The South Bayview Bulldog

W. Edmund Clark

New age of legal toking and pot tarts

Former bank chief to oversee LCBO

Premier Wynne was battening down the hatches Wednesday in preparation for the 2018 general election. She said goodbye from the cabinet room to Deb Matthews, Liz Sandals and Brad Duguid as she elevated three rookies to cabinet. They are Nathalie Des Rosiers, Daiene Vernile and Harinder Malhi. It was a broadly-based shuffle and the portfolios are here.  At the same time, the CBC says a durable friend of the Liberal government, W. Edmund (Ed) Clark, has been tapped to oversee the future of wine, liquor, beer and marijuana sales in Ontario. Mr. Clark, a former CEO of the TD Bank,  accessed the bank’s top job from the Canada Trust side after the merger of 2000.

• Ed Clark to be named new LCBO chair ahead of marijuana sales launch
• Kathleen Wynne shuffles cabinet to replace veterans before election

Property owner Mitch Abrahams speaks to meeting at Best Western on Mt. Pleasant

About 150 people were present at a City information meeting Wednesday night at the Best Western Hotel on Mt. Pleasant Rd. to hear details of a revised plan for tower developments known as 18 Brownlow. The new proposal is for a single 24-storey rental apartment building on half of the original property at the corner of Soudan Ave and Redpath Ave. It was a full court press in many ways for both SERRA, the South Eglinton Ratepayers and Residents Association and for the property owner, Mitch Abrahams. In fact, there is a critical round to come before the Ontario Municipal Board later this year.  Mr. Abrahams made his case in response to questions. He said he was passionate about rental accommodation and that in the context of the already highly developed neighborhood, his newly-proposed tower was appropriate. The mood of the meeting was correct but deeply hostile both to the size of the proposal and the killing precedent process that has led to the transformation of single family streets into canyons.

PALPABLE HELPLESSNESS

Josh Matlow (Ward 22) seemed to express the dissatisfaction of ratepayers with the process that brought Soudan Ave and others to their present state. “I will say to the developer, and any other developer who believes that pointing to wrongs of the past is the precedent that we should do wrong today, that no longer should the narrative be set by the development industry.” Matlow said residents had been let down by both the City and province. His condemnation seemed tangible as City Planner Andrew Taivara explained to bewildered residents that while 14 storeys was a recommended maximum height in the neighborhood, it wasn’t the law. The City would have to consider 24 storeys and ultimately live with what the OMB decided. Such palpable helplessness infuriated many at the meeting, as it has before.

The Bank of Canada has raised its rate a quarter percent to 1.25 percent. It said the unexpectedly good economy justified this but it warned of the great unknown called NAFTA negotiations. This being addressed, Canadian pundits continue to think there is a hefty political downside for Donald Trump if he cancels the treaty. The firestorm that would flow from northern states which sell billions to Canada cannot be dismissed. In a nutshell.

Impromptu delay

Readers report a nightmarish surprise on Eglinton Ave E eastbound towards Don Mills Rd. at mid-morning Wednesday as police first stopped all traffic and then began diverting it left and right as crews did impromptu roadwork (apparently) related to the LRT. Cars were stalled at least 20 minutes. Traffic heading east to the Don Valley Parkway to go north was forced to go south on Don Mills instead.

Fred (Freddy) Webb

Long-time Leaside resident Frederick Webb died at Sunnybrook Hospital Thursday January 11. Mr. Webb was born in Parkdale but he and his wife Marilyn lived in Leaside for 55 years. Fred Webb was fondly known to family and friends as Freddy. He was a gentle, kind man who touched many in the Leaside community. Freddy coached boys MTHL hockey with the Leaside Kings and at North Toronto, he coached Pitt’s Midget Baseball at Talbot Park and umpired in the Toronto Men’s League. He was also instrumental in the introduction of Girl’s Softball in Leaside and a strong supporter of Leaside Girl’s hockey in the early years. He was actively involved In St. Augustine’s Anglican Church for nearly four decades. Toronto Star

Rate chart shows how cost is shared between the rider and the municipality

Unlike with transit, taxpayers are charged only when there is an actual ride

The website Urban Toronto has published an update on the unique transit experiment in Innisfil Township in Simcoe County. It uses Uber service instead of a municipal-owned bus line. According to the UT article, the early results of the shared-cost system are encouraging. Between May 15 and July 15, the first two months the pilot was in operation, Uber undertook 4,868 subsidized trips, or an average of 79 trips per day. A report presented to Council detailing the initial results of the pilot concluded that “[t]he total costs after two months have been $26,462.41 for the town’s ridesharing transit service, while there would have been a $270,000 start-up net cost for one bus and $610,000 for two buses running along routes servicing only a small portion of the town.

BUS SYSTEM WOULD HAVE COST MORE

This strongly indicates that the cost of a fixed-route bus system to service all of Innisfil would have been far greater and a less convenient option than through the current ridesharing transit service.” The Town has yet to publicly provide another update on the pilot’s ridership numbers. Another advantage of this program is the data collection and analysis component. Unlike the vast majority of transit systems, which obtain ridership data through a combination of Automatic Passenger Counters (APCs), manual counts, and smart payment cards (Presto Card in the GTHA), Innisfil will have access to complete origin-destination data through Uber — Urban Toronto

Carbon monoxide alarms alerted dozens of residents of the Deauville Place seniors residence early Wednesday and sparked a speedy evcaution. High levels of CO were found on floors 4, 5, and 6 of the Flemingdon Park home near St. Dennis and Grenoble Drives. The source was traced to a recently repaired air conditioner.

The mother of a newborn baby has admitted to making up a false story that she found the child abandoned in a laneway at a North York plaza. The baby boy was in fact born in a home on Redeberry Parkway where the young mother was taken into custody Tuesday afternoon as seen in the tweeted picture below. A worker at a dry cleaning business with a door facing onto the walkway where the baby was falsely reported to be found previously told CP24 that investigators reviewed surveillance footage but did not see any baby being left in the walkway.

Newborn was never abandoned, police source says as mother transported to hospital https://t.co/RlGIiVUvNN pic.twitter.com/9wkZHyXLH0

— CP24 (@CP24) January 16, 2018

Mayor from 1991 to 1994

There will be a celebration of life for June Rowlands at 2 p.m. Tuesday (January 16) at Rosedale United Church. She was the 60th mayor of Toronto and first woman to hold the office. She was also a long time City Councillor, City budget chief, head the TTC and chair of the Metropolitan Toronto Police Commission. June Rowlands fought for affordable housing and sought to preserve the city’s ravines and historical neighbourhoods.  She died in her sleep on June 21, 2017.  In lieu of flowers, the family is asking people to donate to Wellesley Central Place (part of www.rekaicentre.com) for their recreation and palliative care programs.

Delores O’Riordan

Album cover on Big Bald Lake

SERRA meeting Wednesday

Parents meeting at Maurice Cody

Foxes (not this one) seen on Bessborough Drive

At top, Dolores O’Riordan, lead singer of the Cranberries had divided her time between Ireland and the community of Buckhorn in Kawartha Lakes north of Peterborough. It is reported Tuesday that O’Riordan has died at age 46 in London. South Bayview fans who knew her from the Kawarthas and distant concerts in Toronto, were saddened by the news. The singer spent part of the last decade living in a waterfront home on Big Bald Lake near Buckhorn with her then husband, Duran Duran tour manager Don Burton. Publicist Lindsey Holmes said O’Riordan died suddenly while in the UK capital where she was recording. No cause of death was released. Far right, the South Eglinton Ratepayers’ and Residents’ Association is reminding members of a meeting to deal with the elusive solution to the 18 Brownlow matter. It’s at the Best Western Hotel at Mt. Pleasant Rd. and Eglinton Ave. E. on Wednesday, January 17, starting at 6.30 p.m. Lower left, Maurice Cody parents are reminded of the Parent’s Council meeting Tuesday (tonight) at 6:30 p.m. in the Cody Library. Complimentary babysitting is provided and as always it promises to be an informative event. Finally, a post to Leaside Community states briefly that two foxes were seen Monday on Bessborough Drive south of Millwood Rd.

Hoping for the best

Rescued

Capt. Scott Stroup  was ready and able as a panicky mom threw her child from a flaming building near Atlanta. CNN