The South Bayview Bulldog

Snoop Dogg is trying to copyright the name Leafs by Snoop to market marijuana. The Maple Leafs, through the giant multi-amusement firm, has objected. There is no information on just what MLSE is saying in its intervention, but the hockey guys might have the English language on their side. Common modern usage of the word Leaf originated as a short form for the  Toronto Maple Leafs — not leaves, the only plural of the word “leaf” known to English. And it has been that way for a while now.  As first reported by Rick Westhead at TSN, Snoop Dogg, whose real name is Cordozar Calvin Broadus, Jr., filed an application with the United States Patent and Trademark Office on Nov. 17 to sell and market a series of marijuana-related products adorned with a seven-pointed gold leaf and Leafs by Snoop emblazoned over them. CBC points out that the most common types of marijuana leaves often has seven points. The Toronto Maple Leafs hockey club logo, meanwhile, is a maple leaf with 31 points — a nod to the year Maple Leaf Gardens opened, in 1931.

Alabama teenager Darby Risner was trying to pull a prank by wearing the big purple dinosaur costume when the massive mask got stuck on her head and shoulders. Her friends tried to help her out. But it failed. Naturally they took video and laughed at Darby. When the group was unsuccessful in helping to free her, they had to go with her to the fire station where firefighters removed the Barney mask. It took 45 minutes. For their troubles, the girls were all gifted with faux fire hats by the smoke eaters. That’s a glum looking Darby second from the left.

https://twitter.com/tpscalls/status/745581865944358912

Twitter will this week make an announcement that users may now post video that are 140 seconds in length, up from 30 seconds. That’s the length of a typical television news report.  The company says video Tweets on Twitter have increased by over 50% since the beginning of 2016, showing how important sharing such media has become to users’ daily lives.

A federal judge in California will allow the bulk of a lawsuit accusing Starbucks of systematically under-filling lattes to move forward. Two California residents are suing the Seattle-based coffee chain, claiming that Starbucks lattes are only filled to about 75 per cent of the cup’s capacity. The lawsuit says Starbucks instituted a recipe in 2009 to create smaller lattes in order to save money on milk. The news reports do not state legal chapter and verse but it is hard for many lawyers to understand illegality associated with under-filling a cup. Manufacturers downsize all the time. Buyer beware. Anyway, Starbucks says the company believes the lawsuit is “without merit” and it will be prepared to defend itself in court. He says if a customer is unhappy with a beverage, Starbucks will gladly remake it.

It was an enormously touching day as Nolan Russell, 7, was introduced to a new police horse which bears the name of his late father, Sgt. Ryan Russell. Sgt Russell was killed as he tried to arrest Richard Kachkar as he drove a stolen snow plow through downtown streets in January of 2011. The parkette at Avenue Road and Dupont Street was later named after Sgt. Ryan. The introduction to his dad’s namesake, a handsome Clydesdale, was sheer delight for Nolan and his appreciative mother.   “It’s such an incredible honour for my family to see such a beautiful and remarkable animal be put into service [and one] that’s going to work the streets just as my husband did,” Russell’s wife, Christine, told the CBC. This was Nolan’s first time riding a horse, she said. “I hope he’ll get to come back through the year and try again and form a special bond with Russell.”

Prime Minister Trudeau and Indigenous Affairs Minister Carolyn Bennett joined Indigenous leaders at dawn Tuesday for a ceremony kicking off National Aboriginal Day. Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould stood alongside the prime minister for a smudging ceremony (seen in video) performed by Gina Wilson, the most senior Indigenous person in Canada’s public service. Wilson, who is Algonquin, is an associate deputy minister at Public Safety Canada. After greeting the Indigenous leaders and elders present, Trudeau joined 12 Métis, Inuit and First Nations youth for an early morning paddle in a voyageur canoe provided by the Métis Nation of Ontario.

Four new GO Transit stations will be built in the city’s west end as part of the SmartTrack plan, a critical part of Mayor Tory’s election campaign. .The planned number of SmartTrack station has been slashed and added to over the months with these GO stops on the Barrie and Kitchener lines intended to support SmartTrack. An additional two new stations in the city’s east end will also be announced tomorrow, bringing the total number of new GO stations to six. The new stations on the Kitchener line will be located in Liberty Village and at St. Clair Avenue and Keele Street while the new stations on the Barrie line will be located at Bloor Street and Lansdowne Avenue, and Spadina Avenue and Front Street.

Gas company personnel worked quickly to cap off a ruptured line at a home under demolition on Manor Road Tuesday. The small building at 391 Manor one door east of Boyton Road was the scene. The scare lasted only a few minutes before the leak was closed.

The Ontario Liberal government will scrap its plan to create an Ontario Retirement Pension Plan (ORPP) the CBC has been told by Finance Minister Charles Sousa. As telegraphed by the premier many weeks ago, a deal to enrich the Canada Pension Plan would be the key to scrapping the ORPP. Agreement on the CPP deal was reached at a meeting of finance ministers over the weekend culminating with the announcement Monday evening. CPP increase by 8 provinces but is that enough?