The South Bayview Bulldog

Facts are fragmentary in the accident that gravely injured a 33-year-old woman pedestrian at Eglinton Ave E. at Swift Drive (Credit Union Drive on the south side). What is clear is the width of Eglinton Ave. E at the east side where pedestrians are expected to cross. Pictures show it to be eight lanes (with turning lanes). The job of getting across the road in time plus watching for turning vehicles seems to make it especially perilous. And it was at night. The accident occurred about 11 p.m. Thursday. The driver of the SUV is 67. Police are asking for witnesses.

Police have issued an interim statement about the cycling accident at 740 Dupont Street last Tuesday. It says that a 63-year-old man was driving a 2012 Mercedes Sprinter van eastbound on Dupont Street while a 71-year-old man was riding a bicycle westbound on Dupont Street approaching #740. It says “the driver of the van was starting to make a left turn toward the driveway of 740 Dupont Street. For reasons not yet determined, the cyclist veered towards, and struck, a minivan which was parked on the north side of Dupont Street.”  The cyclist received life-threatening injuries even though he was wearing a helmet and died. It seems probable, notwithstanding the man’s helmet, that his injury was to the head, which is how cyclists are most frequently fatally hurt.

Leaside Ladies' Garage Sale Tomorrow! https://t.co/XSiqqKxrHf

— Bonnie Byford R.E. (@bonniebyford) July 8, 2016

Take a good look. This mural is going to grace (if that’s the word) the west side of the tower on the southwest corner of Yonge St. and St. Clair Ave. It seems to show a woman portrayed in abstract form revealing a complexion of bricks and mortar Toronto. Why this muse of St. Clair is rolled in a fetal ball will perhaps become clearer. It is the creation of a British muralist named Phlegm (not his real name) and like other modern street painters (Banksy for example) he does not go by his real name. So far as we know. It’s a mystery, you know. The work has been commissioned by Slate Asset Management which is said to own all four corners of the Y and St. C. The painting may grow on residents. Happily it seems to have avoided political statement.  The work is being streamed here.

This remarkable comeback story from the Canadian Olympic Team official website. Raonic reaches Wimbledon final by beating Federer.  Below is quite good edited radio account of Raonic’s the afternoon with Roger Federer.

RADIO: ICYMI – @milosraonic became the first Canadian to reach the Men's #Wimbledon Final! Here's how he did it: https://t.co/cVBgYnCQxa

— Wimbledon Radio Channel (@WimbledonChnl) July 8, 2016

Bus stops on Cleveland Street north of Davisville are about to be removed because of the discontinuation of the 11B rush hour short-turn service. The TTC decided the service, which had been in place for many decades as the 28A, has been superseded by the new daily 28 Bayview service. The removal of the stops at Millwood and Belsize (at Cleveland) may work a hardship on commuters in the winter. Some closer to Bayview may wish to walk to Bayview and Millwood to catch the 11 Bayview to Davisville subway station.

Marc Poulin

The architect of Sobeys disastrous purchase of Safeway Canada has paid the price. Marc Poulin, chief executive officer of Sobeys parent Empire Co. is gone, the company said Friday morning. The firm took a 1.3 billion impairment charge this week as Sobeys struggles with the integration of Safeway. Empire is replacing Poulin on an interim basis with chief financial officer François Vimard. Empire paid $5.8-billion to take over Safeway in 2013. Its stock has plunged 25.6 per so far this year, as of the close of trading Thursday. Last fall the firm admitted that the cost of lost and misplaced stock and confusion at the cash desk was costing it millions. All of this, it said, because Safeway employees had not been able to deal with Sobeys inventory and checkout software.

Mark Grimes

Ward 6 Councilor Mark Grimes will have to explain himself to his fellow Council members next week. This in the light of a report from the integrity commissioner, Valerie Jepson, that he acted in a way that assisted high-rise developers in his ward. In one instance Mr. Grimes went around City staff and Council to reduce the amount of a development tax to be paid from $250,000 down to $100,000. In all of this, Jepson has concluded that the Etobicoke lakeshore member did not benefit personally although he apparently tried to persuade a developer to do business with one of his friends. Jepson is persuaded nonetheless, that the Councillor has learned from her investigation and says she will not recommend action against him at Council. John Lancaster, CBC.

Members of the Leaside Chit Chat page have posted pictures and compared notes on Thursday’s lightning-like rainstorm between about 2 and 3 p.m. Susan Ferguson posted pictures of the inundation in the SmartCentre parking lot. There’s no drainage it seems. Sandra Creighton noted that the wild and crazy LRT corner of Bayview Ave. and Eglinton Ave. E was well-flooded as well. And indeed, the rain was torrential for nearly half an hour and quite a surprise it seems to forecasters. No thunder was noted throughout the rain storm as recorded in the south end of Leaside and in Bennington Heights/Moore Park. But the rain was selective. Paddy Duncan says she was downtown at an appointment where there wasn’t much more than a sprinkle.  Leaside Chit Chat 

Photo Susan Ferguson via Facebook

The fifth annual Lawn Summer Night benefit in aid of research into Cystic Fibrosis saw a sold out crowd of competitors at the Leaside Lawn Bowing Club on Hanna Road Thursday. The event is sponsored by KPMG and was inspired by a much-loved colleague, Eva Dien Brine Markvoort, who died in 2010 at the age of 26 of the disease. The usual madcap get-ups and team names were plentiful. Above is the Team Sausage squad of (l to r) Thomas, Verity, Murilo, Geoff and Brandon. Like so many good names, Team Sausage was an act of whimsy related to past and best-forgotten cottage hijinks. Other wonderful names abounded: The Bowlevardiers, The Lawn Whisperers, Great Bowls of Fire, The Bowled and the Beautiful, The Bowlerinas and the Barack O Bowlers. Congratulations all.

The torrential rain that thundered across Toronto between 2 the 3 p.m. Thursday seems to have come as a total surprise to forecasters. Morning predictions spoke of sweltering temperatures and zero precipitation.

Toronto is under a severe thunderstorm warning. 30-55 mm of rain is likely over the next hour, Environment Canada says.

— CBC Toronto (@CBCToronto) July 7, 2016