The South Bayview Bulldog

Wayne Driver has spoken about the death of his son at the hands of police as they closed in on the 24-year-old ISIS sympathizer. The videos below were recorded by the CBC in Cold Lake Alberta where the former soldier is now training to be a pastor at the Harbour Light Alliance Church. Driver chokes back tears as he reflects on his son’s alienation. The anger began brewing on the death of his mother when he was seven. It just got worse.  “The light went out,” said his father. “Completely. Forever. I knew he was lost, but I didn’t know how far gone he was.”

Mr. Driver recalled how the Canadian Security Intelligence Service came to Cold Lake and met with him, revealing a thick file that contained tweets his son had sent expressing radical beliefs, and lists of radical Facebook pages Aaron had visited. “I sat there in a public doughnut shop, crying, when I found out the news, as I was trying to read these articles,” Driver said. “I tossed them back across the table and said, ‘I’ve had enough. I understand where this is going.’ Then I realized there was nothing more I could do.” CBC

A young man from Toronto was the pilot of a stolen Piper aircraft that crashed in the streets of Peterborough overnight. He is dead. There is little indication so far what the man, who was 20, intended but police say that no one else was hurt and that no buildings were hit. The plane is registered to an owner near Newmarket.

Pilot dies when plane crashes onto Peterborough street https://t.co/zeJnMR7ACB pic.twitter.com/DkMkO0fScI

— Toronto Sun (@TheTorontoSun) August 12, 2016

The City has issued a news release saying it will conduct a data-driven monitor of the new Bloor Street bike lanes. They run from Shaw St. to Avenue Road. The release says this will be done with lots of input from the U of T.  “Multi-model video traffic counts and GPS-tracked travel-time analysis” and “parking data by the Toronto Parking Authority” are mentioned. Economic impact will be measured by “the Toronto Centre for Active Transportation in partnership with the University of Toronto, local Business Improvement Areas and the Metcalf Foundation”. The release has a lot of bicycle-happy spin from Joe Cressy (Ward 20). He vows it will be a “win-win for everyone”. Let’s hope so.

Toronto’s teenage marvel Penny Oleksiak has thundered into the record books with a gold medal win by tying Simone Manuel of the U.S. in the women’s 100-metre freestyle at the Rio Olympics. The 16-year-old, six foot one inch wonder girl now has four medals, the most ever won by a Canadian at the Summer Olympics. Oleksiak made Canada proud and thrilled her mom and dad, who were in the stands, as she turned on her overdrive finish to win in 52.70 seconds. Manuel and Oleksiak embraced as they realized what they had achieved. Sweden’s Sarah Sjostrom was third in 52.99 seconds. Toronto is like super-excited for Penny Oleksiak

Game-over column on Penny Oleksiak's first gold medal, and fourth of the Games. Give her the flag, now. https://t.co/pxQ2muCRsU

— Bruce Arthur (@bruce_arthur) August 12, 2016

There is much excitement in and around the New Zealand’s south island district of Gore this week as young women prepare for a genuine three-game ice hockey series between the Leaside Wildcats and the local U18 Southland squad. It may be in the south but it’s cold down there in New Zealand right now. Two NZ stalwarts who played for Leaside in 2015 in the PWHL will be with the home team this time. They are Southland duo Beth Scott,14, and Rebecca Lilly,17, seen below. Read about it here

 

Our NZ hosts getting great media coverage for the series with the visiting MBB Wildcats. #WildcatsinNZ #WildcatPride https://t.co/hmbY2WJwwd

— Toronto Leaside Wildcats (@TorontoLeaside) August 11, 2016

Macy’s said Thursday it will close 100 more full-line stores early next year. That’s in addition  to the 40 stores it said would close in early 2016. In some cases the stores are still in “positive cash flow” but business is declining and where Macy’s owns the land, it is worth more than the operating store. The closures are part of the continuing sinister impact of the Internet on department stores. Macy’s has 675 full-line stores.

Staff of the Sunnybrook Medical Centre on Bayview Ave have recorded a poignant tribute and thanks to those who supported the Gord Downie Fund for Brain Cancer Research. They sang Courage, a prophetically named work of Downie’s band, the Tragically Hip. Downie was diagnosed in December with an aggressive, incurable form of brain cancer — glioblastoma. Downie has joined his bandmates of more than 30 years for a summer tour in support of the Hip’s new album, Man Machine Poem. Sunnybrook’s Dr. James Perry, Gord Downie’s neuro-oncologist, has been touring with the band.

Reporters traveling between Olympic venues came under fire Wednesday in Rio Janiero.

Police say a man, 20, from Virginia  who climbed partway up the facade of Trump Tower in New York City had posted a video online saying he did it because he wanted “a private audience” with Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump. The young man came to NY the night before with an “important message” for Trump — AP  Police explain it, kid’s odd video

Councillor Burnside has tweeted an alert Wednesday afternoon that on Sunday and Monday, August 20 and 21, all Eglinton bus routes will be re-directed away from the street because of Metrolinx work at Eglinton Ave and Hanna Road. The diversions will send the 54 Eglinton and related service up to Glenvale and the 31 Leslie, 56 Leaside and 100 Flemingdon Park along Broadway. At the same time, the 34 Eglinton will divert through south Leaside, along Laird, Sutherland and Bayview back to Eglinton.

https://twitter.com/jon_burnside/status/763476422103068672