The South Bayview Bulldog

Gord Perks

John Tory

Rob Ford

David Miller

According to Councillor Gord Perks (Ward 4) homeowners are dragging their tails when it comes to property taxes. You have to pay more, says Perks. He says he will push for an increase of the rate to an unspecified level. The City will then use the money to do all sorts of stuff. TTC, recreation and childcare. No mention in here of hiring a “Night Mayor” to make our midnight jaunts just super. Perhaps Mr. Perks is opposed to that looming boondoggle. But that’s it of course. No one really knows how tax money will be spent until it gets funneled into the pig trough. Mayor Tory steered the City to a 2.1 percent tax (inflation rate) in 2018. You will pay the first installment this month. Rob Ford froze property taxes and the highest increase in recent years (four percent) came when David Miller was mayor. Perks has a particularly chilling way of talking about this. “Right now, if you own a lot of real estate, the City of Toronto is a gold mine for you,” Perks told CBC Toronto. How’s your gold mine doing? Need a new roof?  Call the Night Mayor.

The Canadian Press reviews the reaction of Federal Liberals, including the prime minister and the justice minister, in which they appear to be criticizing the justice system after the acquittal of a Saskatchewan farmer in the shooting death of an Indigenous man who had come onto his property with two women and two other men. Among others, Michael Lacy, a partner in the criminal law group Brauti Thorning Zibarras LLP in Toronto, said politicians “have no business at all” in commenting on the outcome of a trial. Canadian Press  Globe and Mail background from November 2017

Commercial site explodes/City News Twitter

Nearby apartment

Smoke/CTV Twitter

Three people have been hospitalized after an explosion at a commercial location in Mississauga on Sunday. Peel paramedics say one man suffered serious injuries while a woman and young boy suffered minor injuries. Hurontario Street is closed in both directions from Dundas St to Hillcrest Ave. The call came about 7.30 as reported by City News.

Outside St. Cuthbert’s (Facebook / Kathleen Davies)

On Bessborough Drive (Facebook / Patrick Mahoney)

Two mounted officers from the Toronto Police were in Leaside Saturday evoking many pleasant memories among those who saw them and others who looked at photographs on social media. The mounted police were stationed at St. Cuthbert’s Anglican Church for the service for Mona Piper, a signal mark of respect as this much-loved member of the community was honoured. Later they were seen on Bessborough Drive. On Leaside Community Facebook page, there is a long thread in which residents say they recall when it was common to see mounted police in the community. One called their presence at the funeral a touching and lovely reason for them to be in the neighbourhood. Others merely said “Wow.”

Leaside Jr. Wildcats defeated the Waterloo K-W Rangers 2-0 Saturday night in Leaside with some nice dipsy-doodle from Quinn Johnston and Myah Bowal. The two forwards steamed down the ice at the 12 minute mark of the first period to execute a pretty pass-and-score play. Skyler Stockie in the K-W net had no chance as Johnston patiently waited to feed the puck to Bowal, the right winger. In the third, it was Bowal scoring again unassisted at 11.39. Kate Stuart earned the shutout.

GRADUATION COMING FOR 12

Also Saturday night, the Wildcats acknowledged the graduation of 12 players this Spring, a mass departure that will leave openings at the top. Bowal and Johnston as well as fellow forwards Kristin Della Rovere, Mackenzie Lloyd, Sarah Brooks, Marlo Campbell, Lexy Staresinic and Mackenzie Macdonald will move on to other challenges. Defense personnel Katie Wilkinson, Sam Jarron and goal tenders Alysha Letwin and Kate Stuart are also saying goodbye.

Toronto Hydro says that a power outage bounded Danforth Ave, Sherbourne St, Lake Ontario and Coxwell Ave has been repaired. The cause is described only as a “loss of supply” from Hydro One. Power was returned by about 3:20 p.m.

Urban Toronto has written about a plan to increase the density of Bayview Village Shopping Centre. It comes forward from QuadReal Property Group and is designed by DIALOG and Hariri Pontarini Architects. The proposal would add five new mixed-use residential and commercial buildings around the existing mall, ranging in height from 6 to 33 storeys. The project made its first appearance at Toronto’s Design Review Panel recently. Urban Toronto

EXPLOSION:
Yonge St + Carlton St
-Subway lines are not affected
-Streetcars may be slower due to partial road closure@TTCnotices
^dh

— Toronto Police Operations (@TPSOperations) February 10, 2018

Team Epping

East York Mayor’s Chain

They play tonight

No service subway

Monarch Park Community Skate

Snowy Owl “Irruption”

South Bayview will be rightly proud of Team Epping (upper left) from the Leaside Curling Club for winning the 2018 Ontario Recharge with Milk Men’s Tankard in Huntsville earlier this month.  John, Mat, Patrick and Tim will represent Ontario at the Brier in Regina which runs from March 3-11. To the right, we love this shot of two flying Jr. Wildcats, Mackenzie Lloyd (18) and Mackenzie MacDonald (87). It reminds us that the team plays the Waterloo K-W Rangers Saturday (tonight) at Leaside Memorial Community Gardens starting 7.40 p.m.  Centre left, we see East York Mayor True Davidson receiving the Borough’s Chain of Office from Reginald Martin of the East York Kiwanis Club. Defenders are saying the chain will not be sent to Toronto for use in a municipal museum because it must remain on display at 850 Coxwell Ave. Quite right.  Lower left, the sad map of “no service Saturday” on the Yonge subway line. Davisville Station is as empty as (um) a museum. To the right, a reminder of the Monarch Park Community Skating Party Sunday. And finally, a welcome snowy owl “irruption” is said to be underway in midtown. We like that.

Layne Vu Pollard with her dad, Stan Pollard. (Stan Pollard)

Layna Vu Pollard, 12, of Guelph, has died from influenza. She is reported to be the second pediatric death in Ontario but the details are vague. Layna was a Grade 7 student who was at home with her parents when she fell ill. Her vaccination background has not been reported. Among all ages, more than 80 deaths have been recorded here. The Canadian flu season is said to be, in general, not much different from the US, but child fatalities there have shocked much of the country. As many as 63 children are reported to have succumbed. “In general, we can expect a very similar influenza season in Canada compared to the U.S. but not exactly the same,” Dr. Isaac Bogoch, clinical researcher at the Toronto General Hospital Research Institute told Global News. “This year has been more of a rough ride compared to prior years.” According to the latest data from the Public Health Agency of Canada (between the week of Jan. 21 and Jan. 27), there are signs that activity is starting to “slow down” in parts of the country.

Police have revealed a sneaky telephone fraud which relies on victims thinking they have phoned the police or their bank when in fact they are still on the line with criminals. The potential for theft is enormous. Five Toronto residents have lost $5.1 million transferred to criminal accounts. Here is a summary from police issued Friday.

Recently, members of the public have been contacted via phone by people posing as retailers who claim to be alerting them regarding a fraud offence in progress which involves the use of their credit card account.
After the initial conversation, the intended victim may be advised to dial 9-1-1 in order to alert police of the “credit card fraud” that is supposedly in progress. The victim may also be advised to contact their financial institution in order to protect their financial interests.

The victim will hang up and do so, being unaware that the original caller has not disconnected.
The victim believes they have contacted police via 9-1-1 and/or their financial institution, but they have actually been re-directed to an imposter posing as a 9-1-1 call-taker or bank employee.
The “call-taker” will speak to the victim and connect them to yet another imposter posing as a police investigator or will refer the victim to a “bank investigator” either by connecting them directly or asking them to hang up and call the number located on the back of their bank card. The victim will comply, again being unaware that the original caller has not actually disconnected.

Ultimately, the victim will be urged to attend their bank branch and immediately transfer funds to a specific account that is supposedly intended to safeguard their funds until the “investigation” is complete. The scheme may vary in detail from person to person depending on the circumstances. The scheme appears to be directed at persons using their home-based phones. There is no particular phone provider associated to the victims. To date, five Toronto victims have suffered combined losses of over $5.1 million. Investigators believe there are other victims.

There is evidence to indicate that the scheme is being conducted nationwide and hundreds of thousands of people have been targeted. Furthermore, there is evidence to indicate that, in certain cases, the callers may already possess some of the banking particulars of the intended victim. The public is reminded of the following: 9-1-1 is for emergencies where people or property are at risk. 9-1-1 call-takers will not forward your call to a police investigator  If you are in doubt about the security of your personal funds, attend any branch of your financial institution and make enquiries in person