The South Bayview Bulldog

Our post of two days ago about the Prague driver who was fined for a parking infraction, and expected to pay on the spot, has brought a range of reactions. A regular contributor to The South Bayview Bulldog, responded by saying we might be giving “traffic Nazis” in Toronto ideas. It’s not clear just how widespread such-on-the-spot payments are in Europe or elsewhere. In Ireland, where there is a system of on-the-spot parking fines for illegal parking, fines can be set immediately by the police. But it appars that payment of such fines is not required instantly. This practice of instant payment hearkens back to the days when highway cops in the U.S. South, in connivance with local judges, fined tourist drivers and jailed them if they could not pay the fine in cash on the spot. If you have any knowledge of the Prague practices, please send a comment to us by clicking the Comment l.ink below. You can remain anonymous if you wish.

TPS report: A resident of Heather Road, reports that between 1530 hours, April 22, 2011 and 2100 hours, April 25, 2011, entry was gained into the premises by forcing a door. Removed was a quantity of jewellery, cash, wine, clothing, personal accessories, audio visual and computer equipment.

At Shoppers Drug Mart, that every-where drugstore, they’ve announced Q1 results. You can see why flossy new stores (like the one about to open on South Bayview) with lots of general merchandise are important to Shoppers. Their overall sales are up, based on general merchandise. Prescription revenues are down. As the store explains, “First quarter sales were $2.347 billion, an increase of 2.7% over the same period last year, driven by strong front store sales growth in all regions of the country. On a same-store basis, total sales increased 2.0% during the quarter. Prescription sales were $1.150 billion in the first quarter, a decrease of 0.4% on both a total and a same-store basis when compared to the same period last year, as continued growth in the number of prescriptions filled was offset by a reduction in average prescription values.:

The Manor Road home that was raided by animal care officials yesterday contained 60 cats. The owner of the house, Diane Way, a former lawyer, has been charged with cruelty to animals. A story here from the Sun.

Here’s why you hate the news. A story from the University of Warwick (hmm) has prompted the bulletin that “people living in some of the world’s happiest countries — including Canada — are disproportionately more likely to commit suicide.” Don’t get it? Well naturally, in due course it’s explained that high expectations and the pressure of striving to succeed do, in fact, cause some people to kill themselves. Very unfortunate, but not very newsworthy and frankly, not related to happiness. It was a cheap thrill of a headline however. Look, it could just as easily be argued that happy countries — with their disproportionately high standards of living — prevent people from suffering. But the news from Warwick World is that the glass is definitely not full. It isn’t even half empty. The glass is to be used to cut your wrists.