The South Bayview Bulldog

Note left on door at 1595 Bayview

Creeds has abruptly closed its coffee shop and dry cleaning store at 1595 Bayview Ave. that it opened barely 18 months ago. Customers were met Monday with papered-over windows and a note which suggested that the closure might be temporary. That seems unlikely however because Monday also brought notice from Lennard Commercial Realty that the premises are offered on a sub-sub-lease for a term ending December 27, 2027. It appears that this is the lease once carried by Second Cup before it closed. The Creeds door notice reads in full: “Dear Leaside Community, Due to some unforeseen circumstances related to a skilled labour shortage, we will be temporarily closing this location at 1595 Bayview Ave. We apologize for any inconvenience this has caused.”

Tony Hamblin explores Lancaster as part of his birthday gift/Drew Hamblin

Shot of Leaside from aircraft on Saturday/Drew Hamblin

Drew Hamblin during flight

Lancaster bomber/archives

Guests and crew pose with the big ship at Mount Hope

Leaside businessman Drew Hamblin is a member of the board of the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum in Mount Hope. On Saturday, Mr. Hamblin arranged to take his father, Tony Hamblin, on a flight aboard an Avro Lancaster bomber built during WWII to mark his 80th birthday. The flight flew to Toronto where it made a pass over Leaside. Such flights are available to the public in the Lancaster and other historic aircraft. As Mr. Hamblin notes, the cost of upkeep and the simple cost of fuel makes each trip fairly expensive. But he says it was “truly an amazing experience. We are the only place in the world where you can fly in a rare Fairey Firefly, Westland Lysander or the famous Avro Lancaster. Thrill of a lifetime!”

Suspected cocaine found in Tractor trailer

Ambassador Brdige betweeb Windsor and Detroit

Quebec trucker Gurinder Singh, 27, is charged with trying to smuggle 97 kilograms (200 lb) of suspected cocaine into Ontario at the Ambassador Bridge between Windsor and Detroit. The stop occurred Saturday after the truck was held for secondary inspection, where it was assessed by agents and a dog team. The Canada Border Services Agency says 80 bricks of what’s believed to be cocaine were found inside the vehicle.

Third-largest Canadian airline/CBC

Air Canada is offering $18 per share, up from $13, to buy Air Transat, Canada’s third-largest airline.  The new bid brings the total offer to roughly $720 million from a previously announced bid worth $520 million. “We know this achieves the best possible outcome for all stakeholders. For shareholders of Transat and Air Canada, the combination delivers excellent value, while also providing increased job security for both companies’ employees through greater growth prospects,”  said Calin Rovinescu, president and CEO of Air Canada.

Owner of 19 percent backs A/C bid

He said Air Canada now has the backing of Letko Brosseau and Associates Inc., Transat’s largest shareholder, which holds just over 19 percent of outstanding shares. Air Canada said it plans to preserve the Transat and Air Transat brands and maintain the Transat head office. Its higher bid comes as Transat has been facing off against rival bidder, the Montreal developer Group Mach, at a securities tribunal hearing over Mach’s move to block the tour operator’s sale to Air Canada.

• ‘This is not right’: Car crash victim says Home Depot botched $27K accessible bathroom renovation

Building the bridge over Mt. Pleasant extension/Toronto archives

Old Rosedale Public School/OldTO

Mt. Pleasant and Jarvis/OldTO

Next time you whiz down Mt. Pleasant Rd. you may recall the picture at the left of the Bloor St. overpass under construction in 1949. The extension from St. Clair to Jarvis was built in the late 40s. The TTC bitterly resisted having to build this monstrous streetcar detour. The shot looks west. Upper right is the old Rosedale Public School that stood at Crescent Rd. and Mt. Pleasant. The rather forbidding old school, built in 1891, is seen in 1952 after the Mt. Pleasant extension was finished. It was demolished and a new Rosedale Public built on South Dr. later in the decade. Lower right is the wide-open intersection at Jarvis St. and Mt. Pleasant looking northeast in 1952. The billboard on the right says Globe and Mail, First in the Day, First in Results. The other billboard advertises Regent gasoline. Here’s an interesting history of Mt. Pleasant Rd.

There will be added interest in the Rogers Cup finals at Aviva Centre Sunday after Mississauga’s Bianca Andresscu, 19, qualified. Must watch. Then, a City News report on spiralling commercial rents in Kensington Market. A vegan place, Cosmic Treats on Augusta Ave., says the new landlord is hiking the monthly payment from $3,000 to $9,000. Wow. Below that, a chilling report from the CBC about two well-dressed young people sneaking into a BC dairy barn and torturing a calf to death. Finally, the Toronto Human Society continues to raise the alarm after a dog was stolen from its shelter.

Kevin Newman

Ellen Roseman

Andrew MacLeod

Kevin Newman will step down after three years as host of CTV’s W5 when the series returns for its 54^th season on September 21. Mr. Newman leaves for personal reasons. Before joining CTV, he had a distinguished career with Global News. Sources say that CTV will return W-5 to a format with no anchor. It is a long-ago form not seen since 1990 when the late Eric Malling was made anchor.

Ellen Roseman

The Star’s long-running consumer columnist, Ellen Roseman, will end her career with the paper, she has announced in a tweet. Roseman has been a champion of ordinary people navigating the transactions of daily life.  “I’ve had a great run, aided enormously by readers’ support and sharing of experiences,” said Ms Roseman. She did not say what is next for her. She is an active author and lecturer.

Andrew MacLeod

Andrew MacLeod, President and CEO of Postmedia Network Canada Corporation. said Friday that the company has reached a refinancing deal that will effectively give it an additional two years before it has to repay its first lien notes. Mr. MacLeod said that the deal gives the company more time and flexibility to execute management’s strategy to grow digital revenues. It appears to be doing that. In 2016, Postmedia issued $225 million in first lien notes with a maturity of July 2021. Since then, Postmedia has paid down around 58% of that debt, leaving $94.8 million outstanding.

Life really is too complicated when you can’t board a flight from Ottawa to Toronto without proving your gender. This story is a candidate for the Can We Go Back To 1999 Award. Then, lights out in much of England Friday. ITV reports. Below that, the awful knowledge that bulletproof backpacks are must-have back-to-school wear this year in the US. Lastly, John McNabb, great uncle of teen killer Bryer Schmegelsky speaks with kindness about his late relative.

The police chief, Mark Saunders, has held a Friday morning news conference in response to summer gun violence in Toronto.

Boarded up since 2016

Old door covered and blocked

Thick bush in former junk yard obscures Quonset hut

Since its sale in the summer of 2016 for some $10.5 million, the former Ricci brothers’ property on the northwest corner of Laird Drive and Wicksteed Ave. has been boarded up. The graffiti and summer growth has turned the corner into an abandoned eyesore. Many might wish for the return of the wrecked cars that used to line Wicksteed when the brothers ran Four Seasons Auto Body at the site. The corner, at 199 Laird Drive, is owned by Otis Properties, 3338 Dufferin St., opposite Yorkdale. The South Bayview Bulldog has made an inquiry about the plans for the land. But a reasonable guess is that the owner is merely waiting to see who might wish to develop it, or perhaps buy it. It might take decades. The property is said to offer a potential 65,000 square feet of space. It stretches from Parkhurst Blvd to Wicksteed on Laird and east on Wicksteed to the property line at the SmartCentrtes land now known as Lake Leaside.

“Definitely not SmartCentres”

One of the most intriguing unanswered questions about the Otis Property is why it was not purchased by SmartCentres to complete its development of the north side of Wicksteed. At the time of the sale to Otis, sources at Four Seasons were coy about the new owner but made it clear that their property had not been sold to Mitch Goldhar, owner of SmartCentres. “Definitely not SmartCentres,” said the Four Seasons source. Just what this emphasis might mean is for anyone to guess but it is certainly widely believed that there were marathon efforts by SmartCentres to buy Four Seasons. And why might not Otis wish to sell it to SmartCentre at some hefty price? But then there’s the chilling effect on retail development caused by Amazon. Yes, it might take decades. Unless the land is turned to an alternative use. All just speculation in the public interest.