The South Bayview Bulldog

Willis Blair

Alan Redway

Justin Van Dette

True Davidson

Justin Van Dette has put forward some suggested names for membership in the East York Hall of Fame. Mr Van Dette was a prime mover with other East York friends and residents for such a place of commemoration.  The well-known defender the of former township and borough says people like True Davidson, Willis Blair, Alan Redway, David Johnson and Michael Prue should be inducted. Van Dette will hold a news conference in March, he said, joined by Mayor Tory to announce further plans for the East York Hall of Fame –– with Toronto Observer 

Reader Carol Sellers has identified the majestic birds flying over the Don Valley at the Leaside Bridge. They are, she tell us, Red-tailed hawks which nest near the bridge.

Anyone know what kind of birds these are? Seen circling above the Leaside Bridge on Sunday@TorontoBirds @TorontoPFR pic.twitter.com/SxOjMZiDGq

— Zach 🌇 (@induceddemand) February 21, 2017

Writer Stefan Novakovic of the online planning publication Urban Toronto tells of his efforts to see the future of city dwellers in the age of the driverless car. He got some pretty cynical responses but still concludes the answer may lie between a serene and happy commute and even worse traffic jams and endless sprawl. He does not venture into the more gloomy concern that automated cars run by the government will tell us when and where to go. Brr. The video below from a global body named IBI Group is included. It is a pleasant mix of education and advocacy from a high-minded association of professionals with several hopeful references to that as yet unreached land where things are “sustainable”. A footnote: IBI subscribes to the Modern Slavery Act which condemns everything from chained confinement to “exploitation of any kind.”  A high standard.

LCBO under construction last year

Wide sidewalks of South Bayview

Dylan Reid notes “terrible planning”

Dylan Reid @dylan_reid of Spacing Magazine has posted a photo of the lamentable encroachment of an LCBO built last summer out onto the sidewalk on the east side of Coxwell Ave. south of O’Connor Drive. The way the building steals space for people just makes you wonder what on earth they were thinking at City Hall. It recalls the bitter battle to save the wide sidewalks of South Bayview Ave. at a time (1960s) that “planners” wanted them reduced to about three feet. Legend has it the broad walkways on our favorite high street survived because at that time Leaside was still a separate municipality.

Perils of not wearing seat belt

The flight that many passengers said was pure hell last December also had many aboard who did not fasten their seatbelts when warned to do so at least twice by the captain. The Transportation Safety Board released a video and other material Monday in which it warned air travelers of the importance of wearing seat belts as directed by cabinet crew. The December 2015 flight from Shanghai to Toronto put down at Calgary after 21 people were injured, one seriously. “Most of the passengers who were physically injured were aware that they were required to wear their seatbelts, but chose not to,” the TSB said. “The injuries resulted from passengers coming into contact with aircraft furnishings, the ceiling, and the floor of the interior.”

Movie harvest selections

CBC

At busy commercial corner

Rollover!

The busy commercial corner of Eglinton Ave. E and Brimley Road in central Scarborough was shaken up Monday afternoon with a collision resulting in a rollover. Shoppers and Family Day groups were flooding Twitter with questions about the cause. It does not appear if injuries were too serious. Some took pictures as shown above.

Bob White, former head of the Canadian Auto Workers union, has died at the age of 81. White died Sunday in Kincardine near Owen Sound. He called a maverick by fellow unionists and his signature accomplishment was the breakaway of Canadian autoworkers from United Auto Workers in the US. White’s death was announced by Unifor — the union created in 2013 from the combination of the CAW and the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers union — which said he “passed away peacefully” without specifying the cause of his death.

City News

https://twitter.com/ToLiveInToronto/status/833719960610414593

Mayor with some present-day knight

1911 Deer Park jewel

Mayor Tory has visited the Balmoral Ave fire hall near Yonge St to thank the firefighters who fought the conflagration at the Badminton and Racquet Club on Tuesday. Those who are assigned to the historic 1911 architectural jewel in Deer Park are known as the Knights of Balmoral. The name was perhaps never more fitting although Station 311 has seen a lot of history. The mayor had a handful of “Tim Horton tickets” given to him by a coffee manager as a token of respect to those at the Balmoral hall  A sour note was raised on Twitter (as it often is) by cynics who saw this as an “ethics breach” or as some sort of insult to the fire personnel. Sigh.

Mayor John Tory @ Fire Station 311 thanking firefighters, handing out Tim Hortons cards, for the efforts in last week's Yonge/St. Clair fire pic.twitter.com/P0kSezQEZk

— NEWSTALK1010 (@NEWSTALK1010) February 20, 2017