The South Bayview Bulldog

Princess Leonor of Spain

Flight attendant Patrisha Organo

Nima and Dawa with mom

Faces in the news begins with (at left) Spain’s Princess Leonor, heir to the throne. Leonor turned 13 last week and as part of her preparation for a life of royal duty (and privilege) she gave her first speech. It was on the 40th anniversary of Spain’s constitution. Very sweet. Speaking of duty, Philippine Airlines flight attendant Patrisha Organo (centre) assumed a rather unusual one by breast-feeding a passenger’s infant. She heard the baby crying soon after takeoff and asked the mother if everything was okay. The woman wept as she said she had run out of milk. Organo, the mother of a toddler, took over and fed the baby. At right, Australian surgeons in Melbourne have successfully separated conjoined twins from Bhutan.  The 15-month-old girls, Nima and Dawa, were doing well after the surgery that lasted almost six hours. It was a delicate operation that divided their shared liver and reconstructed their abdomens. Video

Steals poppy box

Caught in act

How most people mark Remembrance Day

Durham Regional Police are hunting a man who stole a poppy donation box from a convenience store in Pickering this week. It occurred about 8:30 a.m. when the man entered the Circle K store at Kingston and Liverpool Rds. “He lingered for a while, went outside, then came back in and grabbed the poppy donation box on the counter,” police said.

Rev. Gretta Vosper

Right Rev. Richard Bott

Secret agreement

The United Church of Canada and Rev. Gretta Vosper, the notorious “atheist” minister, have agreed on secret terms to settle the issue of her non-conforming beliefs. Vosper was set to face a potentially messy de-frocking trial later this month. The settlement may leave many wondering what they are supposed to believe, even among parishioners of this most liberal of Christian faiths in Canada.  The confidential settlement somehow permits Rev Gretta to minister to her congregation at West Hill United Church notwithstanding her previously outspoken repudiation of a belief in God, Christ and the teaching of the Bible. The Church told Canadian Press “that the formal hearing had been called off in light of the agreement. It said the Right Rev. Richard Bott, who was elected in July to lead the United Church in Canada, expressed pleasure with the resolution. Rev. Bott is said to have acknowledged the controversy that has been swirling around Vosper and the church’s initiative to fire her. “As a Christian church, we continue to expect that ministers in the United Church of Canada will offer their leadership in accordance with our shared and agreed upon statements of faith, Bott said.” Vosper’s lawyer, Julian Falconer, called it an important day for the United Church that his client no longer was at risk of sanction. “Both parties took a long look at the cost-benefit at running a heresy trial and whether it was good for anyone (and) the results speak for themselves,” Falconer said. “They recognized there’s a place for Gretta, and that there is no reason to separate the minister and the congregation.” United Church to defrock atheist minister Gretta Vosper

There was no winning ticket for the $50 million jackpot in Friday night’s Lotto Max draw. There were also six Maxmillions prizes of $1 million each up for grabs, and three of them were won. The jackpot for the next Lotto Max draw on Nov. 16 will be approximately $55 million, and 12 Maxmillions prizes will be offered.

A two-alarm fire in a residential building at Yonge St. and Orchard View Blvd has been extinguished, fire officials say. One person was treated for smoke inhalation. The fire was reported about 10 a.m. Saturday and produced visible flames and heavy smoke at the interesection.

Saturday morning sees the continuing inconvenience to South Bayview neighborhoods caused by the end of the Service Ontario office here being discussed on Facebook. It closed when the Dawsco Plaza on Brentcliffe was demolished in July to make way for towers. Two SO locations are dealing with the overflow business typically seen at these offices. They are, as noted here in July, 839 Yonge St between Aylmer Ave and Davenport Rd below the Canadian Tire and 1871 O’Connor Drive, near Victoria  Park. It’s in the O’Connor Place plaza on the right-hand side just before Vic Park as you drive east. Those who go to Yonge St. recommend parking at Canadian Tire. Pick up some garbage bags for validation, they suggest.

BARELY COMMITTED TO FACE-TO-FACE SERVICE

It is well known that Service Ontario is barely committed to face-to-face service.  As discussed during the previous Liberal government, bureaucrats would much prefer see the process 100 percent online. Sadly, complex matters and human frailties require personal contact. It may be easy to ask Alexa for a phone number but she is vague about renewing your plates. In July, Service Ontario told The Bulldog it continues to be committed to an outlet in Leaside. But the independent franchisee has to make it work for her too. So far, silence. Don’t hold your breath.

1871 O’Connor

839 Yonge

Got a few minutes?

Audra Brown of City News at Humphrey’s training wall

Big boy is a good boy when trainer wants to check his paws, give him a shot etc.

All on board escaped injury after a Fly Jamaica jet bound for Toronto had to turn around and return to a Guyanese airport after the aircraft hydraulics started to fail. Close call. Next, a harrowing look inside the cars of people trying to escape California wildfires. They pray and sing to keep children calm in truly terrifying circumstances. Below that, Uber is caught between the security value of video in its cars and silly drivers who post personal conversations online. What to do? Finally, let’s visit Toronto Zoo where an eight-foot bear named Humphrey seems docile and obedient at his “training wall.”

From left Susan Scandiffio, Serena Wilson, 7, Elizabeth Wilson and Karen Siddiqi gather to fill a purse for a sister/Bulldog

The work begins

The Midtown Fill-A-Purse-For-A-Sister Campaign is nearing the end of its three-month push to obtain and fill purses for women in need. As the December 1 deadline approaches, three members of the group with children helping were busy in the Davisville home of Karen Siddiqi filling purses and bags. They estimate there may be more than 400 purses to be shared with those at places like the Red Door Shelter and Eva’s Place For Teens. Last year the total was about 80. But this year, for example, group member Susan Scandiffio has some 200 purses in her basement alone. Much interest came from a post by Elizabeth Wilson to the employee intra net at CIBC headquarters downtown. That initiative produced 100 purses all filled. Fill A Purse For A Sister was created by Markham social worker Angel Freedman in 2015. The Midtown group was inspired by Ms. Siddiqi who learned of Freedman’s work via social media and then started the Midtown Fill A Purse Facebook page.

MANY ARE HELPING

The spirit of Fill A Purse touched two students from Bishop Strachan School. They are Kyra Hillier and Charlotte Tilley. They sorted and filled purses and Kyra made a direct request to Shoppers Drug Mart and the Shandex Group to make a donation of items for the campaign. These firms came through, helping to fill more purses. It is a triumph of decency and goodwill like others seen across the community. One can only imagine how much such purses full of life’s necessities and needs — toiletries, socks, gloves, scarves, lipstick and so on — mean to women who have essentially nothing.

Kyra Hillier

Charlotte Tilley

The annual Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show returned to Manhattan’s Pier 94 Thursday night after two years abroad (Paris 2016 and Shanghai 2017). The night marked the end of an era for one Victoria’s Secret Angel Adriana Lima. The supermodel hung up her wings with an emotional tribute, retiring from the fashion show that made her a household name. The show will be televised December 2.

A number of condtional passes have been granted to Toronto eating places including the Hero Certified Burgers location at 1627 Bayview Ave. Hero Certified has 20 locations in Toronto and the GTA. A list of conditional passes issued by Toronto Public Health.

Emile Ratelband

Hania Aguilar

Chris Crippen

Oh those Dutch. They are Canada’s best friends from way back but they have some funny ideas. TV personality Emile Ratelband, at left, is taking legal action to lower his age by 20 years in a move he says will push back against age discrimination and boost his dating prospects. Apparently a court has agreed to hear this physical impossibility. Some might call it fibbing. Then at centre, the desperate search for Hania Aguilar has brought a $15,000 reward from the FBI. The North Carolina 13-year-old was taken from her front yard in a brazen abduction as she waited for her mom and dad to drive her to school. At right, Chris Crippen, the former drummer of Hedley, has some ugly things to say about Jacob Hoggard’s conduct with female fans.

A 59-year-old woman is dead and 32-year-old man has been rushed to hospital after they were struck by a vehicle that jumped the a curb in Scarborough. Emergency crews were called to the scene near Birchmount and Ellesmere Rds just before 7 a.m. Friday.