The South Bayview Bulldog

Is it possible the City will move to eliminate the most outrageous “gotcha” feature of metered parking in Toronto? We all know that if we misjudge the time required to do an errand, have lunch or whatever, the penalty is $30. Bang. The days of pay as you go parking are gone. The civilized idea that you could simply pay a makeup fee at the regular rate has been stomped on like a bug. But wait. An electronic means of paying a top-up fee has been tested and is now in use in Winnipeg, Calgary, and Vancouver. Councillor Karen Stintz said this week that Toronto is considering a plan that would allow drivers to pay for parking or replenish their meters by using a smart phone. Drivers would pre-register, phone the number on the meter, and buy more time by redialing the number. If a parking officer wanted to issue a ticket he would have to check the electronic time clock to see if the driver was overdue. A story in the Mark News says that Toronto Parking has been investigating the option for a year to see if it’s financially feasible. This will test City bosses morality. Why give drivers a way of avoiding that delicious $30 tax grab? We will see. Many thanks to the reader who commented (Click comments) for correcting us on the amount of the street parking fine. And of course those who don’t pay at all deserve a fine but we believe most people pay. It’s the practical problem of getting back to the meter in time that makes paying difficult.

A reminder that Paul Henderson and the Henderson Jersey Homecoming Tour will be rolling into Leaside Memorial Gardens to support fundraising efforts for the expansion of the facilities, as well as to meet fans and celebrate an iconic piece of Canadian history. This is a follow on to our story of earlier this week (right). The free admission traveling exhibit is housed in a 48-foot-long double trailer and features Henderson’s 1972 Summit Series Jersey (left) the hockey gloves he wore in that game, rare Canadian hockey memorabilia and interactive games and fun for all ages. Residents are encouraged to come out and enjoy the festivities. All donations received by September 25, 2011, day of the show, will be matched by SmartCentres to a maximum of $25,000. The date and time: Sunday, September 25, 2011, 11 to 5 pm. There’s also a nice story in InsideToronto here by Danielle Milley. This story has a photo of the man who took the famous winning goal picture, the late Frank Lennon.

The new CNN concept ‘coffice’ (coffee-office) offers customers free wi-fi, computers and printing services, and features CNN content across different platforms, including a live feed of the CNN International channel on a large screen, the latest CNN newswires on a digital ticker and computer terminals featuring cnn.com and cnngo.com. Oh sure, there have seen all sort of commercial, free hot spots in Starbucks and elsewhere, but this is the full up largely free office. It can’t be cheap. Even $4 lattes won’t cover it all. No, it’s a scheme to drive viewership. Will it work. Here’s what the cable service says. “CNN Café is not just another coffee shop, but an information hub for locals to get the latest international news from CNN, as well as a chance to learn English in a more comfortable, relaxed environment,” said Ron Lee, senior vice president and general manager of Turner Entertainment Networks Korea.

Local streets were populated with teams of runners and walkers out to participate in the annual Terry Fox Run to help cancer research. Here we see the De La Salle College group heading along Welland Ave in Moore Park.

Which is not a bad thing really. Left is the new bird, said to have been pre-released on a sports blog. At right is the logo the boys wore on that snowy day in 1977 when they opened at CNE stadium. Grandstand seats were $1.

Jitters about the unknown impact of world debt had its own impact today — a huge bump downwards in the stock markets. The Toronto Stock Exchange composite closed down 391 points. It had been as much as 527 off but in the last hour canny buyers trimmed that back. The markets started off with a sharp drop and just kept going as galloping panic took over. The bundle of anxieties included Ben Bernanke’s warning that the U.S. economy is on the edge to reported slowing of the economy in China to the ever-present old favorites Greece, Italy and Spain.

The Teaopia Cafe is now open at 1592 South Bayview. You’ll find Devon (left) waiting to help in pleasant surroundings. Outside (right) two passers toast the opening with a nice blend.