Americans flock to the Internet for news

by  • 

Walter Cronkite

A poll by Rasmussen Reports in the U.S shows how far the world has come since the day of the great evening news anchors. It  shows that more Americans now get their news from the Internet than from traditional network news. The net exceeds evening news by 25 to 24 percent. Cable news, however, continues to lead both with 32 percent.  The poll has barely 10 percent of news users reading newspapers, although the data does not indicate if this includes newspaper websites. When Walter Cronkite ruled the airwaves he did so literally, garnering a large percentage of those seeking their primary source o news. The poll was based on 1,000 likely voters.  

Bonnie Byford RE moves to temporary offices

by  • 

The offices of Bonnie Byford Real Estate will move into temporary quarters on Monday, March 4, 2013. The storefront at 1536 Bayview will be closed during “fire remediation repairs” required following the blaze which destroyed Leaside Cleaners two doors north in the Fall of 2011. There was considerable smoke damage done at that time and much of the pollution from the fire remains in the walls of the adjoined buildings.  In the meantime, business will go on across the street at 1515A Bayview Ave upstairs over Write Impressions. The space was formerly leased by Barry Lynn Law. The contractor estimates work will take about ten weeks before Byford Real Estate returns to its long-time home.  The phone number remains (416) 483-4444 

Star’s morning cup of concern about rich whites

by  • 

 It may well be that immigrants and newcomers to Toronto don’t use ravines for recreation. A reasonable perhaps if somewhat undefined concern. At the Toronto Star however Catherine Porter wants us to know that it is not enough  to fix this  Most importantly we must understand that ravines “aren’t just for rich white people.”  Not moderate-income whites,  mind you, but rich ones. The entirely fabricated notion that the ravines might be seen as rich white peoples parks receives grave consideration. How else to get others to tread there? Excellent work Catherine. Bless your healing hand.  

Helicopter uses backwash to push deer to safety

by  • 

A recurring act of kindness is seen again as deer are unable to find their footing on frozen lakes. Naturalist Ian Waugh witnessed  this rescue and took the video linked at the bottom of text of a doe on the ice near Antigonish, Nova Scotia. The animal was exhausted after escaping from a fall through the ice. Her fawn, which was able to stand, would not leave her side. At this point a pilot in a government helicopter struck on a plan to hover over the deer and blow them towards shore with the backwash from the blades. The scheme worked and when the animal was close enough to shore, other men grabbed the doe and pulled the deer onto firm land.  Video is a must see 

Walmsley Brook to chase the February blahs

by  • 

A day like today is a good time to reflect on the verdant charms of Walmsley Brook, a natural feature of  pre-suburban Toronto that ran across Mt Pleasant Rd. and down what is now Roehampton Ave. (map inset).  There is a  welcome plan to recreate as well as possible the feeling of Walmsley Brook in the  Northern Lakes Landscape Design Project. This project will employ the green space in front of Northern Secondary School (inset) on Mt. Pleasant between Broadway Ave. and Roehampton.  The project will recall “a dry river bed with trees, rock seating areas, planting and flagstone paths.” A news letter from Josh Matlow (Ward 22)  says the final work “will provide a peaceful public space in a busy area.”  Residents of South Bayview can see from the inset map that Walmsley Brook traversed the area north of Eglinton and then fell into the valley holding Talbot Park. The brook travelled on through Leaside and across what is now Laird Drive near Commercial Street. Near the infilled portion of Beth Nealson Drive it took a long tumble into the Don Valley and then joined the river, according to historians, The green space project is said to have been financed with $75,000 in developers fees. The picture of Northern Secondary School was taken in 1939 when the street was paved for the first time. 

Fixing the Bayview Ave dead zone (Part 3)

by  • 

Regular commentator Susan J. has kindly offered an opinion on the lack of bus service between the south end of South Bayview and the shopping district at Bayview and Millwood. She asks whether it might be possible to run the 28 Bayview rush hour bus down to Moore Ave. There is reason to think about this, even though the 28 is at present merely a Monday to Friday rush hour service. It comes from Davisville Station and turns north at Cleveland Street and then east on Belsize Dr. where it typically waits for passengers beside the Royal Bank at Belsize and Bayview. It then turns back down Bayview to return to Davisville Station. We wish there were handy statistics on just how many passengers the 28 carries because it does seem from a casual observation to be a very heavily used route. All of which is to say that if there is any potential excess in TTC facilities and personnel it would be ideal to add a limited service route out of St. Clair Station and have it short turn as does the 28. The easy part of fixing the dead zone is that it does not require a service which runs very frequently. There is no rush hour element nor does it have to run more than eight or ten hours a day. Most residents of Moore Park, Bennington Heights and the neightborhoods of south Leaside might find that a service which ran on a one hour headway from 10 am to 6 p.m. Monday to Saturday would be ideal. The new GPS driven service known as NextBus.com permits passengers to organize their time in a way which was never previously possible and thus work around bus times in a very effective way. Thanks to Susan J. for prompting these thoughts and we invite all readers to add  their ideas by writing to us at news@bayview-news.com   

Flooded gutters today, icy streets by weekend

by  • 

The streets, sidewalks and walkways are awash in water, slush and snow this morning. Attempts to clear it up are dependent on whether the sewers are open. It looks like we have another 24 hours to clear the wet snow before colder temperatures arrive at the weekend.  These cedars found it hard to carry the heavy snow.  What a mess!  Also CBC

Children burned by chemical in Ottawa school

by  • 

Blistering injury suffered by pupil

Details are emerging, along with shocking photographs, of an unexplained series of incidents at an Ottawa public school, and nearby daycare, where children have been burned by a chemical which somehow found its way onto toilet seats. One father has released pictures he took of his 7-year-old daughter after she was burned at Avalon Public School last November. Since then, there have been two more incidents in February. Parents and school authorities are urgently seeking an explanation to what has been happening. They have apparently tried to replicate the burns by leaving the standard cleaning material on the toilet in a test but have not been able to cause the type of burns suffered by the children. CTV 

Trend Shoppe now closed on Bayview Ave.

by  • 

The Trend Shoppe, a fixture on Bayview Ave. for many  years, has closed. All stock is gone from the location at 1622, which is one door south of Patisserie de Cigogne. The Trend Shoppe was known for fashionable mid-range women’s wear and had a loyal clientele in Leaside and Davisville Village. For a number of years, the store was on the east side of Bayview in the old TD Bank building which now houses Sleep Country. The company continues to do business at another store at 2900 Steeles Ave. E. in Thornhill.    

No safe time for teens to use phone on the street

by  • 

Evidence again that there is no safe time for young people to show their smartphones on the public street. This time a 19-year-old and a 17-year-old boy say that they were robbed of their phones at 4.30 in the afternoon on Eglinton Ave. E near Holly Street. The theft happened Sunday,  February 24, 2013. The boys were accosted by two others who then took the phones. The suspects are said to be very tall. One is said to be 6 feet, 3 inches and the other at least 6 feet, maybe taller. Police are requesting the assistance of the public in identifying the following described persons in connection with this offence. Description of Suspect #1: Male, black, 18 to 19 years, 6’3”, thin build. Suspect #2: Male, black, 18 to 19 years, 6’0” to 6’1”.

Excuse me, what the heck are you talking on?

by  • 

Visitors to the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona were having fun with the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Monday — a full two weeks before the device is expected to launch in New York. The Galaxy Note 8 seems to have created a whole new category in phones, tablets or whatever. The Telegraph newspaper called it “a large mini tablet.” The thing is more than eight inches long and if it looks like the guy above is talking on a small TV, well, those who handled the Galaxy Note 8 in Barcelona say they liked it. The Galaxy Note 8 will launch worldwide in the second quarter of 2013. The eight-inch screen comes with a resolution of 1280×800 pixels which comes to 189 pixels per inch (ppi), greater than the Pad mini, which has screen resolution of 1024 x 768 pixels with 163 ppi. The tablet runs on the Android 4.1 Jelly Bean operating System and includes the Samsung stylus pen to compliment the touch-screen. The tablet comes with a 5-megapixel camera and will operate on the 3G or Wifi network. Most other mini tablets on the market have 7-inch screens and time will tell if consumers are ready to accept the new format.

Leaside Unite advice to members

by  • 

Mail from Graham Shirely tonight to members of Leaside Unite has advised them that they need not attend the North York Community Council meeting scheduled for Tuesday.  This is because SmartCentres has apparently said it will  support a deferral of the 70 Wicksteed matter and that future discussions will be scheduled.