The South Bayview Bulldog

J.A. Happ reached three times and allowed only two baserunners over seven innings as the Toronto Blue Jays got their first road victory against the New York Mets, 12-1 on a rainy Wednesday in Queens. Happ (5-3) struck out 10 while pitching two-hit ball. The left-hander also singled twice and walked in his first multi-hit game since 2011, when he had two hits for Houston at Citi Field. Toronto was 0-12 against the Mets in New York, the longest such skid against one team in interleague baseball history, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. New York’s Brandon Nimmo homered off Danny Barnes with two outs in the ninth and Wilmer Flores added a double before Barnes finished Toronto’s four-hitter.

THREE HOMERS

Justin Smoak, Teoscar Hernandez and Richard Urena each homered and drove in three runs as Toronto piled up 15 hits. The Blue Jays improved to 22-21 and haven’t fallen below .500 since being 1-2 on March 31. Toronto had averaged 2.8 runs over its past 11 games, batting .211 with a .630 OPS while going 3-8. Smoak sparked the breakout performance by smashing a homer to right off Zack Wheeler (2-3) in the first inning. Wheeler was otherwise sharp early on, striking out six prior to a brief rain delay during the bottom of the third inning. Wheeler fell apart after the delay. Hernandez put Toronto up 3-0 with a two-run shot in the fourth, and then Smoak ripped a two-run double during a three-run fifth inning — AP

Jaye Robinson

Not an accident?

Death in the night

City of Toronto officials, apparently desperate in the face of 22 road deaths so far this year, have declared that “traffic collisions aren’t accidents, they are preventable events that can be eliminated through smarter street design, targeted enforcement and thoughtful public engagement.” This laudable concern for human life and ways to stop accidents has prompted Councillor Jaye Robinson (Ward 25) to call for a team of citizens who are passionate about road safety to get involved in the Vision Zero challenge to reduce road accidents to zero. It is proper and necessary to try to do better. And education is the best hope, especially among pedestrians. But the goal as set out (zero deaths) and the tortured logic of the mandate (accidents aren’t accidents) may prove frustrating. The legal concept of intent is fundamental to law. A driver with no intent who hits a pedestrian has incurred an accident. He is responsible for it (or maybe not). He may pay a grievous penalty. But it is still an accident. Appalling accidents like the one linked here remain accidents, no matter how guilty the driver.  Fatal hit-run woman did seven tequila shots before crash CBC

Price label

Raw cow cheese

CFIA warning

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has announced a recall of Reblochon Cheese “raw cow cheese” from the marketplace with packing dates from March 20 up to and including May 15. There is concern about E. coli contamination. It appears the cheese was sold at certain Whole Foods Market stores including the Yorkville location at 87 Avenue Rd. and 4771 Yonge St in North York.

Comments reveal a deep divide in opinion about the wisdom of traffic lights at the corner of Bayview Ave. and Davisville Ave. A FB post Tuesday night from Grant Allardyce of the Bayview Leaside BIA was the first word of such a plan. As many as 60 people have commented by Wednesday morning. Mr. Allardyce told The Bulldog the City informed the BIA after doing a study. Some people are elated. Others say the lights, which will be a short block south of the lights at Millwood, will slow traffic further and drive traffic onto streets like Cleveland. Left turns have increased at Merton, Balliol and Davisville in recent years as traffic slowed on Bayview.

Soudan/Parkhurst

Several people refer to the contentious corner at Bayview and Soudan/Parkhurst. “Now, how about Soudan/Parkhurst & Bayview?” asks one. It may well be that this intersection sees many more collisions than Bayview and Davisville. Detailed analysis of how accidents are caused at Bayview and Soudan has not been published. The corner has been difficult since before the LRT congestion.  Some say the crosswalk deceives impatient drivers who overtake traffic and collide with vehicles trying to sneak through east or west while a pedestrian is crossing.  It is also subject to east versus west politics over “outside traffic” in Leaside

It appears that Meghan Markle’s dad has been uninvited to his daughter’s wedding after he accepted a paparazzi deal for photos of him getting ready for the event. Who will walk Meghan down the aisle? We must wait and see. Then, the Supreme Court of Canada has ordered a new trial for David and Collet Stephan. They used an appalling collection of things in treating their son before he died of bacterial meningitis. The high court concluded the judge did not take enough time to explain the mountain of evidence in the case. Then, it’s Olympic Marseilles vs Athletica Madrid Sunday in the Europa League Final in Lyon. Authorities are on edge and it’s not about who will win. Finally, lovely Bangalore, India’s version of Silicon Valley but there’s a problem. The talented people who work there spend 250 hours a year sitting in their cars. Proof again that it is great fun to travel but awful to commute.

She hits the road at speed/Reddit user rascalz1504

Sprawled on highway/Reddit user rascalz1504 dash cam

She picks up belongings

Walks to side of the highway / Reddit user rascalz1504

A woman jumped out of a speeding SUV on westbound Highway 401 near Black Creek Drive Monday about 5.40 p.m. during evening rush hour and lived to walk away. It seems that her exit from the vehicle was intentional. The SUV pulled to the side and a man got out. He apparently tried to convince the woman to get back in. She preferred to walk away in the right lane going eastbound. The drama was recorded on a dash cam by a poster to Reddit called rascalz1504. OPP say they have spoken to both people and so far have taken no action.

CYCLIST CRITICALLY INJURED

A man is reported to be in critical condition after he fell from hs bicycle in a collision with a car at Colbourne Lodge Dr. and Lake Shore Blvd shortly before 4 p.m. More as available.

Re-drawn ward in Midtown

Four Community Councils

Re-drawn ward boundaries have prompted a need to decide just where new or changed wards fit into the City government system of Community Councils. The revised 47 wards (up from 44) will be assigned somewhere into the existing four Councils, as shown above at right. Each Council is devoted to processing local matters before they’re considered by full Council. It may not seem like a weighty issue but you will want to know, just the same. Re-drawn wards like the former #26 (mostly Leaside) is now Ward 33. It drops off parts to the east and is likely to stay in the North York Council area. The radically new ward below it is #34. It contains neighborhoods ranging from Moore Park on the west to Greektown on the east. It may well fall into Toronto and East York. The City wants your opinion and has a place for you to express it.

One person is in hospital after a collision on Lawrence Avenue area east of Yonge St. Tuesday morning. Police responded to the scene at around 9:30 a.m. where a pedestrian was struck by a car. The victim was reportedly dragged by the vehicle. Police say the pedestrian’s injuries are life-threatening. The driver remained on scene. Police tweeted that the street was open again about 1.30 p.m.

Accident scene east of Yonge/City News

Toronto Police say the forensic examination of the Thorncliffe Park apartment which was home to accused serial killer Bruce McArthur is finished. They say the nearly five-month examination yielded more than 1,800 exhibits. Police and government experts took an astonishing 18,000 photographs of the scene and its contents. Combined with the search of other crime scenes and vehicles related to Bruce McArthur, this has been the largest forensic examination in Toronto Police Service history. The apartment has now been turned over to property management for the building as the investigation continues. Police also note that they have identified remains of seven of the eight alleged victims of Mr. McArthur. The outstanding matter is that of Majeed Kayhan’s remains.

The part-time members of the Hydro One Board have voted to increase their compensation to $185,000. This revelation comes amid Ontario’s election campaign and a vow by PC Leader Ford to fire the entire board. He said he would appoint a new board and tell it to fire the president Mayo Schmidt, who gets an eye-popping 6.2 million in wages and bonuses. The raises are mentioned in an information circular provided to shareholders ahead of Tuesday’s annual meeting of Hydro One in Toronto, but have not been reported in the media. The PCs say they will picket the meeting. The 13 regular board members each received $160,000 in compensation last year, half of it in cash, half in Hydro One shares. The board chair, David Denison, received $260,000, also split between cash and stocks. The board of Hydro One is also being criticized for padding further the severance pay of Mr. Schmidt. He would receive at least $10.7 million if he is fired in the wake of either government intervention with the company or a government move to replace the board. The Ontario government retains 47 per cent ownership of Hydro One.

Engaged residents

Jennifer Pagliaro of Toronto Star

Elly McIsaac baked for those attending

About 100 ratepayers attended the South Eglinton Ratepayers and Residents Association Annual General Meeting Monday at Greenwood College on Mt. Pleasant Rd. Among the speakers was Jennifer Pagliaro of the Toronto Star City Hall Bureau. She received engaged interest and several questions The meeting coincided with another decision Monday by Executive Committee to flee yet again from a value-for-money comparison between a seven-stop LRT into Scarborough and the current one-stop wonder whose value is currently set at $3.35 billion. A delegation led by Josh Matlow (Ward 22) was present at Committee to ask for such a study but the motion was deferred indefinitely on a motion by  Councillor Michael Thompson (Ward 37) of Scarborough. Pagliaro recalled plans that would have finished a seven-stop LRT as early as 2015. She spoke about the comparative value, as have many people, of a multi-stop LRT for less money than the one-stop plan now on track. “There has never been, and Council has never requested, a value-for-money comparison of the two options,” she said. A study by Metrolinx in 2013  found a subway could not be justified but the report was sent to the  minister at Queen’s Park and it disappeared.  It has never been published. “If you’re looking for an answer about (Mayor) Tory’s motives, I would just encourage you to look at the facts. Sorry to be a little bit vague but that’s part of my job too,” said Pagliaro.  Many believe the Mayor and others are committed to the subway as a function of Liberal voter strategy in the former borough beyond Victoria Park Ave.

Margot Kidder

Played Lois Lane, Clark Kent’s friend

Margot Kidder, the miner’s daughter from Yellowknife who went on to play Lois Lane in the Superman movies, has died at 69 at her home in Montana, her sister Annie has confirmed. Kidder got the acting bug after seeing shows on Broadway. She was determined that she was going to be a star. In life, she conquered a troubled career. “You’ve reached the goal, the thing that you said you wanted … but also, it makes your life incredibly public,” said Annie Kidder, who is based in Toronto. She said her sister found her calling as a mental-health advocate, drawing from her own experience with bipolar disorder, which she spoke about openly at a time when it was highly stigmatized. Margot Kidder was best known for her role opposite Christopher Reeve in the Superman films of the 1970s and 80s. She was as tough as the Lois Lane character she played. She was an activist all her life and much like Lane wasn’t afraid to speak out for what she thought was right. After an infamous breakdown on the streets of Los Angeles in 1996, Margot Kidder credited a homeless man with showing compassion for her and saving her life during her “big, public flipout.” Sister Annie said Margot lived happily before her death “with her dogs” in the US west.