The South Bayview Bulldog

Police in 53 Division are warning of what appears to be an increase in break-ins with the arrival of better weather. It is a fairly annual occurrence for homes in midtown and especially the South Bayview neighborhoods of Leaside, Davisville, Moore Park, Thorncliffe Park, Rosedale, Summerhill and nearby areas to see this increase in crime. The current concern is marked by entry through unlocked back doors at night. Homeowners are being advised to make sure that doors and windows are locked and alarms activated before they go to bed. Homeowners are also being advised to ensure that their vehicles and bicycles are locked and secured. Homeowners are also encouraged to register their bicycles online with the Toronto Police Service.  Questions can be directed to Crime Prevention Officers Constables Timothy Somers at 416-808-5337 or Alex Li at 416-808-5308.

The costly finish to a story from Airdrie Road which we posted here in January sees a homeowner paying about $75,000 to lower his home’s roofline 23 centimetres (nine inches). It is a part of bittersweet pleasure of living in Leaside that the residents association (LPOA) sniffed out the height and complained to the City. The owner, Kian Sohrabi, took it to the Ontario Municipal Board where he lost. As reported at the time, part of the concern was that the City had already granted an exemption, setting a new height, which the builder flouted. But then, nine inches does not seem like much on a street where there appears to be more than one house exceeding the permitted height. Would it happen in Moore Park or Lawrence Park? Does it matter? The LPOA, ever alert to precedent, will say it does. OMB turns down an appeal on height of 151 Airdrie

Hannah N of Northern Secondary School has won bronze in the current Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award which is given for personal self-development among those aged 14-24. The recognition was created “because not all learning happens in the classroom”. Hannah is seen below with NSS principal Ron Felsen.

Congratulations to Hannah N. on receiving the @dukeofedontario Bronze Standard. Way to go! #NSSRocks! pic.twitter.com/ILUvCvJRPb

— Adam Marshall (@PrincipalNSS) June 14, 2016

Twitter has changed its blocking policy to be less stalker-friendly by closing a loophole that allowed blocked users from sneaking into your newsfeed through retweets.  Twitter announced that it had made blocking more user-friendly in a way to help users control their experience on the network. Consumerist 

The search continued Wednesday for a 2-year-old boy who was dragged into the water by an alligator near Disney’s upscale Grand Floridian Resort & Spa. Hope is fading however that he will be found alive. The family of five from Nebraska was on vacation and wading in the Seven Seas Lagoon about 9:20 p.m. Tuesday when the attack happened in an area where “no swimming” signs were posted, Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings told a news conference earlier in the morning. The father tried to rescue his son but was unsuccessful, Demings said.

The CBC is saying that the police transformational task force may advocate abolition of the police transit unit and may even venture into whether the City should be divided into Divisions. The report is due this week. Such guessing is inevitable. The notion of a City the size of Toronto without police boundaries however seems a recipe for confusion. The study is about money. It seems possible to reduce the number of unionized police officers and replace them with civilians in some areas. CBC

Mayor Matt Brown

The mayor of London Matt Brown is temporarily stepping down from his post after admitting to engaging in an “inappropriate” months long affair with Deputy Mayor Maureen Cassidy, who resigned Tuesday evening after apologizing for what she called a brief relationship. Mr. Brown is married with two young children after a radio station heard of the infidelity from several sources at city hall. “Over the past many months, during a period of intense workload, I developed a close working relationship and ultimately an inappropriate personal relationship with Deputy Mayor Maureen Cassidy, for a brief period of time. This was a grave error in judgement on my part. The relationship ended some time ago,” she said.

There will soon be three new mental health walk-in clinics in the City, one at Delisle Youth Services at Yonge St. and Eglinton Ave. The information was released today by Olivia Heffernan, 26, youth engagement facilitator with the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) in comments to the CBC. The other two clinics will be near Danforth Avenue and Woodbine at a new ‘What’s up’ walk-in at the South East Toronto Family Health Team and at Markham and Ellesmere Roads at the ‘What’s up’ walk-in at East Metro Youth Services in Scarborough. The Scarborough location is open while the other two will open in July. The clinics are designed for patients 11 to 25 and offer access to “solution-focused therapy, peer support, system navigation, access to Internet-based tools and on site access to psychiatric services.”

Youth, community agency & hospital partners cut the ribbon at #youthcanImpact @CAMHnews @EastMetro_EMYS @DYSToronto pic.twitter.com/0VAU4VAqht

— Likwa Nkala (@EMYSLikwa) June 14, 2016

Saturday, June 18, 2016, the City will hold what it is called a pop-up consultation on Toronto’s ravine strategy n the East York Memorial Arena parking lot. It is scheduled from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The news release speaks of generalized vision for future decision-making related to ravines. It seems like it wants to fine tune things. In any case, people are invited to offer ideas on how the ravines might best be used. Saturday is Community Environment Day in Ward 31. The arena is at 888 Cosburn Ave. at Cedarvale Avenue Full news release 

The East York Farmers Market had a beautiful — and busy — Tuesday in Memorial Gardens Park, 880 Coxwell Ave at Mortimer Ave. The market is on every Tuesday this summer from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. The stand selling big fat hot dogs with licentious condiments was mobbed and saw several scrubs-clad employees of nearby East General Hospital tucking into a lunch not approved by the institution’s dietician. Oh well.

General Motors has invented a “rear seat reminder” that begins boinging if you’ve left someone in the rear seat as you get out.  It will appear first on the 2017 Acadia SUV. The device is a response to annual incidents of children and pets left behind especially in hit weather. As many as 12 children died in the U.S. from heatstroke in cars, safety advocates say. It works like a seat belt reminder: a warning tone sounds and alerts drivers to “Look In Rear Seat,” with a message flashing in the center of the vehicle’s speedometer. The feature will be included by default in all new Acadias, GM’s global safety strategy engineer Tricia Morrow told CNNMoney, though you can shut it off if you choose to do so. The company says it will integrate the tool into other four-door GM models in the future.  Consumerist