The South Bayview Bulldog

A Prince Edward Island company has received federal approval to make genetically modified salmon eggs on a commercial scale. AquaBounty Technologies says Environment Canada has concluded that the eggs are not harmful to the environment or human health when produced in contained facilities. AquaBounty CEO Ron Stotish says Ottawa’s approval is a significant step as it waits for a decision from regulatory bodies in the U.S. before the fish and eggs are available for sale. The company’s hatchery in Souris, P.E.I., produces sterile-all-female eggs. The technology has drawn opposition from some state lawmakers in the U.S. including Alaska, and from environmental groups who fear the fish could escape their onshore farms and affect wild populations. It is an interesting concern. If the fish are sterile they cannot reproduce and it would seem there would no multiplication. The GM issue continues to bedevil food producers and consumers. Those who favour GM, say fear of it has failed to produce any science which might cause reasonable concern for the health of humans. 

Byelection day, and as usual the old premises at Our Lady of Perpetual Help School welcomed Moore Park voters from the neighborhood’s nine electoral subdivisions Monday morning for the exercise of parliamentary democracy. The original OLPH school dates from the 20s but even the “new” section built in 1963 is getting on. The school is nestled in a  leafy corner of Garfield Ave. just where it meets Mount Pleasant Rd. It is in the newer wing that  residents young and old truck to the auditorium to show their ID. The old complaint is still heard, both among Liberals and Conservatives, that each would easily win Toronto-Centre if it weren’t for the other parts of the sprawling downtown constituency. What they mean is that there is limited NDP support in the area. One brave family on Moore Ave. had their Linda McQuaig sign out on the lawn. It is always an interesting practice when all the results have been posted online to see how subdivisions voted. It takes a few days for that to happen. It will frequently show that Moore Park has once again voted rather differently from those south of the CP main line, much less south of Bloor Street. That is why the next general election, slated for 2015, is so interesting. It will almost surely see the creation of a new riding, University-Rosedale, which will include Moore Park and Rosedale plus areas off to the southwest. 

You keep everything done up in this weather

When the temperature is 30 below the half-time act moves it, baby, and Hedley certainly moved it. And oh yes, there were no wardrobe malfunctions from any of the mighty cast of healthy young people who rocked Mosaic Stadium this evening (Sunday, November 24, 2013). After all, when its that cold you just do not take off your clothes, even when you have propane volcanoes exploding a few feet away. So the Abbotsford pop-rock foursome plus we-don’t-know-how-many others showed Justin Timberlake and Janet Jackson how to do it. Hedley, incidentally, is named after the unincorporated community of Hedley, British Columbia. The name was chosen after members heard that the place was for sale for $346,000. Hedley is known for its singles “Never Too Late,” “Cha-Ching” (performed at the closing ceremony of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver), “Invincible,” and “Kiss You Inside Out”, and for the band members’ philanthropic work as ambassadors for the charity Free The Children.

A brief return to 31 Sutherland Drive reveals a copper and brick beauty in the final phase of renovation. There is, as we tipped you last summer, a large extension on the rear as well. This home sits just a few doors east of Bessborough Drive on the south side and looks down the northerly portion of Bessborough out the front windows. It is being owner-renovated. They are renting nearby and hope to be back inside by perhaps the end of February.

Neighbors on Manor Rd. express the kindest concern for their evicted fellow resident Dennis Cibulka. “He’s a very nice man. I worry about him a lot,” said a woman who lives on the opposite side of Manor. Mr. Cibulka is living outdoors after his home was boarded up by the health department. He spends his nights, it is said, behind the piles of boxes stacked up on his front porch. The experience of watching someone who is of sound mind endure Mr. Cibulka’s self-imposed hardship is perplexing. “I honestly don’t know how he does it,” said another neighbor. “I believe he has a very good lawyer.” Mr. Cibulka inherited the modest semi-detached home at 313 Manor from his mother in 2004. He is said to have more than sufficient means to live other than he does. His occupation is the care of his many pet cats.  He is, neighbors say, a man perhaps in his 50s who loves to store things. Such people are often reclusive.(Previous post).

The most famous hoarders were the Collyer Brothers, two New York City men who were finally found dead in their midtown brownstone home in 1947. It was determined that one of the brothers, Homer, had starved after his brother, Langley, had been fatally injured while bringing him food as he crawled through a tunnel of junk. The home was filled with booby-traps to catch intruders but in this case Langley apparently tripped a wire that sent a heavy suitcase as well as bundles of newspapers down onto him.

New York brownstone owned by the Collyer brothers