The South Bayview Bulldog

The weather will provide a pleasant window for families to visit the Sidewalk Sensation on Bayview Ave. Saturday. A thunderstorm is possible late in the afternoon. BIA Facebook

There is one winning ticket for the $60 million jackpot in Friday night’s Lotto Max draw — and it was sold somewhere in Ontario. There were also 21 Maxmillion prizes of $1 million each up for grabs, and six of them were claimed by ticket holders in Ontario and the Prairies. The jackpot for the next Lotto Max draw on July 20 will be approximately $25 million.

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Check the video from PC Laurie Braida at Bulldog Twitter as her steed Dragoon works around a high-pressure water tap.

With two weeks left to file nominations to run in the October municipal general election, there are 15 candidates declared for mayor. But there’s only one which most people would recognize. That’s a certain John Howard Tory, 64, chief magistrate of Toronto since 2014. Barring a stunning out-of-nowhere candidacy, Mr. Tory will hold the job until at least 2022. Area Councillors are all now declared for re-election with some taking on new turf because of redistribution. Josh Matlow (who will run in the re-numbered Ward 26) filed on July 4. That’s much later than most incumbents and the delay led to speculation, without much foundation, that Matlow was pondering a run for mayor. City Hall watchers are not free from a suspicion that such a thing could reside in the young Councillor’s future.

ROBINSON, BURNSIDE, FRAGEDAKIS

At this writing Jaye Robinson faces no competition in the re-numbered Ward 27 to the north. Jon Burnside seems safe in the re-numbered Ward 33. Mary Fragedakis will try to inherit Moore Park and Rosedale with her candidacy in Ward 34, a wholly-new amalgam of Greektown and WASP town (one might say). Nominations close July 27 and the election is Monday, October 22.

Mind if I squeeze through here?/Greg Ross CBC

City Council is said to be considering whether to let motorcycle riders whiz between lanes of heavy traffic in order, apparently, to help them avoid being hit from behind when they have to stop in traffic. The technique is known among bikers as lane-filtering and is lauded as a route to much safer times for motorcyclists. The present legislation is designed (not very successfully) to keep cyclists from weaving between lanes, also considered unsafe. CBC

A Nova Scotia woman says she will sue her nephew over a $1.2 million lottery win after the government draw called Chase the Ace was split between them — $600,000 plus each. That’s because the woman, Barbara Reddick, put her nephew’s name on the ticket with her own. Why? Because he’s her nephew. Hmm. Might be a tough one to win. CBC

BEAR DOPED AND CAUGHT IN PORT PERRY

A bear that climbed a tree in Port Perry on Lake Scugog has been tranquilized and captured after it fell to the ground Friday.  Ministry of Natural Resources personnel caught the bear in a net. As many as four police officers helped carry the drowsy bear to a trailer.

Sidewalk Sensation on Bayview Ave.

Kate Leuschen Millar/Vanessa Garrison

Isabella Goudros, Chloe Coutts and twin sister Sophie/Helen Panayiotou

East York Days July 18

Neighbours’ Night Out

Upper left, the merchants of the Bayview Leaside BIA have an entertaining Saturday organized for July 14. The weather will be mostly sunny with a chance of a thunderstorm, all of which is easily managed. Please come out to your favorite business street and say hello. Upper right, East York Girl Guide leader Kate Leuschen Millar writes about how the Guides rose to meet two area challenges this year. Read her column at Toronto.com  Centre left are the shining faces of Isabella Goudros, Chloe Coutts and twin sister Sophie. They are members of the Leaside High School Track Team which was named the Overall Girls and Overall Combined Champions at the TDSSAA City Track and Field Championships late in May. Read Janis Fertuck’s account of the team’s work. To the right, Saturday afternoon and  evening sees the 13th Annual Neighbours Night Out in Thorncliffe Park. Great summer fun. Bottom left, a reminder of the East York Days concert coming up Wednesday, July 18. Visit the South Bayview Bulletin Board for more summer events.

The new Ontario government has nailed its populist laundry list to the wall of the Legislature with Thursday’s Speech from the Throne. City News chronicles the Ford Nation promises. In the US, a promotion by the Build-A-Bear toy chain has caused bedlam as supplies ran out in a promotion where the goods could be purchased in dollars for the age of your child in years. Below that, a frightening accident in which an 800-pound boulder rolled off the back of a truck killing a mother and daughter. Finally, the CBC tries to capture the mystique of Toronto native Drake, concluding by some calculations that he is more popular than the Beatles. How do you measure that?

Robert Prichard has announced his resignation as Chairman of the Board of Metrolinx, effective immediately. Prichard had been with Metrolinx for nine years – first as president and CEO, then as board chair for seven years. In a statement released by the provincial transportation agency, Prichard says with the election of a new government in Ontario, now is the right time for a change in leadership.

The recreation activities along Bremner Blvd — CN Tower, Ripley’s Aquarium and Rogers Centre — appear to have been the target of a threat which police have so far refused to make public. In addressing increased police presence in the heavily-barriered area, police have said there is a threat but refused to discuss what it is. This  has caused annoyance among some who feel the public has a right to know the nature of such things. The likely reason for police caution is the fear of inspiring additional misfits to perhaps actually execute a threat. The use of a truck to hit crowds of people comes to mind.

The three large firms contracted to build the Eglinton Crosstown LRT are suing the provincial transit authority,  Metrolinx, for breach of contract over the original deadline for completion of the project. The companies, Aecon, EllisDon and SNC-Lavalin (Crosslinx), say circumstances have made it difficult, or impossible, for them to finish the LRT by the previously agreed deadline of 2021. Metrolinx has 30 days to respond to the notice of motion filed at the Ontario Superior Court. The contractors are saying that work by “utility companies” took longer than scheduled and that there were delays in the issuance of “permits, licenses and approvals.” In a statement provided to CP24 on Thursday, Metrolinx spokesperson Anne Marie Aikins said that the transit agency has been “working closely” with the Crosslinx consortium over the last several months “on their alleged reasons for a claim” but have not yet arrived at a solution. “As with any contract, claims are considered and reviewed thoroughly and we continue to work with Crosslinx to reach an outcome that fairly addresses the challenges that they have encountered on Eglinton,” she said. The Eglinton Crosstown had been scheduled for completion by 2020 which was later pushed back to September 2021.

Is he a big mouth? Yep. But hey, he’s also a pushy big mouth. That’s the part that tells you Donald Trump really does not like those Europeans. Then to Mississauga where Croatian fans live. They look forward to the thrill of a ding-dong battle with France for the World Cup. Then, it’s 1997 all over including sex tuition at the TDSB. Is this the meaning of doing what comes naturally? Finally, a City News visit to a $80,000 tree cleanup in Leslieville from May.