future threats

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French message is on screen as English audio message silences CP24 anchor

A series of interruptions of cable television service in Toronto is occurring Wednesday in the name of the Ready Alert program of emergency messages. The messages say it is a test of an Ontario system that will tell Canadians of  serious and immediate threats. There is no indication of when they will end. Nor does there appear to have been any notice of these tests. Wikipedia 

Davisville Public School snared in Ontario’s debt crisis

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Josh Matlow (Ward 22)

In his current newsletter Councillor Josh Matlow has described a project known as a Community Hub for the lands of Davisville Public School on Millwood Rd. near Yonge St.  He also says the school needs replacement because it is old, crowded and has faults like failing boilers. It seems there is room on this spacious property to build a decent school and accommodate the Community Hub as well. Except for a decision of the Ministry of Education to require the Toronto and District School Board to sell off as much as an acre of the property to provide funds to pay for a new school. Matlow says he has been working with Davisville parents and others locally to keep the Hub idea alive.  “It is in the best interest of the School Board, as well as the Province and the City, if this public land is used for (along with a new, modern school) recreation, child care and other community uses instead of just another condo,” he says. This little outline tells the Councillor’s story as well as the often muted tale of how the provincial debt impacts us all in many ways. There is no money for anything. And without regard to political leanings, the numbers alone shout at us about the profligacy of the last ten years. The debt continues to grow in the range of $284 billion. It affects everything. It’s why the government must sell school land and among other things limit the number of visits people make to medical specialists.

1860 Bayview scheduled for completion in Spring 2016

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Scenes of the Whole Foods commercial site at Broadway and Bayview Aves.

The commercial complex at 1860 Bayview Ave. had previously been scheduled for completion in the fall of this year. No such target is possible and Whole Foods is now saying it will open sometime in 2016. From the top, the corner of Bayview and Broadway and below it the structure of the corner and beside it a look into the underground garage. At the bottom, the view from Rappert Ave on the west. Approval of this project went to the Ontario Municipal Board in 2011 where residents were successful in keeping it at 17 metres. There will be 193 parking spaces in a two-level underground garage. Many will recall that this construction was made possible when General Motors went bankrupt and cancelled the Brennan’s Pontiac franchise.