Euro parking tag requires cash on-the-spot

by  • 

A 30-minute disagreement on a street in Prague revealed that illegal parking requires the accused driver to plead guilty and pay the fine in order to go on his way. Left, the policeman is demanding 2000 Czech koruna to settle the fine. That’s about $125. He wants it now. The driver says he can’t pay. Soon three more cops arrive and the battle goes on. Finally, they agree to give him a ticket requiring him to pay within a set time. Tough practices over there.

Czech economy on rebound

by  • 

Prague — Czechs are working hard and living large as they re-build their economy after the global recession of 2009. Many Homefront customers will recall the brief absence from our shelves of the excellent Bohemia wine and bar glasses. The company went under. But with new capital and connectiions around the world, the flow of Bohemia glass is moving again. Its a story re-told many times and in this small country of wéll-educated people, there is a cultural activity that frequently dazzles. The young couple above is headed to one of thee nightly performances of the Czech Symphony Orchestra in wonderful Smetana Hall (right). Below, lineup for tickets to a Swan Lake medley.

Shoppers Drug Mart results

by  • 

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.:

Here’s why people hate “the news”

by  • 

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.

Canvasser tipped cops to neglected cats

by  • 

Neighbors on Manor Road near Servington Crescent say a political canvasser called police when she feared a local house might contain a dead body. In fact, the stench was created by the presence of some 50 cats. Because of the concern over a possible death, the fire department was the first responder on the scene. Apparently a mature woman who lives in the house has had the cats for some time. Neighbors say they have complained of the smell in the past. Monday afternoon the Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals was carefully removing the cats from the house and assessing each one on the scene. The location is beside the picturesque Glebe area to the south. The street was crowded with emergency and news vehicles.

Ancient capitals and modern history

by  • 

Prague — For the next week or ten days the South Bayview Bulldog will file stories from some points of interest in Central Europe. We will also have local posts as well. Prague is one of the great capitals the world. It has a written history dating back more than 1,200 years. In a modern story we will tell later, you will hear how Prague was the scene of one of the great confrontations between Communism and the forces of Freedom. In particular, we will tell of how in 1968 a young a Canadian correspondent for the Associated Press broke the news of a signal act of suppression by the Red Army.

Profiling the Soudan Ave car wrecker

by  • 

As a political partisan, the Soudan Ave vandal certainly has a thing against cars. Unlike misguided workers who steal their opponents lawn signs and hide them in the garage, this guy seems to have been a fairly indiscriminate wrecker of vehicles. He even took out the tires of a car bearing a Utah plate. Police have been careful not to say the crimes are politically motivated. No doubt supporters of the Liberal, Ms Bennett, had their cars damaged. But a walk along Soudan will prove just how popular this long-time MP really is in that neighborhood. In the stretch from Bayview to Hoyle, there do not appear to be signs for any other candidate. We think a profiler might say that this perp had spent the first couple of hours of the night in a bar. Then, without realizing just how early it was (10 pm.) took off on his rampage. But of course no one said that vandals, politically inspired or otherwise, are necessarily smart. Take your choice.