The South Bayview Bulldog

The widely believed intent of the government to somehow, someday get homes in Ontario off natural gas and onto electric heating has shocked many people — notwithstanding reassurances that it isn’t true, exactly. The decision to declare natural gas a hated “fossil” fuel has stunned people who believe it to be a relatively clean way to heat homes and water. Until very recently, this was official policy. Now natural gas is apparently seen as a blight in the Environment Ministry. Below are some figures of the cost of conversion to electricity supplied by gas suppliers at current rates.

Comparison Shopping:

• Annual Cost of running an electric furnace: $2,722 based on 19,171 kWh at $0.420 per kWh
• Annual cost of running a gas furnace: $668 based on 1,971 M3 at $0.2181

Difference: $2,054 a year

• Annual cost of running an electric water heater: $838
• Annual cost of running a natural gas water heater: $194

Difference: $644

Combined savings of gas over electric: $2,698

(Source: Ontario Natural Gas Alliance)

Gassed Up:

• Percentage of Ontario households with forced-air furnaces: 76%
• Percentage of Ontario households where natural gas is principal energy source: 62%
• Percentage of total Ontario household energy use coming from natural gas: 58%

On location at Woodbine Beach, enjoying the sunshine, The South Bayview Bulldog met up with “Poster Boy” who takes eye protection very seriously.  This Bulldog approves.

Fire of undetermined origin has destroyed the office of a small construction company located on Canvarco Rd. The blaze occurred Sunday afternoon and gutted the premises, one of a number of businesses located in an industrial yard largely hidden from the street on the west side of Carnvarco. Bystanders said the fire had “destroyed the lives of two people”. Monday morning, a number of persons waited in the yard with the police for the arrival of the fire marshal. The fire and smoke were visible across much of Leaside and pictures appeared on Facebook in a number of places. The one above was credited to Hailey Eisen and appeared in Leaside Community.

Both Summerhill Market and Rowe Farms stores will be open Monday, May 23, 2016. Unlike previous holidays, the Loblaws at Maple Leaf Gardens is closed. All other supermarkets in South Bayview are closed Monday.

It has been (gasp) 30 years since the movie Ferris Bueller’s Day Off was released and yesterday in Chicago (where it was set) there was a celebration. Bueller trivia continues to abound. People are naming their children Ferris and Bueller’s parents in the movie got married in real life, then were reportedly divorced but now are back together. Other bit-part actors trade on the movie’s fun cult nature too.

A girl of 12 has been seriously injured when hit by a car at  Danforth and Pharmacy Aves. as she dashed across Danforth against a red light. It happened Sunday about 6.15 p.m. She was unconscious on the scene. The driver, a man, remained at the scene. Photo by James Segundo Twitter 

 

The prime minister is in Tokyo Monday morning set to hold a visit with Japanese leaders before attending the Group of Seven summit later this week. Trudeau will meet Tuesday with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, the emperor and empress of Japan as well as carmakers. Then its the G7 summit on Thursday and Friday in the Japanese city of Ise-Shima.

 

The snug little plaza at Yonge St and Roxborough West has a Starbucks, Pizza Pizza, Smoke Shop and a Rogers store. They shoehorn eight cars in there which means drivers should go slowly, forward and backwards. A young lady was uninjured when the car she was driving took off over that mean-looking yellow concrete curb. It would take a bit of pressure on the gas to jump that baby. Just saying. This was Sunday morning.

 

 

The beautiful spring weather Sunday and Saturday saw crowds on Bayview Ave and especially at the Davenport Nurseries at the corner of Davisville.

A man described as an “agitated smoker” tried to open the rear door of a Lufthansa jetliner at 38,000 feet shortly after it took off from Munich. The man was held by staff while the plane landed at Hamburg and he was removed. A doctor said he believed there were mental problems. The plan was headed to Vancouver and took off later.

A former NHL enforcer helped intervene to apprehend a man who tried to abduct a 7-year-old girl who was with her parents in a Montreal Park Saturday. Georges Laraque was well-suited to his task of detaining the man, said to be 24, while police were on their way. Laraque was taking part in a celebrity baseball game at Jeanne-Mance Park when the family of the girl raised an outcry as the man grabbed the child and walked off with her. Members of the family and public stopped him and Laraque was detailed to stand guard over the  man until police arrived. “It was surreal,” Laraque told CBC News. “The park was full of people everywhere.” As many as 30 people surrounded the suspect to ensure he couldn’t leave the park until he was in police custody.  “I just wanted to make sure that if he got up that I was going to tackle him right away,” said Laraque, who racked up 1,126 penalty minutes over his 13-year NHL career. Laraque described the incident as “crazy,” adding that it made him feel “a little scared” as a father. “I have twins and this could happen to anyone,” Laraque said. “We’ve heard stories of a child being abducted and to see [something] like that — it’s pretty scary.”