Poking RIM in the eye with an Apple

You may all have heard by now that Apple has decided to poke a finger in the eye of its RIM competitors by opening an Apple store in Waterloo, home of the Blackberry. It seems a little obvious. They’d do more business in London or Mississauga. In any other context, this is as likely as the Chinese opening a phony Blackberry store on South Bayview. Actually, that sounds kind of good. We could take one of the phony Chinese Apple stores too. Did you hear that they just discovered another 22 of them? It’s the only way we’ll ever get one.

Good, bad and ugly tree boxes are gone

Word that the sidewalks are to be replaced (see post below) will raise few laments for the falling-apart concrete planters. They’re gone for good. Their origin seems lost in history. It’s enough to say that planting maple trees in concrete boxes seems unbelievably stupid. Nonetheless, many South Bayviewites did their best (top) to keep the boxes looking good. Others were left to become wretched receptacles of waste. Now they will soon be history.

Free weekend parking during road work

Sidewalk replacement and road re-paving is set to begin Monday August 15, 2011 along South Bayview. The supervisor of the work Bruce Shaw tells The South Bayview Bulldog that access to all shops will be maintained during sidewalk work. It’s expected to be finished by Friday, September 9, 2011. Most pleasantly, there will be no work on Saturday or Sunday when shoppers will be able to park free on South Bayview. Many will wipe away a tear to see the removal of flowers so carefully planted this spring. But everything is going. Concrete boxes and trees too. Trees will be planted in underground boxes with grating to permit water to flow. Sorry for the previous error now corrected re date of work.

$18 million quarterly loss for Indigo

Indigo Books & Music has sustained an $18 million quarterly loss. This reflects continuation of the revolutionary change in the market for paper books in the past two years. The company said in a release that in the short term its retail business will be challenged. In fact, this very large corporation has suffered from the same impact that sent small South Bayview bookstores such as the Sleuth of Baker Street and The flying Dragon reeling.

Martha McCabe aims for Olympic swim berth

The accomplished competitive swimmer Martha McCabe is shooting for a berth on Canada’s 2012 Olympic Team Many in South Bayview will know of Martha. She is a native of the area and her mom and dad still live here. Martha is now at the University of British Columbia where she is a member of the Dolphins swimming team. In recent days, Martha has won the bronze medal at the swimming championships in Shanghai. She is quoted by Norm Nelson in InsideToronto.com as saying “It feels awesome, I don’t know if it’s really hit me yet.” InsideToronto.com also reports the swimming team is taking a few days in London to check out the 2012 Olympic facilities.

OPINION: Death threats a warning to us all

Toronto Police have arrested a second man accused of making a death threat against Mayor Rob Ford. His office says that the mayor has been subject to many threats and police are taking precautions. Ford meanwhile has said that he won’t change his policies because of it. Over the first seven months of his tenure as mayor, Ford has been personally ridiculed and described in the media as someone who is trying to destroy Toronto., create a generation of children who are illiterate and much else. You don’t have to like Ford to understand that he was elected, not because he is graceful or refined, but because the city is broke. A lot of his supporters regret that the mayor isn’t more urbane. But can we stick to the critical issue?