The South Bayview Bulldog

Those who think like us, usually begin by saying there isn’t enough money to mount a 2020 Olympic bid. We’re tight for money up and down the line and that’s abundantly clear. So may we start with this. Toronto doesn’t need the Olympics to establish itself or to prosper. Our credentials were well established many years ago and the brief spotlight of Olympic activity will make no difference long-term in our status as a place to live, visit or do business. As to money, history also tells us that we may be better off without the games. They frequently leave behind some very big bills to be paid by the taxpayers (that would be you). This didn’t happen in Beijing because literally millions of people worked on the Olympics merely for the glory of China. Canadians would expect quite rightly to get paid. Passing on a bid for the Olympics will also spare us the deplorable public spectacle in the televised Coliseum which always accompanies the IOC’s decision. We watched ourselves humiliated when the Olympic bosses chose Coca Cola (Atlanta) and a population of 1.3 billion (China) over us. There’s no honour. Losing the Stanley Cup is painful, but anyone who gets there can hold his head up.

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.

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.

The British Prime Moister has outlined new measures to assist police in gaining control during street violence. Meantime, it appears that increasingly rigorous action and larger police presence has forced at least a lull to three days of unbridled destruction and looting.

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.

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?

Research in Motion has pledged to help the British Authorities in any way possible in their efforts to stop the rioting. This after it appears that the Blackberry Messenger system has been used to facilitate how and when vandaks will strike. ABC