The South Bayview Bulldog

Toronto has embarked on what’s called an action plan to combat very high rates of C-19 in some neighbourhoods, many of which are in the City’s northwest. But there is not much analysis of causes. Is it lifestyle, cramped high-rise living or indifference? Or is it something else? The action plan calls for more information, community agency support, increased testing and, perhaps importantly, supporting effective isolation.

Halloween at home

Elsewhere, the government is telling parents to plan Halloween at home. The enormously popular day is tough to cancel, but it has the potential for danger.

C-19 curve may be flattening

Ontario reported 704 new cases of C-19 infection Monday. The Ministry of Health says there may now be some “evidence of plateauing” in the daily counts. It is a slight increase on the 658 cases confirmed one day prior but comes on about 9,000 fewer tests, pointing to a much higher positivity rate of 2.2 per cent.

New Yorker reporter Jeffrey Toobin has been suspended from his job, after he apparently inadvertently exposed himself during a Zoom call between staff belonging to the magazine and staff at WNYC radio. Toobin has apologized after complaints that his private parts were seen but some say his judgment in attending the conference naked is questionable. National Post

Blood thrown onto sidewalk at Premier’s home

Premier Ford has complained publically that protestors who appear outside his home every Saturday are intimidating neighbours who have been forced to keep their kids inside. Recently the protesters, who have a multitude of issues, have thrown blood on the sidewalk. Many of them believe their rights are being violated by C-19 rules. CTV

Asteroid to “buzz-cut” Earth November 2

A car-sized asteroid will pass Earth in what some are calling a “buzz-cut” miss on the Monday before US election day Tuesday, November 3. Toronto Sun

Threatened a shooting at unknown school/TPS

Police at 11 Division in west-central Toronto are urgently trying to learn the identity of this man. He is alleged to have made threats to commit a shooting at an unnamed school. This occurred Friday during an exchange in an online chatroom. He was seen to possess a firearm. Please call if you know this man or his whereabouts. (416) 808-1100.

Local saloon is much-loved for its amusing signs

McSorley’s Saloon at 1544 Bayview Ave. is closed for patio renovations Monday and Tuesday this week. They hope to re-open at 11 a.m. on Wednesday. A new awning is in the works. The local hangout is much loved for its amusing signs. Perhaps the most famous is its boast of “Service, Quality, Price — Pick any two.”

A worker has suffered serious but not life-threatening injuries after falling into a subway construction hole at Bathurst Street and Eglinton Avenue West on Monday morning. Rescue crews were called to the scene just after 6 a.m. The worker, a man in his 30s, reportedly fell about 15 feet and had to be extracted from the hole.

The Ontario government will announce today that producers of products and packaging will be fully responsible for the provincial Blue Box program. It’s current;y run by the Ontario Stewardship Council with the cost split among the municipalities. But the Ford government will shift to a new model where producers of the waste – businesses – will provide blue box collection and pay for the entire cost. The transition is set to take effect at different times across the province with Toronto set to make the shift in 2023. The government is also set to announce that the list of materials accepted in the blue box will increase to include paper and plastic cups, wraps, foils, trays, bags and other single-use items such as stir sticks, straws, cutlery and plates. Ontario is the birthplace of the blue-box.

Now for something different. An Olympia ice-surfacing machine manufactured by Resurface Corporation of Elmira north of Kitchener-Waterloo is seen on fire at a youth hockey practice. It occurred at Bill Gray’s Regional Iceplex in Brighton, NY. on Wednesday evening. The driver was not injured and no others were harmed.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is congratulated by her partner Clarke Gayford following her victory speech to Labour Party members in Auckland

Jacinda Ardern has been re-elected prime minister of New Zealand with her Labour Party winning a landslide victory in national voting. In her victory remarks, the 40-year-old mother of an infant girl said the world was deeply polarized and reminded New Zealanders that their small democracy needed to be able to listen.

Kick out Chinese ambassador says O’Toole

It was never more apparent that there is no democracy in China as Canada called in the PRC ambassador for a private dressing down Thursday after remarks he made warning Canada against offering political asylum to Hong Kong democrats. Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole says if Ambassador Cong Peiwu does not publicly apologize for his “belligerent” comments, which O’Toole called a threat to Canadians, Ottawa should kick him out. Toronto Star

Teacher decapitated after showing kids cartoons

A middle school history teacher in a Paris suburb has been knifed to death and decapitated near the school where earlier this month he had shown his pupils cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad considered blasphemous by some, French officials said on Friday. CBC

Salmon snapped by Bob Arsenault of Bayview Ave as he and his wife walked near Pottery Road in 2015

It’s the time of year when salmon are lunging up the Don River to spawn. Many people are posting on Twitter and this story from the CBC is worth a look for weekend planners. Bob Arsenault snaps salmon in Don north of Pottery Rd.

Pupils, parents and teachers are trying to adjust to that new contortion of the C-19 period known as hybrid schools. That’s where the teacher flips back and forth from kids in class to those online. Then, it’s the Nick Nurse story. An improbable hero of the NBA has written his story. Below that, the heartbreaking story of a grandfather who lost his grip on his granddaughter, dropping the child to her death off of a cruise ship. So sad. Finally, this Global News report suggests that some snowbirds will trade Florida for British Columbia this winter. Not as warm but maybe more interesting than the flat, windy US state.