The South Bayview Bulldog

A commuter train traveling at high speed in northern India has run over a crowd of people seated on the tracks watching the burning of effigies as part of the Dussehra festival,” a police officer has told Reuters. Dozens are said to be dead including children. Witnesses say the crowd did not hear the train approaching because of the noise of the festival. Local television stations showed images of angry and distraught locals including a weeping mother who had just lost a child in the tragedy. Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he was extremely saddened by the train accident. “The tragedy is heart-wrenching,” he tweeted. “My deepest condolences to the families of those who lost their loved ones and I pray that the injured recover quickly. Have asked officials to provide immediate assistance that is required.” Video account not in English.

The Line 1 subway will be effectively shut down on weekends for as much as a year because of work related to Eglinton LRT at what will become the Eglinton and Yonge LRT station.  The earliest of these shutdowns will occur October 27-28, November 3-4, November 24-25, December 8-9 and December 15-16.

Alexander Edward (Alex) Ling

With Mayor June Rowlands in early 1990s

Alex Ling, the highly regarded and dynamic merchant who conceived the Toronto Association of BIAs (TABIA) has died at home at the age of 86. Mr. Ling and his wife Helen moved to the Bloor West Village in Toronto in 1971. A post at the TABIA website recalls that the couple thought they wouldn’t be so busy but this was not the case. “Alex became involved in the BIA right away. He was first elected as chair in 1979 and worked very hard for the Bloor West Village BIA and the neighbourhood. In the early 1980s, with the help of City Hall, he started the Toronto Association of Business Improvement Areas (TABIA) to give support to all BIAs in the City of Toronto. Alex ate and slept the BIA philosophy. He loved the work and the challenge of the job. He was TABIA’s President for 19 years and in 2001 he finally engineered himself to Past President. In 2004 Alex became Chairman of the Bloor West Village BIA by promising to continue to help out, staying on as a board member.”

Many roads will be closed in central downtown and along the waterfront both Saturday and Sunday because of  the Scotiabank Waterfront Marathon. Police notice here,

Among the coldest of cold cases in GTA living memory is the disappearance of Noreen Greenley, 13, in 1963. Stories have been told for years that a construction worker abducted the teen and then buried his car with her body in it to hide the evidence. Thursday police dug in an area near Regional Road 57 north of Bowmanville in hope of finding that near-legendary vehicle. Nothing was found and spirits were dampened.

Kleenex in the United Kingdom will re-brand its “Mansize” tissues after some consumers complained the name was sexist. Can the Papa Burger, lady finger cookies and gender offensive Croque Madame and Croque Monsieur be long for this world? Croque non-binary perhaps. In any case, Kimberly-Clark (Kleenex) says the product will now be called Kleenex Extra Large.

The Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) has authorized rotating postal stoppages as early as next week.  The impact of such strikes are much less in 2018 than they were ten years ago. Electronic billing and bill payment, cash transfers and email are driving paper invoices and letters into the past. There are people who may have fallen behind technology however, who will be effected.  Many are waiting to see what effect any such stoppage may have.

US and Canadian equity markets were hammered again Thursday with New York down 336 and Toronto off 126 near the close. Things like Saudia Arabia and their coo-coo prince, rising interest rates and the price of oil are named as reasons. The TSX is down a hefty five percent so far this year.

The funeral  service for Donald S. Macdonald will be held Friday, October 19 at 3 p.m. at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church at 78 Clifton Rd. It will take place at 3 p.m. A moving and extensive obituary has been published on the site of the Humphrey Funeral Home A.W. Miles-Newbigging Chapel. Previous

The annual free pumpkin giveaway at the Bayview Ave. Valumart will  take place Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The day will also be marked by a haunted house/cemetery outside the store and raffles of goodie bags. The event is sponsored by Valumart, Bosley Real Estate and Realtor Patrick Rocca.