The South Bayview Bulldog

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.

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.

Fill

Swallow

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