The South Bayview Bulldog

The Urban Nature store on Brentcliffe Rd. in the Dawsco Plaza has extended its hours. You can shop for pet goods, birdhouses and feeder equipment, bat houses (they eat mosquitoes) and a host of other garden and nature goods up til 8 p.m. Wednesday and til 9 p.m. Thursday and Friday.

Police are at the scene investigating.

https://twitter.com/tpscalls/status/752904364059222016

A young woman who was slashed by a still unidentified man on Danforth Ave. east of Pape Ave. Saturday, June 27 has been befriended and given support by a local mother’s Facebook group. Alicia Taylor, 24, was slashed twice on the face in an unprovoked attack by a man she had never seen before. As reported by the CBC, she fell backwards, blacked out and lost a litre of blood before paramedics could help her. A member of the East Toronto Young Mothers Facebook group, Tiffanie Yarema, heard about Alicia and flagged the case to the 2,400 members. She learned that Alicia had a five-month-old baby and works two jobs to make ends meet. She works full-time for Canada Post, and also works as a bartender. Sunday  night Alicia was able to meet Tiffanie and receive the gifts and donations offered by the group valued at more than $1,000. Police say the man is believed to be black and was last seen wearing a black hooded sweatshirt. CBC

Photo Courtesy Alicia Taylor via CBC

The Pokemon Go app will seem curious to many people who have real things to do with their time but there is no denying this variation on a previous generation’s pastime is very hot with kids. It is not your dad’s Pokemon and it may be dangerous. If a “beacon” tells kids to head down a dark alley at 2 a.m. we’re hoping young fans will think twice. Still to be released in Canada and how to get it now. 

A story in the Wall Street Journal has taken note of the not-so-new trend in mall shopping away from full up department stores. Some may ask so what. It’s now 17 year since Eaton’s went bankrupt and there are kids who ask “Mom, what’s an Eaton’s?” But the finer points of this trend include the capacity of malls to do better with something like the Cheescake Factory where there used to be a Sears or J.C. Penney. Today, according the WSJ, customers are less interested in hulking department stores than speciality shops and places with racks and racks of fashions. At mall operator Simon, for example, new tenants are Forever 21 (fashion) Target and European fast-fashion shop Primark, which entered the U.S. market by slipping in into former Sears stores. Then there’s Canadian owned (The Bay) Nordstrom which is said to be soldiering on against slumping times in the U.S. Let’s hope this mark and its parent are able to attract customers here.

Yes, it’s true that Theresa May will become prime minister on Wednesday when David Cameron resigns, but the UK, and the rest of the civilized world, is waiting for Ghostbusters, the women’s edition. Helping this along is the appearance out of the floor of London’s Waterloo station of the menacing Stay Puft man. From the trailer above, the sequel is just as loony as the original. What fun. It opens in Toronto Friday.

The Ontario government has reached a tentative four-year understanding with doctors. The deal was announced Monday morning by Health Minister Eric Hoskins. The negotiations leading to this settlement — still to be approved by the Ontario Medical Association — has been burdened by the cabinet’s need to control costs. (The provincial debt is more than $3 billion). In some cases, the breathtaking pay of some specialists, has been used to apply pressure. The OMA council votes Saturday August 6 on the deal. The specifics are not known but there is apparently agreement on “annual increases to the physician services budget that are limited to the costs of population growth, an aging society and funding for continued growth in doctors supply.”

A car smashed through the iron fence of Mt. Pleasant Cemetery on Moore Ave. at Brendan Road Monday morning leaving an eight foot gap. It may be that the vehicle was making a quick turn left out of Brenden in morning traffic and jumped the curb instead. Westbound drivers were turned back at Brendan with some making a U-turn and others, like the red dump truck in the bottom photo, finding their way back through Bennington Heights.

The Honda Indy Toronto will be held from Friday, July 15, 2016 to Sunday, July 17, 2016 with road closures starting Wednesday, July 13, 2016:  They are: From noon, southbound Strachan Avenue, from Fleet Street to Lake Shore Boulevard West and from 8 p.m., Lake Shore Boulevard West, from Strachan Avenue to British Columbia Drive  The closures will remain until Sunday, July 17, 2016, 11 p.m. Police say the extensive road closures will cause significant delays in the area. Anyone attending the Honda Indy Toronto is encouraged to take public transit. Both the TTC and Go Transit will provide increased service to Exhibition Place. With TPS release.