The South Bayview Bulldog

The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health says the drinking age should be set at 21 in Ontario — again. The first time was during the rigid 40s and 50s when you had to have a  permit to buy liquor and women were not allowed to enter a bar alone. That thing called the Baby Boom brought millions of potential voters and drinkers along in the 60s and guess what? Politicians sensed that there might be a payoff at the polls if the drinking age started to slide. The legal  age for lifting a draft went all the way down to 18 before coming back to the present 19. Now the recommendation to raise it to 21 comes in a report released this week that outlines the strategies it says could reduce the harms caused by alcohol. Report author and CAMH senior scientist Dr. Norman Giesbrecht says alcohol use needs to be seen as a public health matter, noting about 22 per cent of Ontarians drink beyond recommended guidelines.

His colleagues and show business people are expressing shock tonight at the death of James Gandolfini at the age of 51. Galdolfini  portrayed Tony Soprano on the series “The Sopranos.”  He died while on holiday in Rome.  “Our hearts are shattered and we will miss him deeply. He and his family were part of our family for many years and we are all grieving.” HBO said in a prepared statement, “We’re all in shock and feeling immeasurable sadness at the loss of a beloved member of our family. He was special man, a great talent, but more importantly a gentle and loving person who treated everyone no matter their title or position with equal respect. He touched so many of us over the years with his humor, his warmth and his humility. Our hearts go out to his wife and children during this terrible time. He will be deeply missed by all of us.”

If you have ever tried to elbow your way into the Sobey’s Urban Fresh store on Balliol Street just off of Yonge Street you know what a hot property it is. Now the penny has dropped with Loblaws that small (10,000 square foot) stores shoehorned into busy neighborhoods can be quite lucrative. That is apparently why the giant retailer has announced the trial run of Box by No Frills in downtown Calgary. It is a down-sized and slightly more with-it version of the larger No Frills seen around Toronto. The Business News Network quotes Loblaws CFO Sarah Davis as saying: “We are trying that as a pilot to see, ‘Is that something we would be able to infill in a lot of areas of Canada?’” Ms. Davis made the remark on a conference call on Wednesday morning as the company prepares to spin out a real estate investment trust. Box by No Frills will have to compete with the dominant Safeway chain out west and Loblaws may be hoping they can undercut that firm’s big box    presence with smaller high-service “infill stores” like Sobey’s has done on Balliol.  

The Sport Clips haircut shop hoisted up its main signage today (Wednesday, June 19, 2013). They will be located in the former money exchange shop next door to the Smokin Cigar so we will have quite a macho stretch on the west side down by Byford’s Real Estate. Nonetheless, the  ladies will feel at home because the haircutters at Sport Clips are women. Is this all okay at Gender Neutral Central? Well never mind, you get a haircut and watch some sports. Sounds okay. The price list is yet to come.  Previous post 

Bob Rae is seen with Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau at the Liberal party caucus this morning (Wednesday, June 19, 2013) where he announced his resignation from the House of Commons. His announcement was met by appleause and some tears. The member for Toronto Centre will become chief negotiator for First Nations in talks with the Ontario government about development of the Ring of Fire, an iron ore project in Northern Ontario. He is also going to tour the nine Matawa communities in the mining and resource-rich area this summer. Rae was Ontario premier from 1990 to 1995. His decision to leave the House raises the question of who might contest the important riding on the fringe of South Bayview. It will be greatly coveted by all parties in the 2015  General Election.  CBC

The Halton Region Health Department is reporting three cases of measles in Burlington. The cases are confirmed after three children from the same family showed symptoms. Doctors are not sure how the children were infected but say they think that a family member may have picked up the virus while travelling outside the province. Measles no longer circulates in Canada, but Canadians who are not vaccinated or immune through previous infection can pick it up while travelling in places where the virus is still common. Officials remember the dreadful surprise outbreak in Quebec in 2011 when 250 kids came down with measles. That was caused by travellers returning from France where they had been in contact with unvaccinated children who had caught measles.  Halton health authority advised that anyone who visited three locations in Burlington on Saturday, June 8 may have been exposed to the virus. The locations are SportChek at the Burlington Mall, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.; The Collector’s Vault, near Guelph Line and Fairview St., from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.; and Al’s Source for Sports, at 3485 Fairview St., from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. The children affected visited those three locations at roughly the listed times.  Measles has virtually disappeared in Canada and the rest of the developed world, and there are dramatic reductions in the developing world, to the point where last year there was beginning to be serious discussion about eradication. The problem is that vaccines only work if people are vaccinated. But some parents in the Western world are not getting their children vaccinated, or fully vaccinated.