The South Bayview Bulldog

City News version here of this important local story.

A judge has found that the trial of former aides to then Premier McGuinty must proceed to a conclusion despite a request from the defense for the matter to be dismissed immediately. Judge Timothy Lipson said that some evidence exists that might lead to the conviction of David Livingston and his deputy Laura Miller in connection with the wiping of computer hard drives in 2011. The Crown contends this was done to hide evidence related to the cancellation of two gas plants notoriously done hours before the general election that year. “At this stage, it is not the court’s function to weigh the evidence, nor to test its quality or reliability,” Lipson said. “I am not entitled to make findings of fact, nor to engage in an assessment of the evidence with a view to determining the guilt or innocence of the defendants.”

POPPY DOUGHNUT FUSS AT TIMS

Well-intentioned

Canadian Press reports that a Tim Hortons employee in Calgary took it on himself to create a “Poppy Doughnut” which has now, because of social media super sensitivities, got him in hot water. The head of the Calgary Poppy Fund says the poppy is a registered trademark and a symbol that many hold sacred. He says he would have preferred that the business reached out to his group ahead of Remembrance Day about partnering to raise funds for veterans.

SMOKER DIES AS CIGARETTE DETONATES BREATHING EQUIPMENT

A smoker has died in Oshawa when his lighted cigarette detonated his oxygen tank and breathing apparatus as he sat in his home Thursday morning. The improbable compulsion to smoke in his apparent condition with the odds-on chances of an explosion sooner or later make the mind swim. Durham Regional Police spokesperson Dave Selby says emergency crews were called to a home on Park Road South in Oshawa at 9:20 a.m. for a report of an explosion. An investigation revealed that a man breathing with the help of an oxygen tank and mask was also smoking.

Liz White versus chickens in the backyard

Anti-stoplight petition

Davisville choir at Raptors game

Fantasy Lingerie to close

St. Cuthbert’s Christmas Fair Saturday

The backyard eggery battle rages on even as City Council has voted in October to permit an 18-month trial of chickens at homes in Wards 21 and 5. Liz White (top) is head of Animal Alliance of Canada. She says the creature facing her (cluck cluck) turns into a nuisance as egg-laying capacity declines. “When the egg-laying years decrease after 18 months, people generally don’t want the birds after [that],” she told Markika Washchynshyn of the North York Post. “What do they do with them? Do they turn them in? Do they let them out? Do they slaughter them in their own backyards even though it’s not allowed? We know this happens because we get complaints.”

SOUDAN/PARKHURST

Below that to the left, a typical fender bender of many that occur at the corner of Soudan Ave. and Parkhurst Blvd. A petition has been started to oppose stoplights at the corner. Those wishing to know more can mail Beth Ann McFadden (see below). Next, they are proud as can be of the Davisville Public School Choir today after the kids turned in a wonderful version of O Canada at the Raptors game Tuesday. To the right, Elaine Snider writes to say that Fantasy Lingerie will close at 1673 Bayview Ave. after 11 years in the face of increasing rent. And finally, Santa reminds us of the St.Cuthbert’s Christmas Fair set for Saturday, November 11 at 11.30 a.m.

bethannmcfadden@gmail.com

Councillor Josh Matlow was accused of calling the TTC chief a liar Wednesday during a debate on the cost of the one-stop Scarborough subway. Matlow denied it but said he felt sure the estimated cost of the alternative to the subway, a multi-stop LRT, has been inflated. An acrimonious exchange may be seen at the  Council YouTube site in which Mr. Matlow asks Andy Byford about the briefing note which included estimates for the cost of the LRT option. Go to approximately 2.26.10 of the video. At one point, Byford denies that any elements of the note came from Mayor Tory’s office. It has been widely speculated that the mayor supports the one-stop subway as a sop to Premier Wynne, who wishes to mollify Liberal voters in Scarborough. Toronto Sun 

Tough sledding at City Council

Max Tutivan (left) and Jayesh Prajapati and his family

The transparently false story told by Max Tutivan that he didn’t know he was dragging a gas station  attendant to his death on Roselawn Ave. has earned him the disgust of a judge and a life sentence. There will be no possibility of parole for 16 years. Tutivan pulled into a Shell station at Roselawn and Marlee Ave. on the night of September 12 five years ago and tanked up his SUV. He also filled two gan cans. The bill was $112. As he left without paying he ran down Jayesh Prajapati, 44 and dragged the husband and father 78 metres. In court Tutivan, a lifetime criminal, claimed he didn’t know he had hit anyone even though witnesses say Pajapati’s screams curdled their blood. Tutivan fled to Montreal and was not caught until authorities issued a $25,000 reward for his capture and conviction. “Mr. Tutiven’s actions in callously killing a vulnerable victim, his lengthy criminal record and absence of any real prospect of rehabilitation call for a sentence that denounces the conduct, deters others and protects the public,” Judge Maureen Forestell said in her ruling Wednesday.

Spaghetti sidewalk

Take your choice

Garden in this triangle?

As we teased you Tuesday, the sidewalk at the corner of Randolph and Kenrae Rds. is a work of art with walkways that wind about like freshly-cooked spaghetti. Work proceeded again Wednesday and now it appears the concrete part is done. A garden in that triangle would be nice.

A weather advisory is in effect for the City of Toronto

Snowfall and rapidly falling temperatures could affect road conditions late Thursday afternoon and evening.

A cold front is expected to track over Southern Ontario Thursday. As this front passes temperatures will drop and scattered rain showers will change to flurries. As a result, untreated surfaces could become icy and slippery late Thursday afternoon into early evening affecting the evening commute.

Please continue to monitor alerts and forecasts issued by Environment Canada. To report severe weather, send an email to ec.cpio-tempetes-ospc-storms.ec@canada.ca or tweet reports using #ONStorm.

So hope you enjoyed brilliantly sunny Bayview Ave. before the storm. It was the Wednesday that was.

Such a November 8

Christmas on their mind

Formerly tilting now standing straight

The installation of Bitcoin ATMs in some corner stores appears to have facilitated the payment of fraudulent “overdue taxes” in a scam by people claiming to be from the Canada Revenue Agency. Police say more than 40 York Region residents have fallen victim to a Bitcoin tax scam, sending over $300,000 to fraudsters since August. The perpetrators tell victims they have overdue taxes to pay, and threaten them with arrest if they don’t settle up. Officers say Bitcoin transactions are unregulated and untraceable, making it difficult to investigate the frauds. York police have advised the public that any calls or emails asking for Bitcoin tax payments should be treated as a scam. Locally, there are Bitcoin ATMs in a few corner stores such as the Hasty Market on Redpath Ave.

Josh Matlow (Ward 22) will propose a motion at Council Wednesday to have the Auditor General, Beverley Romeo-Beechler, do a “value for money comparison” between the one-stop subway extension and a previous plan for a seven-stop LRT that was scrapped in 2013. Matlow has long opposed the $3.35 million single-stop plan and there are many informed municipal and transit figures who agree. He will however find it difficult to get support for this motion because Scarborough Councillors, with the exception of Paul Ainslie, will vote against it.

SINISTER POLITICS?

Some see sinister politics behind Mayor Tory’s support for a project that seems to be an enormous waste of money.  His purpose, say some, is to keep peace with Premier Wynne and her desire to mollify the Liberal voters of Scarborough who fiercely demand a full-fledged subway, even if it only has one stop, rather than a more functional LRT.

From left, St. Anselm Catholic School students Cate Gaffney, Claire Martin, and Nora Nousiainent with Canadian Air Force vet Jim Coburn at Sunnybrook Veterans’ Centre Tuesday/Joanna Lavoie Metroland Twitter

They bring him cheer/Joanna Lavoie Metroland via Twitter

Army nurse Frances McIlroy, 100,, is delighted to see St. Anselm students/Joanna Lavoie Metroland via Twitter

Operation Raise a Flag celebrates Canada’s heroes and honours their sacrifice. (CNW Group/Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre)

Teach Syrian children English

As reported by Joanna Lavoie of the Beach Mirror, 85 pupils from St. Anselm Catholic School on Bessborough Drive have visited the Sunnybrook Veterans’ Centre. The kids brought happy postcards for the vets but maybe more importantly they wore their shining faces as seen above in photos tweeted by Joanna. Well done St. Anselm. Read it here. Further down a reminder to Raise A Flag this Remembrance Day. At the bottom, an appeal from Leaside United Church for teachers to help Syrian immigrant kids learn the language. It is done Saturday and Sunday in Thorncliffe Park. If you can assist, contact the church office at (416) 425-1253