Manor Rd. man living outside as winter nears

by  • 

A Manor Rd. man, Dennis Cibulka, has been evicted from his home at No. 313 after years of concern by health and fire officials about crowding and the accumulation of rubbish. Mr. Cibulka apparently lives alone and has few relatives. As recently as the beginning of the month he was living on a front porch glutted with junk at his semi-detached home between Thurston Rd. and Forman Ave. Earlier this year, he was effectively thrown out of the home he inherited from his mother in 2004 on the orders of the public health department. He spends his time, even now as winter approaches, caring for an unnumbered collection of cats. He does so with the considerable monies left to him by his mother. A local animal hospital, a service seldom affordable to those living outside, says the bills are paid promptly and in full. Mr. Cibulka’s only other occupation seems to be sparring with the fire department and public health officials as to how and when he might ever get back inside his home. He is required to clear the property to certain standards before that will happen. For the time being, 313 Manor Rd is boarded up and reasonable people must feel concern for Mr. Cibulka’s welfare as the weather worsens. He has shown no known sign of using his affluence to care for himself or arrange for accommodation.

MPP proposes recall law for errant politicos

by  • 

It’s tempting to think of recalling an MPP or other elected official when he deeply offends his constituents. But the PC MPP Randy Hillier (left) should put the idea away. He has a private member’s bill that would permit for such recall, although the details have not been very well explained in the media. Hillier is from the sedate cottage country of Lanark-Frontenac-Lennox and Addington in eastern Ontario. No doubt the refined folk down there would exercise temperate judgement about who and why they wanted to yank a politician out of office.  Some might say there’s an argument to be made for removing the Premier. And, for different reasons, Mayor Ford too. But no. Experience tells us that it is possible to get the electorate whipped up to a recall pitch over the dog catcher’s bad taste in neckwear.  Hillier’s bill requires signatures from only 25% of voters who cast a ballot in the previous election. How about a 60% threshold? In fact, Mr. Hillier has no chance of getting this showy bill enacted. At Queen Park there’s always a ready market for quick-fix legislation not too well thought through.

Cemetery case in court December 16 to set a date

by  • 

The citizen’s group known as Friends of Toronto Public Cemeteries (FTPC) which contends that Mount Pleasant Group of Cemeteries (MPGC) is a public trust created through provincial legislation, will be in court Monday, December 16, 2013 to set a date for its application to be heard. An earlier date to hear the matter before the Superior Court of Ontario was set aside after counsel for all parties agreed to both a schedule for submitting responses to FTPC’s application and to transfer the case to the Estates Court. Through their lawyers, MPGC wanted money – an amount finally set at $75,000 – put up as “security for costs.” The money was quickly raised by the citizen group. However, MPGC has not made a response according to the agreed upon schedule and has now decided to challenge the right of FTPC to make the application at all. The matter has dragged on for nearly a decade since MPGC advertised itself as “a commercial privately-owned cemetery.” The issue came to light when MPGC began construction of the visitation centre on Moore Ave. near Welland Ave. FTPC contends that MPGC comprising 10 cemeteries/1,200 acres valued at well over $1 billion has been simply appropriated by MPGC under the nose of a dozy Queen’s Park. And they claim they can prove it.

TTC fares to rise modestly on January 1, 2014

by  • 

TTC tokens and the Metropass will increase modestly on January 1, 2014.  However the TTC Board decided to hold the cash fare at $3 in consideration of the unemployed who frequently pay cash because they cannot afford to buy tokens in bulk or the monthly pass. Tokens will rise a nickel from $2.65 to $2.70 and the Metropass is will increase five dollars from $128 to $133.  There was much fretting among board members and TTC brass st Wednesday’s but the increases are likely to be fairly easily absorbed by most riders.

Laird LRT stop will replace long-time Bagel maker

by  • 

In recent days the provincial transit body Metrolinx has been releasing information and pictures of stations along the Eglinton Crosstown LRT. In a previous post, The South Bayview Bulldog published details of the Bayview Ave. and Mt. Pleasant Rd. stops. Now we can show these pictures of the new buildings and  locations for the station at Laird Dr. The main entrance (inset top) will be built on the site of the strip mall on the southwest corner. This mall now houses the Great Canadian Bagel and other retailers. The mall will be demolished to make way for the station shown. Across Laird to the east, a second entrance (inset lower) will be built on the parking lot of the RioCan-owned Laird Centre on the southeast corner. In this depiction you can see the Pier One outlet which will remain. Metrolinx confirms there will be no LRT access on the north side of Eglinton at Laird. This means the charming former TD bank building on the northwest corner will remain a Starbucks. McDonald’s to be demolished for Bayview station. 

RCMP find scent of fraud on Duffy, Nigel Wright

by  • 

Nigel Wright, former chief aide to Prime Minister Stephen Harper is insisting that his actions in lending Mike Duffy $90,000 were “entirely legal.” The RCMP however say they suspect that both Wright and Senator Duffy committed a range of offenses. They cite breach of trust, fraud and bribery. News stories do not refer to the Criminal Code specifics of these suspicions. No charges have been laid. It’s the first time the RCMP has indicated that Nigel Wright is a key figure in the investigation into the Senate spending scandal. Cpl. Greg Horton says the offenses would relate to Duffy’s role as a Canadian senator and Mr. Wright’s former role as chief of staff for the prime minister of Canada.” 

Glow-in-the dark quarter is coin of the year

by  • 

The Royal Canadian Mint’s glow-in-the-dark quarter has won the most innovative coin of the year award and become a “global phenomenon” since it was released in March 2012, the Mint says in a news release. The 25-cent piece glows in the dark with a  skeleton of dinosaur which once roamed Alberta. It is the Pachyrhinosaurus Lakustai, a new species of dinosaur discovered from a fossil found in the province. The Mint said this was the first photo-luminescent coin in the world and that subsequent releases in this “glow-in-the-dark” series have all rapidly sold out. The award is presented by Krause Publications, a Wisconsin-based media company dedicated to collectibles. An international panel of medallists, journalists, and central bank and museum officials judges the annual competition. This recognition of the Mint’s leadership in innovation will be formalized in Berlin, Germany on February 8, 2014, when the award will be presented at the World Money Fair.

Boy foils abductor who doesn’t know code word

by  • 

A scheme to get more kids to walk to school more often has been announced on a day when every parent is fretting about their kid’s safety at school. A man has tried to pick up a 10-year-old boy outside Kimberley Junior Public School in the Kingston Road and Main Street area. The man told a story that has tricked other kids. “You’re mom told me to pick you up,” he said. Fortunately, this lad’s mother had trained him. The boy asked for a code word and when the would-be kidnapper didn’t know it, he fled in a beat up car. Now put this teachable moment for parents next to the boilerplate news release from the  local school boards and the city about how too many kids are being driven to school. Nowhere in this excited story about what an adventure it is to walk to school does it mention the constant spectre of harm to children that compels parents to try to hand their kid directly to the teacher. Listen, we get it. Such close supervision isn’t necessarily the best thing for a child. Walking, cycling and running are what kids are supposed to do. But the fact remains the streets are not as safe as we might wish.  It’s too bad that the walk-to-school campaign doesn’t have some answers.