Caplansky a sponsor at Palestinian film event

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Zane Capalansky and truck

The ever-enterprising delicatessen and food truck owner Zane Caplansky has sponsored an event at the Toronto Palestine Film Festival in August. Not all Jews and Palestinians hate each other he says. Caplansky calls the present situation heartbreaking and says he would like see the fighting stop. “Violence just begets violence,” he says. We can agree but many Jews say Hamas doesn’t care about the old truth. Caplansky says he is shocked and embarrassed that members of the local community have reacted negatively to his gesture of compassion and tolerance. Over the  past decade or so, Caplansky has turned a tiny walk-up sandwich joint into a thriving smoked meat and similar food business, complete with a food truck he calls Thundering Thelma. This vehicle last appeared around here a couple of weeks ago at the Leaside Lawn Bowling Club where young madcap friends of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation played the gentle game and chomped smoked meat. See that here

Bread Buddies arts and crafts outside COBs

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This happy young lady was part of the Bread Buddies arts and crafts event sponsored by Bamboo Bay and COBs on Bayview Saturday. The event is ongoing and you can enter by linking here  Carrie Tse and Bamboo Bay

John Tory (Fest?) at Toronto Beer Festival

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That well-known man of the people John Tory was figuring large in the kick-off today of the Toronto Beer Festival. Take a look at the aptly named Twitter hashtag  #BeerMe

Toronto Police release data to show policing is fair

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The Toronto Police Service today issued a series of maps and written material intended to show that the use of so-called Community Safety Notes (CSN) is done reasonably and directed solely towards controlling crime. TPS has been criticized in some instances about how and why such notes occur. The police are accused of targeting black youth. The enclosures drawn on the map above show where the most shootings occur, say the cops. The red parts of the city are where the most Community Safety Notes are written. The correlation of circled areas and red coloured neighborhoods is given as cause for confidence in the judgement of the police. The relative crime free areas in the centre of the map include 53 Division, home of South Bayview and the wonderful places we all call home. Lucky us. Police release 

Bayview medley features adjustable dress form

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This Bayview Ave medley re-visits (left) the once merely bent but now totally mangled street sign at Belsize Drive and Bayview. It is the victim of Hydro One’s new pole program. Centre, all we can say is “please don’t fall in.” Now that the old terrazzo turn to gravel pavement is gone the remaining holes look a little like shallow graves. Creepy. And finally to Pagnello, the enteral antique shop which Saturday was showing a mint condition “adjustable dress form” including the new-looking sticker reminding us that the patent for this marvelous device was acquired in 1909. And that’s your South Bayview medley

Pink ribbons at Soudan and Forman Aves

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The impact of the death of Georgia Walsh last week in Leaside has been felt all through the South Bayview area. Here were see a pink ribbon tied to a pole at Soudan and Forman Aves. near Mt  Pleasant Rd.  It was one of many in Davisville Village. This and the requests for the Slow Down signs is an indication of just how greatly this terrible event touched an entire City.  

Ford Fest about politics and politics only

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The bureaucratic and media pretense that Fort Fest was not a political event is such a feeble Toronto charade. There was hardly a person there who was not grinding an axe of some kind. Maybe a few of the Ford freeloaders momentarily took their minds off of how they’ll vote as they plated up at the buffet but Mayor Ford, his brother, the other candidates (one of whom arrived riding a horse) and the LGBT gang in full regalia were all there to prosecute their view of the City. It is hard to know who is the more disingenuous, although the rainbow folks are contenders with their shocked, shocked response at how they were received. 

Annaleise takes a short cut to end Erie swim

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Annaleise Carr is safely ashore on the Canadian side this morning after taking a short cut in her planned 75 kilometre route from the U.S. side. The short cut took the 16-year-old Norfolk County girl to Long Point, a extended piece of land that runs out into the lake and permitting her to land a short distance to the southwest of Port Dover.  Simcoe Reformer 

“Heads down, hands up” as cops board holiday jet

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Passengers on the Sunwing flight to Panama got a double dose of fear and aggressive handling today after their flight turned back to Toronto because of an unruly man. The 25-year-old seems to have been overcome by anger because Sunwing was unable to supply certain duty-free goods he ordered. He screamed, ripped up material and threatened to bomb the plane. He said among a number of things that everyone on board was going to die and that he hated Canada. The plane immediately turned back to Toronto, even though it was about 45 minutes out. At Pearson Airport, the Peel Region Emergency Response Team came aboard  the plane, rifles pointed and screaming “Heads down, hands up.” It isn’t surprising that a few passenger couldn’t quite get it right. The man, identified as Ali Shahi, is charged and in custody. Passengers have had lunch at the airport courtesy Sunwing and will be heading to Panama today. Sunwing said: “We are pleased to advise that all customers are safe and generally in good spirits. Sunwing is providing customers with complimentary meals and other assistance while they await the official start of their vacation.”   Photos: Captures from two videos taken by Sunwing passengers. Top credit Phil Thompson, bottom with hands showing, Alain Alphonso   

Leaside Leafs are on sitting atop of the GTBL

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Micheal Hayakawa of the Thornhill Liberal reports on the exploits of the Leaside Leafs to take a 15-4-0 position at the top of the Greater Toronto Baseball League  Nice going guys.

Swim whiz Annaleise Carr tackles Lake Erie

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Annaleise Carr is on her way across Lake Erie this Friday, hoping to make the 75-kilometre swim from Presque Ile State Park in Erie, Pa. to Port Dover, Ontario. Annaleise is the Norfolk County swimming phenomenon who crossed Lake Ontario in the summer of 2012. Now she hopes to make a crossing that is half again as long. Video below shows Annaleise setting off on her Lake Ontario crossing two years ago. Photo: @hoskin/Twitter  Annaleise Carr’s inspiring journey 

Air Canada flight forced to circle at Tel Aviv

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Air Canada’s flight AC84 was told by Tel Aviv controllers to circle the airport a couple of times while the military made sure it was safe to land. This after Hamas terrorists took a cue from the world’s media and made a specific attempt to disrupt landings at the airport. Apparently they failed and the AC flight was permitted to land after a few minutes.