The South Bayview Bulldog

Officer Jack O Lantern

Still time to get a glowlight stick

Police have issued 13 Halloween safety tips. Here they are.

1) Put strips of reflective tape on the front and back of costumes to make them more visible to drivers.

2) Your child’s costume shouldn’t drag on the ground. It’s too easy to trip over. Shoes should be well-fitting and sturdy.

3) Don’t allow children to carry sharp objects. Swords, knives, and any other accessories should be made of soft, flexible material.

4) If your child wears a mask, make sure it fits securely and has eyeholes large enough so that he or she can see.

5) Make sure that treat bags are light-coloured for easy visibility. Decorate them with reflective tape.

6) No child should go trick-or-treating alone. Always accompany your younger children; older children can go in groups.

7) Allow children to go trick-or-treating early but avoid the evening rush hour. It’s harder for motorists to see clearly during twilight than at any other time of day.

8) Give children specific neighbourhood boundaries for trick-or-treating. Set a firm curfew for your children.

9) Remind children to walk on sidewalks and be cautious when crossing streets.

10) Tell children to only go to homes and neighbours they know and only to houses with lights on.

11) Tell children to turn down all invitations to enter homes.

12) Tell children to avoid even normally friendly neighbourhood dogs, who can be startled by kids they know but who are dressed in unfamiliar costumes.

13) Drivers must remember that children may be preoccupied with trick-or-treating and, as a result, may not be paying attention to the rules of the road. Keep vehicle speeds at or below the posted limits, and scan the road for children attempting to cross streets mid-block.

Google Doodle

Candy Tracker survey 2017

The spirit of good fun is alive this Halloween at the home of Jeremy Kojima in Leaside. He has posted a Halloween Candy tracker survey form on Leaside Community to help figure out just where, and in what numbers, trick or treaters show up across the area. “Please if you will, take a moment this evening or tomorrow to report how many trick-or-treaters came by your home. I’ll then compile a heat map so we can better plan for next year. Save your wallet and/or waistline from overbuying, or avoid the dreaded stock-out! Fine print: just for fun, no personally identifying info sought, I’m just a nerd Dad from the area.” For sure and engaged members like Thesaz On are quipping: “Data is not rich enough. We need peak times, ratio of chocolate, gummy candy and an infographic of how many IT clowns and Georgies rang your bell.”

Ward 28

Includes Cabbagetown

Being Councillor for Ward 28 must be the best job in the world. Some 36 people are inviting City Council to appoint them to oversee this old piece of Toronto which sits south of Bloor St. and includes Cabbagetown and the transforming communities to the south as well as the Toronto Islands. It was held by Pam McConnell until her death on July 7, 2017. The CBC has a list of the names and a story that seems to bring the contest down to a choice between a woman like Susan Gapka, who wants to be Toronto’s first openly trans Councillor, and what writer John Rieti calls the “experienced bureaucrat choice.”  The decision is to be made this week. The thing about getting appointed by Council is that it gives the lucky winner an enormous leg up at the general election in 2018. Some say they don’t plan to run in the general election but it’s perfectly legal for he or she etc to use the appointment to do just that. Councillor of Ward 28 can become a job in perpetuity, as is often done at City Hall.  CBC

This report from Ginella Massa of City News on the arrest of four boys related to fighting between as many as 40 teens also describes liaison between the landlord and the Toronto and District School Board. The Guildwood Village Shopping Centre is owned by Morguard Investments, owners of the East York Town Centre.

Bayview and Belsize

Leasside Community

Ernie Jardine’s book at Urban Nature

Leaside Burger

Coneheads

LUC youth

It’s a measure maybe of just how witless and desperate thieves can get. Someone robbed the Starbucks at Bayview Ave and Belsize Drive early Monday and got away with very little. To the right, in this local summary, the outdoors author Ernie Jardine has signed  copies his book Bird Song: Identification Made Easy at the Don Mills store of Urban Nature. Bird Song is a field guide to the songs of 125 of the more common birds of eastern North America with a practical “system” which allows for the identification of birds, by their songs, right in the field. Centre right, these Coneheads were brightening up the Yonge subway Saturday and were snapped by our sister blog, Yonge and Roxborough News. Centre left, shop local and eat local at Grilltime where Andy Elder’s sumptuous Leaside Burger is ready in a couple of minutes. Then finally, this happy group of Leaside United kids in the church’s “Escape Room” are a sight. Who is the young lady with the windup key?

The Ontario PC Party is demanding the Ontario government suspend its deal with Great Canadian Gaming Corporation to run casinos in Toronto to investigate alleged industry money laundering in one of the firm’s casinos in BC. PC Finance Critic Vic Fedeli spoke about hockey duffel bags full of $20 dollar bills that allegedly went through the Great Canadian Gaming’s River Rock Casino in 2015. The total accepted was $13.5 million. “We are calling on Premier Wynne to step in and halt this deal in Ontario immediately,” said Fedeli at Queen’s Park Monday. In August, the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG) announced Great Canadian Gaming Corporation and Brookfield Business Partners LP were chosen to run three casinos in the GTA — OLG Slots at Woodbine, OLG Slots at Ajax Downs and the Great Blue Heron Casino.But then in September, B.C. Attorney General David Eby, concerned about money laundering, announced the government was launching an independent review of the gambling industry and its
policies.

• Distracted pedestrians could face $50 fine if Ontario ‘zombie law’ passes
• Wynne won’t rule out back-to-work legislation to end Ontario college strike

Christina found in back seat of stolen car

John Woolley was paying attention last March when Christina Nguyen, 4, was spirited off in the back seat of a stolen car in North York. The vehicle had been left with the motor running outside her  home to keep Christina warm. Sunday police honoured Woolley and more than 30 other citizens who jumped in to help others. Three notable heroes were Ms. Nancy Evans, Ms. Natalie Lijoi and Ms. Tamara Schwarz.  They understood that a boy, 10, was choking and applied back blows and abdominal pressure until he coughed up bread and began to breathe normally. See the City News report above and read the wonderful stories here.

Leaside Jr. Wildcats seemed to miss their tough forward Sarah Brooks Sunday after she took an injury apparently near the collarbone in the second period against Bluewater Hawks at Doc Pashby rink. Sarah is up and about and will practice this week but coach Kim McCullough said time will tell if she plays next weekend against Cambridge. Brooks departure from the game in the second period  preceded three goals from the Hawks which resulted in a 3-3 tie. The Wildcats had looked like winners when they scored two goals in the first and second period to lead the game. Saturday night saw another tie as Leaside finished 1-1 against Aurora.

Photos courtesy of Brampton Fire and ES

Brampton Fire and Emergency Services are saying that the driver of the Corvette seen here has escaped life-threatening injuries in this early-evening tangle of steel on Sunday. The sequence of events is still being sorted out but there are no other injuries. The masses of personnel around the scene at Harold St. and McMurchy Ave. in Brampton are trying to extricate the driver of the Vette. The Toyota was parked. All photos courtesy Brampton Fire and ES. 

October

Berney Crescent

Television series

The television series the Handmaid’s Tale is filming under the alias Rocket Woman at Garden Court Apartments this week starting Monday at 7 a.m. Click blue notification for more. Readers wondered how the series could be in its second season when they had not heard of the name. Why does the shoot need an alias? It’s fun to have an alias. So dramatic. There are no doubt real reasons too.

ROCKET WOMAN
Season 2
TV Series
Gilead II Productions Inc.
Prod.:  Joe Boccia
Co-Exec. Producers:  John Weber & Frank Siracusa
Dir.:  Various
PM: Gina Fowler
PC: Sabine Graham
Shoot: Sep 5/17 – Feb 16/18
Toronto, ON
P: 416 231-5468
F: 416 231-7681
handmaidstale2@gmail.com

.@WhatsFilmingON : "Rocket Woman" season 2 filming in Leaside on Oct. 30th & 31st. #Gilead II Productions. Hmmm 😉

— SBayview (@SBayview) October 30, 2017

An Ottawa man was trying to do a good deed when he agreed to allow the City of Ottawa to house a homeless person in his apartment on the understanding there would be municipal checks on the place. Now his flat is a catastrophe. To the right, a leaked memo written by Stephen Harper to clients raises the issue of whether Canada ought to make concessions to the US on free trade in its own interests. It is a thought-provoking idea which some will reject but it probably needs to be talked through. Below that, it is estimated that a million people marched in Barcelona Saturday in support of Spanish unity. Many signs reminded the world that the recent independence vote in Catalonia was achieved by a minority of registered voters there. Then finally, the sordid goings-on at Fox News where the amounts of money allegedly paid to women who complained about Bill O’Reilly are breathtaking