The South Bayview Bulldog

Not to be unkind, but a reported decision by Metrolinx to permit riders to use a credit card or phone to tap and pay seems so obvious it makes one snicker. It’s like the day McDonald’s discovered that the world wants the right to eat eggs at any hour. What were they thinking? But never mind because according to the Toronto Star, the new system will allow commuters to tap a chip credit card, debit card, or phone onto a Presto reader. The move is being viewed as a big step towards modernizing transit systems by giving passengers the option to pay for their rides without having to purchase specialized products such as tickets or fare cards. So, no more stressing over last-minute reloads on your Presto card. Duh!

Sliding temperatures are a certain warning that snow cannot be long delayed. Thursday morning will see a mix of snow and rain. Messy. The City News report below tells of how Toronto tries to be “proactive” about it all.

Construction on Bloor St. West will cause the Santa Claus parade to abandon its traditional starting point at Bloor and Christie this year. Instead, the parade will start at Parliament and Bloor, head west and then south on University. The date this year is Sunday, November 17 for the 115th annual parade. “(Bloor) is under construction now and just wouldn’t work for us to host all the thousands of families who line up on the side of the street,” CEO Peter Beresford told reporters at a press conference Tuesday. “So we’re going the other way from University.” The parade will then head east on Wellington Street before heading south on Yonge Street and then east on Front Street.

Latest plsn for Georgia Walsh Playground

Work has begun on the new Georgia Walsh Playground Project in Trace Manes Park. The old equipment was removed from the long-time play area in recent days. It is a much-loved place for neighborhood children and was among the most favorite spots of the late Gilliam Walsh. Her heart-breaking death on July 16, 2014, when she was struck by a car on her way home from the playground, touched a nation. Georgia was seven. Her mother Jillian has spearheaded fundraising for the modern project now underway. The fall and winter will see foundations installed for the equipment and splash pad. It’s hoped that kids will be able to use the playground by mid-summer 2020 with a ribbon-cutting soon after. Here are the particulars of the playground.

1. Fully fenced in
2. Rubberized surface to be wheelchair accessible
3. Shaded area and tables for eating
4. Seating options throughout playground
5. Equipment that caters to ages from toddler to tween
6. Splash Pad
7. Special needs accessible equipment
8. Stroller Parking and Bike racks
9. Sandbox

Old playground equipment is removed from Trace Manes Park/Jillian Walsh

Old wading pool will become a splash pad/Bulldog

Modern play equipment will fill this space/Bulldog

Monday afternoon at Eglinton Ave and Rumsey Rd./Barrig Hayward-Hagopian Facebook

A nasty car-truck-bus collision at Eglinton Ave. and Rumsey rd. was caught by passersby Monday afternoon. Note what appears to be sidewalk first-aid being administered on the southeast corner. Facebook

Red Jeep pickup looking north/Steve Nsstos Facebook

Toronto Real Estate Board

Newsco RE

The Toronto Real Estate Board says home sales rose 14 percent in October compared with a year earlier even as prices rose. The board says there were 8,491 sales in the Greater Toronto Area in the month, up from 7,448 sales in October 2018. The composite benchmark price rose by 5.8 percent in the month for the strongest annual growth rate since December 2017, while the average selling price was up 5.5 percent to $852,142. News release

Deputy Premier Elliott was in Uxbridge Monday as her office issued a news release saying the government intends to permit dogs to enter patios where so-called low-risk foods are served. It’s an interesting idea. News release

Elizabeth May will continue to serve in Commons/BC Local News

Federal Green Party Leader Elizabeth May has stepped down as party leader. Speaking to reporters in Ottawa Monday, May said that she is leaving the post she has held since 2006, effective today. The BC MP said she felt comfortable stepping aside from the role now because the party is in a good position after a solid performance in the recent election campaign. May said she will continue to sit as a member of Parliament and will be the party’s parliamentary caucus leader. She said she promised her daughter that the 2019 election would be her last at the party’s helm. CPAC video

A CBC story contains this interactive map showing Toronto schools with higher (up to 10 percent) student populations who have not been vaccinated for measles. The concern for how this increases the possibility of an epidemic is easily understood. High rate of vaccination refusal at 12 Toronto alternative schools creates measles risk, officials say

Aged bricks find takers in Leaside

An offer of aged bricks left over from a renovation is getting lots of interest at Leaside Community Facebook page. The man who posted the offer says they were “a near-perfect match for repairing our porch, filling in windows and closing exterior gaps. They were removed and cleaned by our contractors.”

The union representing Ontario’s education workers says its members have voted to adopt a new contract that was drawn up last month. The 55,000 workers narrowly avoided a strike in early October when the CUPE bargaining team reached an eleventh-hour tentative deal with the province. The union says 79 percent of the members voted in favour of the new deal but adds it was not passed unanimously. Under the deal, the workers would get a one percent wage increase.

Teachers have voted to strike

Elementary teachers and education workers have voted 98 percent in favour of a strike, though the union wouldn’t lay out a timeline for when it could happen. Unions representing secondary and Catholic teachers are also holding strike votes.

Cellphone ban in classroom kicks in

Monday marks the end of casual cellphone presence in Ontario classrooms. The Progressive Conservative government announced back in August that they would be implementing a ban on personal mobile devices inside classrooms or during “instructional time.” Exceptions to the ban will be made if the devices are required for health and medical purposes, to support special education needs or if an educator says it is necessary for the lesson