The South Bayview Bulldog

Toronto Police Chief William Blair has said in a year-end interview with the Globe and Mail that he has not ruled out running for political office and that he has started making unspecified plans for his future after leading the largest municipal department in the country for nine years. Blair retires this Spring around the time of his birthday. It is said to be common political wisdom that a vigorous 61-year-old former police chief would be a very hard man to beat should he decide to run for Parliament in the general election scheduled for 2015. The Globe and Mail story, written by Ann Hui, says that a Liberal Party source told the paper that party strategists have discussed recruiting Blair. Other sources are said to have concluded that “everyone wants Chief Blair.”  Globe and Mail 

Michael Carlevale was the ultimate “host and ringmaster” of inside-crowd dining at Prego on Bloor St. W. says Michael Knelman on the occasion of Mr. Carlevale’s death in Boston at age 65. 

Tinto Bar de Tapas at 1581 Bayview Ave. will begin accepting reservations in 2015, according to its congenial owner Otta Zapotocky. Otta also owns L’Avenue Bistro at 1568 Bayview. Tinto Bar de Tapas is a lively wine and seafood/pork hideaway marking its first New Year’s Eve Wednesday night. There are a few tables left for both the early party-goers and those who want to shout out 2015 on Bayview at midnight. The 5.30 p.m. sitting is a three-hour $50-a-person dinner with an out by 8.30 p.m. requirement. The later sitting is from 9 p.m. to midnight and beyond at $75-a-plate per person. As usual, the wine tasting skills of Otta Zapotocky come with the evening.

Geoffrey Thomas, editor of AirlineRatings.com, provides a very well-explained theory of how the Malaysian Airbus may “have been caught in a severe thunderstorm updraft”. This could have led to an “aerodynamic stall of the wing” resulting in a severe upset to the aircraft, Mr Thomas says. The hypothesis was extrapolated from radar data that showed the plane’s speed decreasing while it climbed in altitude. BBC

A psychologist named Peter Kinderman of Liverpool University has had a few things to say about how the media covers great human tragedies such as the crash of the Malaysian Airbus now unfolding. He says he is drawn, as millions must also be, to how the media concentrate on the grief and anxiety of relatives. He comments: “They shouldn’t use grief as spectator sport. I know it’s very attractive, but the media should leave alone those members of the public caught up in such events. Please don’t think the media can do something helpful for these people. Don’t take photos when somebody is doing something slightly unusual like rocking or praying or getting angry; that’s what people do. They’re not odd, they’re not strange and they’re not particularly interesting. Don’t judge them – leave them alone. All shades of human emotional response are normal and natural. A few months ago, several news organizations shared a paparazzo photo of a well-known celebrity caught at the precise moment he was informed of his child’s death. An obviously arresting image—a picture of raw humanity. And therefore hugely attractive for media organizations. Grief and raw emotion are obviously engaging. But… the media also have ethical standards. And I think it is important for them to accept that anxious and grieving relatives need privacy and time. Grief should not be a spectator sport.” 

Lights were out, including traffic signals, all along South Bayview for about 15 minutes this morning (Tuesday, December 30, 2014). Power returned about 9.40 a.m. That’s good because businesses are looking to see some year-end interest in discounted goods. Fiorio, for example,  is offering $40 off Kerastase Gift Packs. 

The Indonesian government has confirmed that it has found wreckage from the missing Malaysian Airbus. Reports of bodies found were confused. Latest information says three were recovered but other sources said as many as 40. The remains were located at Pangkalan Bun, Central Kalimantan. Images on Indonesian television showed bodies being brought aboard a helicopter. The plane carried 162 passengfers and crew Mailonline

This flu season has seen a serious outbreak of cases across the GTA.  Toronto Public Health recorded more than 150 new lab instances in one week just before Christmas. Many hospitals are feeling the pressure and some have urged anyone with a manageable case of the flu to treat it at home rather than risk infecting patients at the hospital.  “We are having a terrible flu season this year,” Dr. Brett Belchetz told CP24.  He said part of the reason for the rise in flu cases is that the strain mutated and rendered the vaccine only about 50 per cent effective. As always, it is still a good idea to get the shot but there are also fears that the supply may not outlast the demand. The creation of the flu vaccine each year is a high-tech guessing game among scientists who do their best to calculate what the annual onslaught might look like, epidemiologically speaking. Elderly residents are most at risk for contracting the flu and the health department reports that 57 long-term care facilities have “active outbreaks.” Cummer Lodge, a facility in Willowdale, says that 17 of its residents have come down with respiratory illness and five are suffering from Gastroenteritis. Dr. Belchetz also recommends that those who have come down with the flu  think twice before heading to the hospital. “You need to go to the hospital if you are having difficulty breathing, if you are having difficulty controlling your fever or if you are having difficulty staying hydrated,” he said. “Otherwise stay at home and try not to get other people sick.”