The South Bayview Bulldog

Smiley”s now closed

Resident speaks with Global’s Catherine McDonald

Metal capping glints in sun

Contractor was on roof say merechants

Merchants on Danforth Ave. say a contractor was working on the 1922 brick facade over Smileys Restaurant and Deli Wednesday when it collapsed onto the sidewalk patio at the Danforth and Main Street. The operator of Hakim Optical next door to Smiley’s he had been approached by the owner of the Smiley’s building to share the cost of metal replacement “capping” for brickwork on the restaurant at 2543 Danforth Ave. Residents walked by the closed restaurant with care Thursday and told of how the eating establishment’s awning probably saved the life of one man, now in hospital. His name and condition have not been released. Dozens of bricks rained down on the street trapping those on the patio and sending others running for safety.

Central Tech arson suspect

Tarp set on fire

TTC and bank branch robbery suspect

Hitting bank at Old Kingston and Military

Police photos have been released related to criminal matters. Left, police wish to speak to this man about the fire on Monday at Central Tech Stadium, 725 Bathurst Street. To the right, a photo of a man wearing a surgical mask as a disguise when fled a robbery of a TTC collector at the Midland station, then far right in an earlier stick up at a bank at Old Kingston Rd. and Military Trail. These incidents occurred in February and December last.

This week saw the screening of the film Forgotten, the story of 100,000 British children who came to Canada as indentured labourers and domestics. Such assignments were made among orphaned or abandoned children right up until 1939. The evening was held at the Amsterdam Brewery on Esandar Drive by the British Home Child Group International. Many in the audience were descendants of children in the program.

Joe Matthews receives honour from Jennifer Keesmaat

Muzik shooting on August 8, 2015

TPS member Staff Sergeant Joe Matthews has been given the Toronto Board of Trade’s Police Officer of the Year Award for 2016 for his successful efforts at helping a shooting victim at the Muzik nightclub at Exhibition Place on August 8, 2015.  In presenting the award, Chief City Planner Jennifer Kessmaat recalled how Matthews was punched by a woman bystander and harassed by a hostile crowd as he administered first aid to the wounded person who was bleeding badly. Release 

Ginella Massa of City News was at the meeting Wednesday night where a plan to provide protection for pupils at John Fisher School on Erskine Ave was approved. Construction of a 35-storey condominium is set to begin next door to the school this summer. The meeting was held at North Toronto Collegiate

At the heart of what is called by some Sunshine Valley, it’s easy to get a sense of what it was like to live in East York 70 years ago. CBC

David Bryant will once again organize a fireworks show for families on the field of Leaside High School on Monday, May 22, starting at 8.45 p.m. Mr. Bryant is welcoming all and adds that anyone who wants to have a word with him or his wife, Ashley, about the cost of the event, and perhaps make a contribution, would be welcome. See them before or after the event. This fireworks display, which also took place on Labour Day, seems like a very public-spirited thing to do. Those viewing should remain on the hills for safety sake.

Dina Rock, Chief Pickling Officer

Classic New York Yum

Mighty Fine

A Balliol Street mom who trained at Tulane University for a career in public health has decided to become a pickling entrepreneur instead — and she loves it. From reports (and personal tasting) Dina Rock’s Mighty Fine Brine pickles set a new standard in old-fashioned Jewish dill pickles. Rock grew up on Long Island and later moved to Manhattan where one grandfather owned a delicatessen. The other granddad had a butcher shop in Brooklyn. When public health didn’t seem to be quite right for her, Dina, wife of Re/Max Hallmark Brokerage agent Jess Martenfeld, dug into her roots and came up with her grandfather’s dill pickle recipe. Thus was born in the Spring of 2015 the Mighty Fine Brine pickle line with Dina’s Classic New York cukes leading the way from her rented commercial kitchen in Etobicoke.

WHERE TO BUY

Mighty Fine dills were first offered at the Appletree Markets weekly market  in June Rowlands (Davisville) Park. Their popularity quickly began to build an in-store clientel. Locally Mighty Fine Brine products are sold at Andy Elder’s Grill Time on Laird Drive, but they are also fighting their way onto shelves at places like Whole Foods (Leaside) and Summerhill Market (Sherwood Park) on Mt. Pleasant Rd. Rock’s enthusiasm for her work commits her to busy days on the phone and email finding new clients. Her two children, a boy 5 and a girl 8, need a mom too. They don’t seem to mind that she comes in the guise of Fine Brine’s “Chief Pickling Officer.” It is the kind of whimsy that only your own business will permit. We will visit Dina Rock again when Ontario’s brief pickling season hits again in August.

It may be brief but it certainly is balmy. Highs Wednesday were put at 28 with a foecast high of 24 tonight. Thursday will see the same, says Environment Canada. The warm spell will moderate with the Weather Network predicitng 15 and 19 over the weekend, and rain on Sunday.

Markets fell sharply Wednesday as media and political opponents speculated about the future of the Trump presidency. In recent days. Trump has been beset by stories leaked to news outlets that he divulged super secret information to the Russians and that he asked the former director of the FBI James Comey to stop investigating the Russian connection of Michael Flynn. Pundits pronounce this to be an impeachable offense. In New York the Dow Jones index fell 277 points and in Toronto the TSX was down 214.

Courtesy Nicole Golubok

Moving him out

Brandon Michael Courneyea

The FBI took charge after an Air Canada Rouge plane from Jamaica bound for Toronto diverted to Orlando Sunday night because of the antics of disturbed man. He threw things at other passengers, including a coffee pot, threatened crew and passengers, tried unlatch a door and talked in a threatening manner about how a single person could bring down the aircraft. Among those who attempted to calm him was Scarborough Councillor Michael Thomson, on his way home with his family from a vacation. Finally, crew and passengers decided to subdue the man, who as may be seen, is  tall and youthful looking, while they waited for officers to board in Orlando.  Brandon Michael Courneyea is charged in the U.S. City. City News