The South Bayview Bulldog

Tuesday has seen an announcement with much ballyhoo about a scheme to perhaps provide tax relief to businesses. Municipalities will be given “the flexibility to target property tax relief to small businesses.” Government release.

The Ministry of Health reports yet another troubling record-high number — 1,388 — of C-19 cases Tuesday for the 24-hour period ending at midnight.  On Saturday, the province reported 1,328 cases. Spiralling infections are the dilemma of a society caught between an insidious virus and the financial ruin of hundreds of thousands of citizens. It’s reported that the hospitality company King Street Restaurant Group has filed for insolvency.  Its brands are Buca, Bar Buca, La Banane, CXBO, Jacobs & Co. Steakhouse, and Jamie’s Italian.

Canadians would support C-19 curfew

Canadian Press reports that more than two-thirds of Canadians say they would support a curfew if the COVID-19 pandemic became serious enough. The survey by Leger and the Association for Canadian Studies found that 67 percent of Canadians would back a temporary nighttime curfew – 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. – to curb viral spread in dire circumstances. However, respondents’ enthusiasm varied by age, with young people less disposed to the notion. Fifty-five percent of respondents aged 18 to 34 said they would support a curfew, while three-quarters of those aged 55 and over endorsed it – including 80 percent of those over 65.

Stock markets in New York and Toronto flew sky-high Monday on news that Pfizer says its C-19 vaccine is more than 90 percent effective in immunity tests on well over 40,000 people. The NYSE index flirted with 1,300 approaching closing. MarketWatch. In Toronto, the TSX index was up nearly 300 at 3 p.m.

Projected art

Look up this week at Leaside Arena

Councillor Robinson has tweeted notice of a City-sponsored civic promotion called BigArtTO. It opens Wednesday and is on until Saturday at Leaside Memorial Arena. BigArtTO features free access to over 200 hours of temporary public artworks projected onto local buildings and landmarks. It’s created by Toronto artists and will play in each of the City’s 25 wards. This week the show is on in Ward 15.

US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer and German biotech firm BioNTech say Monday that their coronavirus vaccine was more than 90% effective in preventing Covid-19 among those without evidence of prior infection, according to data published Monday from their late-stage vaccine trial. “It is a great day for science,” Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” Monday morning. “It’s a great day for humanity. When you realize that your vaccine has a 90% effectiveness, that’s overwhelming. You understand that the hopes of billions of people and millions of businesses and hundreds of governments that we felt on our shoulders. Now we can credibly tell them I think we can see light at the end of the tunnel.” — CNBC

Jeopardy host Alex Trebek has passed away at the age of 80. The news was confirmed on the game show’s Twitter page on Sunday. The post read, “Jeopardy! is saddened to share that Alex Trebek passed away peacefully at home early this morning, surrounded by family and friends. Thank you, Alex.” Mr. Trebek had hosted the syndicated quiz show since 1984. “Full coverage” links at Google News

Late polling counts from the US say that the election in which more than 140 million people voted has been incredibly close. Joe Biden is shown with 74,857,880 votes (50.6 percent) and President Trump has 70,598,539 (47.7 percent) votes. Various sources say this translates to a minimum of 279 electoral votes or as many as 290. The required majority is 270.

Just for personal use/Durham Regional Police

As shoppers on Bayview Ave. will have observed, marijuana use is now legal (three stores to date). No doubt they’re all absolutely operating by the book but the explosion of outlets across the City is evidence the market is just enormous. This week Durham Regional Police announced the arrest of 30 people and the seizure of illegal plants valued at more than $50 million. Out in Durham where there’s lots of open space, police have so far raided 17 farms, indoor and outdoor. The DPR notes tartly that while the operators of these farms all held licenses from Health Canada to grow marijuana for medical purposes “it does not appear that any monitoring of these private growing operations had occurred”. DRP Release

Hot outfit

Leslieville photographer Colin Mcconnell’s most recent Dogs in the Hood offering.

CTV at Bayview and Broadway, across the street from Whole Foods Friday

As Saturday dawns, Whole Foods has the doubtful distinction of being the only grocery store in history to have been denounced in a House of Commons motion for its brainless decision to prevent employees from wearing a poppy. Of course, the poppy is an especially Canadian thing. But it’s entirely apolitical and hardly obscure, even in the darkest recesses of Whole Foods headquarters in Austen, Texas. Nonetheless, Whole Foods geniuses remained stubborn. As fury rolled across Canada early Friday, Whole Foods doubled down on its refusal. It took a call from the Minister of Veterans Affairs, the HOC vote and maybe a call from Jeff Bezos, Amazon tycoon, owner of WF and the richest man in the world, for the company to change its mind. Toronto Sun