The South Bayview Bulldog

Two full days of rain are forecast for Monday and Tuesday as October grinds to a close. Miserable. Weather Channel

Bad weather snakes across US and Canada Monday morning

Photo by Ian Smith

Many residents are commenting Sunday about the on-going challenges of the pedestrian crossing at Bayview Ave and Soudan/Parkhurst. There are calls for a more elaborate pedestrian crossing similar to the one on Moore Ave at Mud Creek. Other people want a stoplight but the hostility to this idea is expressed in a one-word comment (No!) from Ario Hojabri. Sadly perhaps, only stoplights will help the carnage at this bugaboo corner. Unlike the Moore crossing, which is single file pedestrians and just two (not four) lanes of vehicles, the Bayview/Soudan corner is a busy, multi-lane intersection that obscures the view of drivers in the curb lanes. Facebook

• Bayview/Soudan a tricky cocktail of congestion, blind spots

Twitter salvo Saturday

Empire that Ted built

The nasty family battle for control of Rogers Communications Inc. continued Saturday with the company claiming its recently fired chairman, Edward Rogers, intends to hold a weekend meeting with a slate of hand-picked board directors and pre-emptively rejecting the outcome of any such gathering. “The proposal by Mr. Edward Rogers to hold a purported board meeting with his proposed slate of directors this weekend does not comply with laws of British Columbia, where Rogers Communications Inc. is incorporated and is therefore not valid,” newly appointed board chairman John MacDonald said in a statement. And Mr. Rogers sister, Martha, also a board member, exploded in a series of tweets vowing to “spend every penny” of the firm’s money to stop him from taking over. Another sister, Melinda, and their mother, Loretta, board members too, equally oppose Edward Rogers. Global

Empire that Ted built

Rogers stock was down early Friday as the world awaits the outcome of a legal battle over who controls the giant telecommunications firm. Late Thursday the Rogers board removed Edward Rogers as chairman. But now Mr. Rogers, as head of the Rogers family trust, says he will replace five members of the board with others who have a more sympathetic view of his plans. Rogers has been maneuvering to replace CEO Joe Natale. And there is more. The present management is casting doubt on the legality of a wholesale firing of directors. It says it “is not aware of this mechanism ever having been utilized in respect of a public company in Canada.”  Counsel will be consulted. CBC

Post to Leaside Community/Wilmar Kortleever

The season is upon us and neighbourhood lawns are blooming with ghoulish goodwill as shown above. Below, a reminder of the time-honoured free pumpkin morning at Valumart courtesy of Patrick Rocca. The making (and eating) of cookies is one of life’s great blessings and there are inventive ideas galore at the Leaside Community FB. Here’s a one for Chocolate Pumpkin Pinatas (really?)

How seriously should anyone take the reported Facebook rebranding leaked Wednesday? Remember, we still call Google (um) Google (not Alphabet).

Workmen take down St Cutherbet’s fence Wednesday/Bulldog

A whole new look is coming/Bulldog

Old fence seen last year was built in 1947/Google

The 1947 drystone embankment fence in front of St. Cuthbert’s Anglican Church was removed Wednesday, part of a carefully prepared plan to create a more inviting entrance to the old church. The St Cuthbert’s Norman-style building dates from 1914 but the fence was something of an afterthought. As told by Lorna Krawchuck in Leaside Life, there was a lawn bowling green on the church picnic ground to the south. Bowls frequently rolled right into Bayview Ave it seems. Her article describes the many pleasant and welcoming features of the new frontage.

Florentia restaurant, CafeTO patio, Mt. Pleasant Road (July 2020)

A news release Wednesday from the City of Toronto recommends that CaféTO patios on main roads be made permanent. The decision will certainly surprise some people who reasonably believed that such patios were a pandemic emergency phenomenon.

Today, Mayor John Tory endorsed a City of Toronto report that recommends making the successful CaféTO permanent and waiving permit fees for the program again in 2022 to continue emergency support for restaurants and bars.

The staff report, CaféTO 2022 and Beyond, recommends CaféTO be made a permanent program that can continue providing support to local restaurants while also making City streets more vibrant for years to come.

Designed as a quick-start program in 2020 to help provide outdoor dining space to local bars and restaurants during the pandemic, the popular program was approved by City Council to return in 2021 and saw a 51 percent increase in participation when compared to 2020 registration.

Hundred of people are complaining about booming music from the handstand at Polson Dock but as seen in the comments to this City News stories those who attend such events take it as their absolute right to keep the City awake at all hours. Name-calling like Old Cranky Karens is posted. Hmm.

Tuesday’s $55 million jackpot has been won by a single ticket holder in the Prairies. However, the four $1 million Maxmillion prizes went unclaimed. The jackpot for the next draw on Oct. 22 will be an estimated $14 million.

Gantry crane at Mt Pleasant station site

Metrolinx has announced the pending removal of the gantry crane at the site of the Mt. Pleasant LRT station. Construction underground is said to be sufficiently complete to permit work to begin above ground. That will mean the stone-by-stone reconstruction of the 1920 Bank of Commerce building — much adjusted to accommodate LRT passengers. Release

Rebuilt 1920 Bank of Commerce as Mt Pleasant Station (Metrolinx)