The South Bayview Bulldog

Two meetings will be held Thursday, August 18. 2016 and again Thursday, September 15, 2016 at Leaside Library, 165 McRae Drive, to hear public comment on the Laird in Focus planning process

City Council has voted 31 to four with nine abstentions to proceed with a community centre widely known as the Davisville Hub. It will be built as hoped by the residents who have supported it on the property of the old Davisville Public School at 43 Millwood Road. The mid-July motion contains details of how the hub will be accommodated on the site and the cost to taxpayers. Some six million dollars over two years of Section 37 and 45 monies will be granted (given) to the school board to design a three-story replacement for DPS. This will permit space on the slightly less than one acre parcel of land between Millwood and Davisville Ave to build the hub complete with an “aquatic facility”. This presumably is a swimming pool and/or splash pad although there is no mention of either by name.  It remains to be established how the hub itself is paid for. Council asks staff to produce a budget. The ubiquitous Section 37 money is a mixed blessing. It is a handy source of extra dollars for such good work but in the end it is just City taxes not manna from heaven. It comes from developers and most people will see the connection between this handy cash and the tendency by Toronto to permit builders to go big with their projects. The vote was overwhelming in its support with notable “No” votes from John Filion, Mary Fragedakis and Jaye Robinson. The division is included with the motion  Midtown hub  The hub has been strongly supported by Josh Matlow (Ward 22) and Trustee Shelley Laskin.

Here’s a piece by @Malloy_John in the @TorontoStar about how TDSB is tackling racial disparity & next steps. https://t.co/fApKmQUiIK

— Toronto District School Board (@tdsb) July 29, 2016

Road closures and crowds expected for Caribbean Carnival grand parade will create slow traffic conditions downtown Saturday. The parade runs from 10:00 a.m. to 8 p.m. throughout Exhibition Place before going west onto Lake Shore Boulevard. Mayor John Tory, Toronto Police Service Chief Mark Saunders, Ontario MPPs Mitzie Hunter, Laura Albanese. Michael Chan, MP Marco Mendicino are expected to help launch the parade. Lake Shore Boulevard West is closed westbound from Strachan to Parkside Drive and eastbound from Colborne Lodge Drive to Strachan Avenue. Dufferin Street is closed south of Springhurst Avenue.

Lakeshore during 2013 Carnival

The Montreal International Fireworks Competition is in its last day Saturday. This shows Sweden’s entry last night called Joy of Life. It was shot by the CBC from a drone. The competition has been a staple of Montreal summers since 1985. Website 

Second face is in lower left

A wonderful show of nature is seen in this EuroNews video of the Kileaua volcano in Hawaii.

The Bulldog editorial meetings are apparently piped downtown to the works department, or so it seems, as a day after scribblers at the dogged blog recalled that Bayview would be dug up this summer, comes this release:

“Lanes will be reduced on Bayview Avenue from Rosedale Valley Road to Pottery Road from August 2 to November 30 while construction work takes place to build a multi-use trail and perform other road work. For the segment of roadway from River Street to Pottery Road, work will occur between 7 a.m. and 11 p.m. on weekdays and from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Saturdays. Some 24-hour paving work will also take place. Two lanes of traffic will be maintained during peak periods. One lane of traffic in each direction will be provided at all other times.

MOORE TO RIVER

From Moore (Avenue) to River Street, the hours of work will be the same, but some work will take place overnight on weekends at the Moore and Bayview intersection. During this work, one lane of traffic will be maintained in each direction. The City is taking steps to minimize disruption to the public during the closure by extending work hours to reduce the project duration and by using variable message signs in the area to inform drivers of the road closures. Cyclists will be accommodated along the route and safely around the work areas.” Online 

The Blue Jays have closed the Orioles lead in the AL East to just half a game with a 6-5 win.

The Blue Jays used the long ball to beat the Orioles 6-5 and move 0.5 back of the AL East lead. pic.twitter.com/k8VTJI7mRp

— TSN (@TSN_Sports) July 30, 2016

A beautiful finish for Roberto Osuna!

FINAL: @BlueJays 6, Orioles 5. #OurMoment pic.twitter.com/iwAWOqEVjL

— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) July 30, 2016

Osuna Matata. Weak grounder to 3B by Jones on 1st pitch and #Bluejays hold on for a 6-5 win over #Orioles. #Jays are half a game out in ALE.

— Mike Wilner (@Wilnerness) July 30, 2016

The Ontario Energy Board says the cost of the cap-and-trade tax will be included in the delivery costs of our natural gas. But what it really means is the cost will buried beyond all hope of anyone knowing what is going on. Opposition voices and others were calling for a breakout out of the cap-and-trade tariff on the bill so users could see what the number might be.  But no. It will remain unknown like so much else about the cap-and-trade tax, like whether it is really making any difference in the use of so-called carbon fuels, or whether the government is using the money to make our world a little greener or spending it on lunch. All a mystery.

Appeals by two Thorncliffe Park businesses and a resident of Overlea Blvd. against the construction of a Costco store at 42/46 Overlea have been withdrawn, sources indicate. The process apparently occurred Thursday at a scheduled pre-hearing of the Ontario  Municipal Board. It’s believed that the appeals of two firms, Iqbal Halal Foods and Heritage Funeral Centre, had been settled in advance. An appeal from resident William Catalano that he had not been properly given notice of the City’s decision was apparently withdrawn at the pre-hearing  The hearing to deal with all of the appeals was then cancelled, according to an e-status notice from the OMB. It states that a decision and order were issued which would leave the City Council decision of November, 2015, standing.  At that time Council approved a zoning by-law amendment from Councillor Jon Burnside to permit the warehouse store by a vote of 21 to 7. In March, John McGovern, vice president of development for the Rice Commercial Group, acting for Costco, said he was in discussions with both Iqbal and Heritage to find an agreed resolution.