The South Bayview Bulldog

The construction on Eglinton Ave E. opposite Leaside High School has narrowed traffic to two lanes and created an adventure in pedestrian walkways for students. It’s all quite safe but curious too as kids now take a concrete-buttressed diversionary path running beside traffic. This young man is heading south after exiting the long tube of safety barriers used to create a walkway. He waits in what would normally be the middle of the street for the light to change before heading toward LHS on the south side. Traffic has been shifted to the south side of Eglinton and reduced to one lane in each direction near Donlea Drive from west of Bessborough Drive to just east of Hanna Road. It is part of the Eglinton LRT project.  Previous post 

Paul Hahn & Co. is the locale for a fascinating photography exhibition called Black and White this month. Opening night took place Wednesday with a substantial turnout present to meet photographer Barrie Wentzell, and see his work. Wentzell is an entertaining British-born photographer, who from about 1965 to 1975 chronicled the world’s leading pop and rock musicians. His camera caught the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, the Who, Jimmy Hendricks, Johnny Cash and many others. His work will be on display at the Paul Hahn store at Yonge St. and Gibson Ave. until May 31, 2014 as part of the city-wide Scotiabank Contact Photography Exhibition.  On Wednesday night, Mr. Wentzell, who has lived in Toronto for more than 30 years, unveiled an image of Elton John that has never been seen before. The evening also featured a short performance by Elton Rohn, billed as “North America’s most celebrated Elton John tribute artist.” The display is curated by Lucia Graca of Analogue Gallery. The Paul Hahn store celebrated its 100th anniversary last year. Wentzell, who is 71, got his start as a music photographer when he shot an appearance by the young Diana Ross at the BBC in London. The photos were picked up by Melody Maker, the pop music magazine of record in Britain at the time. The shoot led to a staff job and a new career. Story and  pictures courtesy of Yonge and Roxborough.  Black and White page on Contact site  Previous on Paul Hahn Pianos 

The Globe and Mail is said to have paid $10,000 for three still pictures of Mayor Ford allegedly smoking crack cocaine in the basement of his sister’s home early Saturday morning. Greg McArthur,  a Globe reporter, told CP24 that the video was sourced through connections of the newly-hired Robyn Doolittle. Ms. Doolittle was previously a reporter at the Toronto Star where she worked on the first Ford crack video revelation. It appears that, as at the Star, Ms. Doolittle is working in a team, as efficiency and security might suggest is sensible. McArthur spoke of how his partner obtained a phone call from a drug dealer to say there were videos for sale. She and McArthur arranged a meeting. Ms. Doolittle, said McArthur, had to sit in his child’s car seat as they drove to the meeting. At the meeting there was much discussion, a viewing of sorts and a transactional back and forth about a sale price of “six figures” for  the tapes. In  the end, it was agreed that the newspaper would pay $10,000 for three still shots and in a subsequent meeting this amount was exchanged. Presumably it was in cash but McArthur did not say that nor was he asked. He seemed to suggest that there are many leads in this field being pursued by he and Ms. Doolittle.  Photos: Greg McArthur, Robyn Doolittle