The South Bayview Bulldog

The death of a 69-year-old woman following her attempt to cross College Street east of Palmerston Blvd is a cautionary tale for pedestrians young or old. It was 7:48 p.m. Wednesday, wet and dark of course. College is four lanes wide with streetcar tracks, plus bike lanes, plus parking. There is no marked crossing available with or without lights between the long stretch from Bathurst St. on the east to Euclid Ave. on the west. The woman was crossing with a man, 62, who was also hit but will survive.

STRUCK BY TWO CARS

The woman was struck by not one but two cars. The first was an eastbound Mazda which hurled her body into the path of a westbound Honda. Both drivers stopped and tried to help the woman. She died in hospital. Police have said nothing about speed but they are appealing for witnesses.  Some angry traffic advocates demand the  authorities “stop blaming the victims” of traffic accidents. That’s fine.  But who will dare to say that this was a safe time and place to cross College Street?.

The recently installed 514 Cherry Street line is noisy nuisance to at least one resident of the area who took his grievance to the CBC’s Shannon Martin. “It’s become a form a torture for us,” gripes Jason Mednick. He recorded the cars turning at King Street East and Sumach Street (above) to animate his complaint. He calls it an equivalent to waterboarding. Yikes. Ms Martin reports that the  514 went into service in June. Ordinary people ask why it was necessary to build another street car line (for Heaven’s sake) but that may be another matter. Listen to the video and see if this screeching is more or less what one might expect, if you live next to a streetcar line.

Statistics Canada says the economy gained 44,000 net new jobs in October but the increase was entirely due to part-time employment.  The gross increase was 67,000 part-time jobs for the month as full-time jobs fell by 23,000. Many part-time jobs come from large firms, like Dollarama, and other major retailers. It costs less to employ part time staff because government-enforced benefits are lower.

MORE LOOKING FOR WORK

Unemployment stayed the same at 7 cent because more people were looking for work. This is a seasonal phenomenon. Many Canadians have working patterns which suggest they don’t mind being unemployed in the summer. They will seek a job, as necessary, during the fall and winter.  Forecasts had predicted a loss of 10,000 jobs and the unemployment rate to remain unchanged.. The increase in October follows a gain of some 67,000 jobs in September that saw additions in both part-time and full-time employment.

With the Eglinton/Crosstown LRT test car more than two years overdue, Bombardier today was insisting that the company is not in default of the contract. Marc Laforge of Bombardier made the comment to BNN Friday morning, denying any default.  “As we’ve stated since July and strongly restate today, in no way Bombardier is in default of its contractual obligations in the Metrolinx project,” Laforge said. “We are currently working on the pilot car, the first of the 182 vehicles to produce. This vehicle is intended for testing. We don’t understand where Metrolinx is going at when talking about performance on a vehicle that has yet to run its first kilometres on track and production has not started yet.”

NOTICE GIVEN

Nonetheless, Ontario filed notice Thursday to cancel the contract with Bombardier for the subway trains. Knowing just what this means probably starts with noting that notice to terminate is not termination itself. But it is a fact that Metrolinx has long stretches of the LRT close to a point where testing of cars could begin. The tunnels however are empty. As stated, the pilot car for Crosstown is now two years overdue.  CBC

Leaside United Church will celebrate 88 years since the first service was held in a wooden portable at Millwood Rd. and McRae Dr. on November 25, 1928. The portable was a hand off from Manor Road United which had finished its brick and mortar church in 1920. But before that, Reverend James Miller was sent into the Leaside hinterland by the Toronto Home Missions Council to see about prospects for a new church. He began knocking on doors and received a warm welcome. There was no water, heating or sewage of course so rudimentary provisions were made. Chairs and stoves were purchased to outfit the wooden portable for that first Sunday when 125 people came to worship. It was a long 12 years later and a penny-pinching area of money-management during the depression before the congregation was able to turn sod at the four adjoining lots  purchased in 1928. That was October 5, 1940. The inaugural service was June 1, 1941. Today Leaside United boasts the membership 300 families and is the same welcoming and inclusive church it was in 1928.

Mariah Carey wrapped up Toronto in about an hour Thursday evening. She attracted an enormous crowd on Yonge St. outside the Bay, sang a couple of songs, unveiled the store’s windows and reminded us again that her mighty 1994 pop standard All I Want For Christmas has long-since outstripped White Christmas as the North American anthem for the holiday. Oh yes, they say she was paid a million dollars too.  It’s all silly speculation but the appearance would not have come cheap. Happy holiday prelude all.

The crowd outside The Bay at Queen and Yonge waiting for Mariah Carey! #Toronto #TOpoli pic.twitter.com/hA4Zk7Wyo2

— Natasha Fatah (@NatashaFatah) November 3, 2016

What we've been waiting for! 🎄 @MariahCarey @saks_canada @hudsonsbay #Toronto #MariahCarey pic.twitter.com/bznJ5utQ7y

— Etalk (@etalkCTV) November 3, 2016

An obituary has been published in the Toronto Star for Elisa Lorraine Linton who died October 31, 2016 in her 23rd year. Lissy was the daughter of Randall and Elisabeth Linton, and sister to Jessica and Connor. She was born with Sanfilippo syndrome, a rare, regressive and terminal disease. Her family, which is well-known in Leaside, has inspired and built The Sanfilippo Children’s Research Foundation — A Life for Elisa.– to help others struck by the disease. Despite her physical and cognitive challenges, Lissy became a symbol of hope and inspiration to everyone, especially families afflicted with Sanfilippo syndrome. A Life for Elisa  A single red rose became an appropriate and significant symbol of the Foundation. The family asks that if you are able, please add a touch of red to whatever you are wearing. In lieu of flowers, the family would appreciate a donation in Elisa’s honour to The Sanfilippo Children’s Research Foundation. Condolences may be made at rskane.ca   Mr. Linton and his brothers own and operate Interior Care on Wicksteed Ave. 

It was a big mistake when an employee at Bloor West and Lansdowne Ave. incorrectly mixed hydrochloric acid and sulphuric acid together. It makes a nasty mist that is somewhat caustic. As a result, residents were sent scurrying for cover with watering eyes and fits of coughing. The danger is now over, police say, but for a while people were warned to stay indoors and a TTC bus was used as a refuge for people who were caught on the street.

Michael Doucet, Tom Begg, Dave Thomas and Ted Hellyer accepted the trophy at the Leaside Curling Club. Well done gentlemen.

Home values show no sign of slowing as October prices for Toronto re-sale homes were up 11.5 percent on the year. There were 9,768 GTA sales in the month.  The average selling price of all types of homes rose 21.1 per cent to $762,975.

Britain’s High Court brought government plans for leaving the European Union screeching to a halt Thursday, finding that the prime minister can’t trigger the U.K.’s exit from the bloc without parliamentary approval. Elsewhere in Your  World, Prince Harry is said to be slinking around on private jets to see his girlfriend Meghan Markle, who is lives in Toronto while her present work here continues. And the agonizing case of Scott Michael Greene, the man who shot two Iowa police, is told here. Among the details revealed about this seeming misfit is that his mother was trying to evict hom from her home.

Rebecca Dixon is one of two women said to have been fathered by doctor Norman Barwin when he inseminated their mothers with his own sperm. CBC.

A former Ottawa fertility doctor who resigned from the Order of Canada in 2014 is facing a potential class-action lawsuit alleging he inseminated at least two women with his own sperm. Norman Barwin is alleged to have carried out the inseminations without the women’s knowledge or consent, according to a statement of claim filed Tuesday by Ottawa law firm Nelligan O’Brien Payne. CBC