Good moms and dads make good kids is daughter’s message

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As we welcome Mother’s Day, a touching story about a daughter who, with help from her brother, scraped up enough money for her prom dress and then made sure she visited her dad at his humble job before the dance. Also here, a nice vist by City News to the Toronto Flower Market Saturday outside CAMH on Queen St. E.




NDP in 2nd place with PCs leading as election 26 days away

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Mainstreet Research is saying that a sample of 2,534 Ontario voters found that 42.3 per cent were likely to vote for the PC Party on June 7, while 28.4 per cent say they will vote NDP. The Liberals won 22.1 per cent. About 5.4 per cent said that they will vote for the Green Party.

WHO AM I TALKING TO?

Google’s display of artificial intelligence this week revealed an impressive — and scary — accomplishment. By way of a program it calls Duplex, it showed how a smartphone app could replicate a human voice, down to the “umms” and “ahhs” in pauses. The bot sounded more real than the person it was calling. While the idea is a practical one — saving us the hassle of making phone calls to set up reservations at restaurants and hair salons — it also foretells sinister criminal misuse. Google tricked the person on the other side of the phone call into thinking they were talking to a fellow human being. Fittingly, while the Internet giant was hailed for the tech breakthrough, it also was criticized for pulling a form of high-tech “con” since at no point did Google in its recorded demo let the human on the other end know they were talking to a robot. “Hi dad, could you please send money?”

NO WINNING LOTTO MAX

No winning ticket was sold for the $60 million jackpot in Friday night’s Lotto Max draw. However, four of the 15 Maxmillion prizes of $1 million each were won — three going to ticket holders in Ontario and one in Quebec. The jackpot for the next Lotto Max draw on May 18 will remain at approximately $60 million, but there will be 29 Maxmillion prizes up for grabs.

Fans live down to reputation with flaming Hamburg SV riot

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Mri Gellert living at home at nearly 30
Driver takes “median lane”
Face of Euro soccer adherents

Former European champions Hamburg SV have been relegated (demoted to a lower league) for the first time. Euro football fans will know the minutia of this embarrassment but the occasion was marked by hoodlum behaviour worthy of a street gang. Then, charming but feckless seems to sum up Miri Gellert who is living at home, dating and worrying about it at nearly 30. The BBC could not resist. Neither could The Bulldog Video Wheel. Below that, there is much hand-wringing over the return of several young Canadians who decided to fulfill themselves by joining ISIS. You know, look at me. We’re all hoping the government does not reward them with a cash apology. It’s been known. Finally, watch this driver in Wisconsin mow down lamp standards as he goes sightseeing along the “median lane.”






Happy Mom’s Day amid many South Bayview happenings

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Lawn Summer Nights in July/Bulldog
Happy Mother;s Day
Broadway and Sutherland/MLS

Upper left, these ladies are here to remind young fun-loving and would-be lawn bowlers that July is Lawn Summer Nights month at the Leaside Lawn Bowling Club. There are four nights as usual and teams dress in costumes both stylish and slightly mad in the cause of fighting cystic fibrosis. Upper right, Happy Mother’s Day and by the way they have fun balloons to mark the occasion at Longo’s. Still up top, that bungalow on Broadway (at Sutherland) was listed at $1,299,000 until it sold the other day. The selling price is withheld by the MLS process until closing.

2018 Greater Toronto Boys A High School Ball Hockey Champions

We love this photo (above) of the 2018 Greater Toronto Boys A High School Ball Hockey Champions. Hey, it’s full of Leaside kids.

Brentcliffe and Eglinton
$4,800 in East York

This is Community Police Day over at Jimmy Simpson Park, Queen St. East at McGee Street. At the right are the garages in the apartment at Eglinton and Brentcliffe. Application has been made to turn them into basement apartments. End of parking. And finally, the 1980 Mazda RX7 Silver Anniversary Edition drifter has a reported 75k on the counter. It’s offered for $4,800 in East York.

Starbucks chairman Schultz says washrooms are open to all

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Starbucks chairman Howard Schultz has issued a statement saying that washroom in its coffee shops are open to all, not just paying customers. This policy — unknown in Canada by the way — appears to have been behind the arrest of two black men in a Chicago Starbucks recently after they refused to leave the premises after asking to use the washroom. They had not bought anything and were refused. When they did not leave, staff called the police. Many people were dumbfounded their newfound awareness of this rule. In the US, many have said it represents sinister racism. Whites use the bathroom but blacks can’t. In Canada, the parade of people in and out of Starbucks washrooms is universal. Mail carriers, traffic enforcement officers, delivery persons, bus drivers, dog walkers and even some people who occasionally plug in their computers for free.

Jays beat Red Sox in thrilling 12-inning nail-biter at home

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Luke Maile hit a 12th inning home run to win Friday night’s game against the Boston Red Sox 5-3. SportsNet. Twitter

Area dog owners warned to beware of an American Bulldog

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See later post: Lana Novikova lost her puppy Cleo in a melee that began when the other dog lunged at her second dog, a five-year-old Cockapoo named Cooper. In the ensuing confusion, the attacking dog got hold of Cleo and shook her to death. Both Novikova and her daughter, 12, were gashed by the animal as they tried to defend their dogs. Novikova’s boyfriend, Dennis Pal, took a photo of the dog’s owner which has been published elsewhere with the face blurred. Mr. Pal warned those using the park to be aware of a white American Bulldog. Early accounts of this incident on Facebook said the animal resembled a pitbull. Rozeena Khote has said the white and brown dog attacked her one-year-old Samoyed, Samus, in the Sunnybrook Park off-leash area on May 1. “The dog was hiding underneath a bench and lunged and attached himself onto my dog’s back left leg,” Khote old the Post. “It continued to bite him, and wouldn’t let go. My dog cried out, and I was just watching in horror as my dog was being attacked by this dog. The owners did nothing. Luckily my husband, who was closer to the attack, was able to get their dog off my dog. He had blood all over his fur.”

Drivers fill up at 1.38 a litre as gas price set to jump to 1.39

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Friday evening at Mt. Pleasant and Merton
Brisk
Price predicted to be 1.38 Saturday

Business seemed brisk at service stations Friday night as analysts predicted regular gasoline will jump to 138.9 a litres Saturday morning. The high price of gasoline is a concern and the CBC suggested that it has potential to become an issue in the provincial election campaign. The highest p[rice for regular gas seen in Ontario was 1.42 a litre in 2014.

Check out the china! Crowds scramble for deal at LUC sale

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The opening day of the annual Friday-Saturday Awesome Sale at Leaside United Church was jammed for the 3 p.m. opening. It resumes tomorrow from 9 a.m. to noon. Here we see shoppers checking the origins of plates in the auditorium while baked goods look yummy.

7,028 Smart cars recalled in Canada because of fire risk

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Documents from the US National Highway and Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) say the rear insulation mat in the engine compartment of 2008 and 2009 Smart cars “may deform, deteriorate and loosen over time, allowing the mat to contact hot exhaust system components.” Scene above is from Ottawa in October. The recall applies in Canada and some 7028 cars are included.

Cavaliers write end to Dwane Casey’s days as Raptors coach

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Dwane Casey

The Toronto Raptors have fired head coach Dwane Casey, the club announced Friday. Team president Masai Ujiri described the decision as a necessary step for the franchise. Casey, 61, led the Raptors to four Atlantic Division titles in five seasons and three consecutive 50-win seasons but the team was eliminated by the Cleveland Cavaliers for the third consecutive season in a four-game sweep. CBC

Weekend starts now with Awesome Sale, Leaside Lawn Club

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Mackenzie Bier receives the Sesquicentennial Award from MP Rob Oliphant

Mother’s Day weekend begins Friday with the start at 3 p.m of the Awesome Sale at Leaside United Church. You may expect lots of interest as usual. Also Friday, the Leaside Lawn Bowling Club opens the door at 7 p.m. for a weekend open house. At lower left, Mackenzie Bier is given the Sesquicentennial Award from MP Rob Oliphant for her selfless work on the Thorncliffe Park Running Shoe Drive. Mackenzie will pass the charitable task on to her friend Caroline Spitzer this year. Ladies, we are in awe. And thanks.