The South Bayview Bulldog

Some residents on Bessborough Drive in South Leaside have received notice that there will be a Best Buy commercial being shot on Thursday, September 22nd, 2016, between the hours of 7am – 11pm.  Surprisingly, none of the dozen production vehicles will be parked on Bessborough Drive, instead they will be seen on the south side of Rolland Road (between Bessborough and Hanna), on the North side of St. Cuthbert’s Road (between Bayview and Bessborough) and on the west side of Berney Crescent (150 meters from the corner).  Circle Productions has noted that a donation of $1000 is being made to the Trace Manes Playground Rejuvenation Project as a thank you for having their production in our neighbourhood.  Very nice indeed.

Boris Cherkassky

Friends and admirers of the long-time crossing guard at St. Anselm Catholic School on Bessborough Drive are mourning the loss of Boris Cherkassky. He collapsed and died Friday while at work. Several tweets remark on the wonderful legacy of service performed at Post #5 (Bessborough Drive and Millwood Rd). One person wrote: “We are all so blessed to have known you.” There will be a memorial mass for Boris Cherkassky on Friday, September 23 at St. Anselm Parish at 9 a.m. St. Anselm is at 1 Macnaughton Rd., Leaside.

Memorial created by school kids, loaded with condolence messages for Boris.

South Bayview and other Midtown neighborhoods need school guards, according to the 53 Division Community Response Unit. Applications are being accepted now for the important job of keeping the children of the City safe while going to and from school. For more information, or to apply, please contact Constable Wai Lau, 416-808-5327 Or by email, Wai.Lau@torontopolice.on.ca  Police are asking that people who might apply, are encouraged to try this useful job and of course earn extra money.

Police have wounded and placed in custody the man believed to be responsible for the explosion in Manhattan on Saturday night and an earlier bombing in New Jersey. He is Ahmad Khan Rahami, of New Jersey, a naturalized Afghan immigrant to the U.S. The New York Times reports the dramatic episode occurred on a rain-soaked street in Linden, N.J. Two police officers were hit by shots, one in his bullet proof vest and another in the hand. There is remarkable video from ABC News as broadcast on CNN (below). Photos from the scene showed a man believed to be Mr. Rahami laying on the sidewalk, hands cuffed behind his back and his shirt pulled up exposing his stomach and chest, with a police officer standing over him. The Times quotes witnesses who said they saw police shoot at a man who was running away. One person who was too rattled to give his name said the victim appeared to have been shot more than once and was “still twitching.”

Ahmad Khan Rahami, suspect in NY & NJ bombings, seen being loaded into an ambulance https://t.co/xQKQoLv7XQ https://t.co/MvXSlYgc6T

— CNN (@CNN) September 19, 2016

Jennifer Wells

Toronto Star feature writer Jennifer Wells has assayed the past and present of Loblaw — the place most people call Loblaws. After an estimable traipse through the ups and downs of the family business she asks: “Is it just me?”  No, she decides. In the end, Loblaws is not without merit but it is dull. Her review was written as Galen G. Weston took over the chairman’s job at George Weston Ltd. Locally, Loblaws exemplifies many of Wells criticisms. The stores at 301 Moore Ave. and the misplaced giant tucked away at the end of Redway Rd. are dull but reliable. Moore is smallish but many people like the efficiency and location. Longo’s in the exquisite old Canadian Northern Railway Eastern Lines engine repair building is exciting. But a visit to this enormous place is a bit like a day-trip with Thomas the Tank Engine.

See later post

Wind farm opponents in Southwestern Ontario have got a strong feeling that clear public anger — demonstrated at the polls — will spell an end to any further expansion of the ugly, expensive and inefficient alternative energy source. The London Free Press says that after a long losing streak before environmental review tribunals and courts, activists trying to halt industrial wind farms say they sense the political ground is shifting in their favour. They say power rates have become a hot urban issue and the Liberal government is taking notice. “It looks like this will be the last. I don’t know how the government could possibly justify more (such contracts),” said Jane Wilson, president of Wind Concerns Ontario, a coalition of groups opposed to industrial wind farm development in the province. She’s talking about the byelection loss for the Liberals in Scarborough Rouge-River. Accountants blame the government’s headlong plunge into expensive wind energy with driving up the cost of power in Ontario at least 70 percent in less than a decade.

The Blue Jays vs Angels game was delayed nearly 15 minutes Sunday when bees made a sneak attack on the ball diamond during the third period. Edwin Encarnacion swatted at them as they descended on his territory. But he quickly abandoned his post. Plate umpire CB Bucknor called time as everyone moved toward the left side of the field. Several players went back to their dugouts as the swarm remained in the outfield. The outfielders sought refuge in the bullpen behind left field and fans began exiting or seeking shelter in higher seats. As to the game, the curse is well fixed on the Blue Jays as they lost 4-0 to the Angels and fell even further back in the AL East.

A Divisional Court has overturned a decision by the Ontario Municipal Board arbitrarily stating the value of parkland required for huge residential buildings. Richmond Hill town council won the action in a precedent, which if upheld, offers hope for many cities which believe they are being developed by bureaucrats at Queen’s Park. CBC

The impressive looking townhouses nearing completion on Thurloe Ave west of Mt. Pleasant are seen in photos below. These are the structures that replaced Glebe Presbyterian Church. The six three-storey homes sit over a common underground garage with the entrance off of Belsize Drive to the south. There is also a clearly detached home (below) which appears to be as good as finished.

This home on Thurloe near DeSavory Cres. looks like its finished

The view south on Thurloe towards Belsize Drive

This home faces Belsize and is the southernmost in the row