The South Bayview Bulldog

GO Transit says a lightning strike has caused signal issues west of Union Station on the Lakeshore East and West lines. No trains are running westbound from Union Station. There are 3 trains full of passengers stuck just west of Union and GO transit can’t send any more trains until it is safe to do so — City News

Pregnant and short of breathe on this Not-moving-for-one-hour hot crowed NO GO train…….

— Yishka W (@YishkaW) July 16, 2018

Have been stuck on the Go Train, standing, for 1.5 hours when my back started driving me nuts. A woman seated next to me could tell & stood to give me her seat while the three other dudes in the quad of seats looked the other way. Yet another reason why I love women.

— maureenhalushak (@MaureenHalushak) July 16, 2018

At 3:24 p.m. EDT, Environment Canada meteorologists were tracking a severe thunderstorm north of Toronto. Communities in the path included Vaughan, Richmond Hill, North York, Maple, Concord and Thornhill. Across most of Midtown however skies began to brighten as the afternoon headed into the supper hour.

Deeply confused plaza

Service Ontario gone for good,

Hapless customers

The Leaside Service Ontario office has closed abruptly amid a nightmare of demolition that has left the Dawsco Plaza on Brentcliffe Rd. half-open and half-closed. Citizens seeking critical legal requirements like birth certificates and driver’s licenses were wandering the parking lot like lost waifs Monday morning  There appear to be notices posted on the front door of the offices where Service Ontario was located but it is impossible to approach and read them because of hoardings. The Tim Hortons has been moved to the south end of the strip mall at Vanderhoof where a few places are still open. Parking is deeply confused. The Service Ontario franchisee which ran locations for decades on Millwood Rd., Eglinton at Laird and then on Brentcliffe seems to have vanished. Hapless customers who consulted each other under the hot sun seemed to think the closest Service Ontario is at Victoria Park Ave. and O’Connor Drive. The Brentcliffe office was operating normally in June with no hint of a coming closure. Underserved is the word that comes to mind checking the map. There’s another SO at 839 Yonge St. between Aylmer Ave. and Davenport Rd.

• 839 Yonge St, Toronto, ON M4W 2H21
• 1871 O’Connor Drive, Units 3 & 4, North York, ON M4A 1X1

Just like at the movies/Mike Nguyen – CP24

Kris Mateus, 33

Rankin Crescent/Tony Smyth @LateNightCam

A Maserati car erupted in flames (left) in the parking lot of the Cineplex at Queensway and Islington Ave. Sunday night apparently while its owner was at the movies. Police say this matter is deemed suspicious. At centre is a picture of Kris Mateus, 33, of Toronto, wanted for criminal harassment, failing to comply with probation, break-and-enter and mischief under $5000. This stems from an incident in which a woman, 30, was followed and had her Scarborough home broken into by a man At right, the scene after a driver hit an apartment building on Rankin Crescent in the Junction early Monday. The two young men inside are recovering.

The CBC reports that a father and son are accused of letting 13 horses die and starving 15 others in Whitchurch-Stouffville after an investigation by the Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals at the property about 50 kilometres northeast of Toronto. CBC

FIVE HURT ON 401

Five people — two adults and three children — were taken to hospital from a crash on Highway 401 near Leslie St. early Monday.  Paramedics said they transported two adults and three children to hospital. One of the children, believed to be under two years of age, suffered a serious injury. The other two children and the two adults were taken to hospital with minor injuries.

BOY, 12, IN EMERGENCY RUN FROM BARRIE

A 12-year-old boy has been brought to hospital in Toronto after being pulled from the waters of Lake Simcoe in Barrie. Emergency crews were called to Splash On Water Park on Lake Simcoe, at around 5:15 p.m.

Patio furniture abandoned outside Shoeless Joe’s

Shoeless Joe’s at 856 Eglinton East and UrBun Eats, the burger restaurant at 874 Eglinton (beside Starbucks) are both closed, apparent victims of the construction war zone that is the Crosslinx LRT project. Shoeless Joe’s bears a bailiff’s sign on the door regarding unpaid rent. Patio chairs and umbrellas still sit outside on the sidewalk as uncollected mail piles up inside the front door. The locks appear to have been changed about a week ago. Urban Eats, started with high hopes about a year ago by retail veteran Domenic Buttiglieiri, is also permanently closed. There is social media comment and speculation about the quality of the service at Shoeless Joe’s, a franchise operation, but there seems little doubt that the businesses have suffered badly from the impact of construction.

BUSINESS FROM SOUTH OF EGLINTON DECLINES

Merchants on the north side of Eglinton well beyond South Bayview know very well the reluctance of many people living south of the street to fight their way through the chaos. Chantelle Vaillencourt is among those commenting (32 posts by Sunday night)  She says “Eglinton & Laird is a tough area to run a business in order to pay the rent. Same now for Eglinton and Mt. Pleasant and Eglinton and Bayview.” Facebook

Ray Emery

Misadventure

Canadian Press reports that former NHL goalie Ray Emery has drowned in Lake Ontario near Hamilton in what appears to be a swimming accident. Emery went swimming off of a boat with friends early Sunday but failed to resurface. Inspector Marty Schulenberg is quoted as calling the death a “case of misadventure.” Emery playd for 11 seasons and was chosen 99th overall by the Ottawa Senators in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft. During the 2006–07 season, he led the Senators to the Stanley Cup finals. He was 35. During his career Emery, a native of Hamilton, played for Ottawa, Atlant Moscow Oblast, Philadelphia Flyers, Anaheim Ducks, Chicago Blackhawks and Adler Mannheim

Former City Councillor and vice chair of the TTC Gordon Chong has died at the age of 74 from a long-standing heart condition. Mr. Chong was married to Toronto public servant Shirley Hoy. He was a Progressive Conservative but widely admired across political boundaries. His passing has inspired a touching tweet from Councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam seen below. A native of Toronto’s old Chinatown around Elizabeth and Dundas Sts., Chong was the son of a Chinese father and a white mother. It is recorded that her family disowned her for the cross-race marriage. Mr. Chong went on to become a dental surgeon and later took an interest in politics. He was considered to be a forward-thinking civic advocate.  Wikipedia and Toronto Sun where Chong was an occasional columnist.

Gordon Chong, one of Canada's finest has passed away. He was kind to me and out of respect for his stature in our community, I called him "uncle." We talked about transit, housing, amalgamation, and our deep love for family. Uncle will be missed. #RIP

https://t.co/W1AD8qK2r3"

— Kristyn Wong-Tam 🇨🇦 (@kristynwongtam) July 14, 2018

Crane shown in citizen video/Anne Booth‏@annebooth30

Redpath and Eglinton a construction zone

Two boys, 15, climbed a crane on one of the many condos being built at Redpath and Eglinton Aves. Saturday night. They were seen about 10 p.m. and police and fire personnel put an end to their stunt and lowered to them to the ground shortly Police arrived on scene and came into contact with the boys on the fifth floor of the structure. Video shot by nearby resident Ann Booth shows the activity.

No winning ticket was sold for the $5 million jackpot in Saturday night’s Lotto 649 draw, however, the guaranteed $1 million prize went to a ticket holder in Quebec. The jackpot for the next Lotto 649 draw on July 18 will be approximately $7 million.

Angelique Kerber stunned Serena Williams of the US 6-3 6-3 on Saturday to win her first Wimbledon title. Commentators noted Kerber’s facility in overcoming Williams powerful forearm and particularly her ability to distribute returns to all parts of the court. They suggest this played against the aging Williams. Note presence of Duchess Kate and Duchess Meghan in the crowd

Crunch at Banff and Eglinton

Were you a witness to the car accident on June 26th that took place at Eglinton and Banff? pic.twitter.com/NoTJU81unR

— SBayview (@SBayview) July 14, 2018

A poster has gone up at Eglinton Ave. and Banff Rd. in which good Samaritans who helped at an accident scene June 26 are thanked and asked to get in touch, presumably with one of the parties helped. The writer of the poster asks that anyone replying answer some questions to insure his/her identity. What was the gender of the driver you helped,  what was the colour of your shirt and what did you say you do for a living. Looks like the writer is trying to establish a witness to events. The address is banff-eglinton@yahoo.com

LIFE THREATENING ACCIDENT

A woman, 51, has life-threatening injuries from being hit by a pickup truck Saturday at Lawrence Ave.West and Benton Rd at about 3 p.m.  The driver of the pickup remained at the scene and assisted the pedestrian, police said.

CYCLIST HURT HOLDING ONTO TRUCK

Peel police say a cyclist,51, was injured seriously after he fell off while hanging on to the trailer of a transport truck in Brampton. The occurred at Steeles Ave. and Hurontario St. just before 6 p.m. Saturday. It was later determined the cyclist was holding on to the trailer when he fell off his bike. The truck was going approximately 60 km/hr.