The South Bayview Bulldog

The tone for this year’s correspondents night in Ottawa was set by hero-turned-diplomat Kevin Vickers who asked people to take their seats by cracking: “I hope everybody that’s standing realizes what happened to the last guy that pissed me off,” Vickers said, referring to his tackling of an Irish protester at a ceremony commemorating British war dead in Dublin last month. CBC

Canada's new brand of political communication on stage at last night's Press Gallery Dinner. Sophie steals the show https://t.co/tyi4965Xrs

— Caroline Kealey (@carolinekealey) June 5, 2016

Lots of laughs, no f-bombs at annual Ottawa press gallery dinner. #cdnpoli https://t.co/wD6gWOrwA9

— Globalnews.ca (@globalnews) June 5, 2016

'It's OK, the bad man's gone away,' Rona Ambrose says of Harper at press gallery dinner: https://t.co/WZjmjONk15 pic.twitter.com/F0w1AKaiMm

— CBC News Alerts (@CBCAlerts) June 5, 2016

The European Union is contemplating a “pilot scheme” of free money for everyone. But this weekend nearly 80 percent of Swiss voters opposed such a giveaway. A referendum to introduce a guaranteed basic income for everyone living in the wealthy country was preceded by what is being called an uneasy debate about the future of work at a time of increasing automation. Supporters had said introducing a monthly income of 2,500 Swiss francs ($2,563) per adult and 625 francs per child under 18 no matter how much they work would promote human dignity and public service. Opponents said it would weaken the economy and perhaps bankrupt the country.

Mac and Cheese loving foodies flocked to the second annual Mac and Cheese Festival at Ontario Place West Island Saturday and Friday. The free event is a celebration of starch and yummy cheese which continues Sunday with 75 vendors. Forty of those are backed by Toronto’s top chefs and food entrepreneurs. It is expected that this year’s festival will be three times bigger than last year’s, with close to 100,000 thousand people attending throughout the weekend. It is also cleaner and better organized. Mac and Jeez Festival leaves Liberty Village filthy 

Herb crusted blue cheese Mac and cheese at Toronto Mac and Cheese Festival! pic.twitter.com/UnDZbzoRjq

— JUNK FOOD JEFF (@JunkFoodJeff) June 4, 2016

Bacon wrapped mac and cheese stuffed manicotti at Toronto Mac and Cheese Festival! pic.twitter.com/29NWn3MgIY

— JUNK FOOD JEFF (@JunkFoodJeff) June 4, 2016

Bombay street food Mac and Cheese at Toronto Mac and Cheese Festival! pic.twitter.com/d5DSDUPAov

— JUNK FOOD JEFF (@JunkFoodJeff) June 4, 2016

So here is happy Victoria engaged in her honest work at Laird and Esandar Drives outside Leaside Village on Saturday. Go Victoria.

Muhammad Ali has died at the age of 74 after being treated for respiratory problems earlier this week. His children were at his bedside in Phoenix. A funeral will be held in his hometown of Louisville, Kentucky. This is a very good summary of his life with wonderful video voiced by Bonny Ghosh of the Associated Press.

A giant panda cub has been born at a zoo in Belgium, an event so rare it is being described a “true miracle”. The healthy male cub was born at a wildlife park outside Brussels to six-year-old Hao Hao and her mate Xing Hui, both on loan from China. The cub, which is hairless, blind and weighs just 171g (6oz), is yet to be named. There are only 1,864 giant pandas worldwide, and about 300 live in zoos to protect the species. BBC

An adjudicator with the province’s Information and Privacy Commission has ordered the government to disclose the names of doctors and the amounts they have billed the Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP). Doctors remuneration, public money that has long been held confidential, has become a contentious matter in a time of a $300 billion provincial debt. Health Minister Eric Hoskins has implicitly criticized certain specialists without naming them for the large sums they bill. Doctors respond that medical practices are expensive to run. The story has been broken by the CBC’s Mike Crawley who says the government may just let public disclosure happen.  “I’m not going to second guess what the information and privacy commission has said,” Wynne told reporters Friday in Ottawa. “We’ll work with the information and privacy commissioner to comply with what he has proposed.”  It is a change in tone for Ontario but might be seen as a useful development in harnessing public support for its efforts to throw a net over the cost of OHIP.  The Ontario Medical Association (OMA) opposes the release of doctors’ billings and could seek a judicial review of the ruling, potentially delaying or stopping the disclosure.

A couple who were given the wrong baby by a hospital in El Salvador a year ago has finally been allowed to travel home to Texas with their own child. Rich Cushworth and his wife Mercedes were given a birth certificate for their son Moses a few days ago. The agonizing realization that something might be wrong, the shocking truth when they took DNA, the international hassle to move a child across borders — the nightmare is re-told here to the BBC’s Matthew Price.

Tuesday saw the kickoff of the Mini Rogers Cup with 40 kids running around the courts practicing their forehands and backhands at Leaside Tennis Club. The children ranged in age from six to 12 years old and showed off their determination and skill. Mini Rogers Cup at Leaside 

The average selling price of a resale home in the Toronto area leaped 15.7 per cent in a year to $751,908 according to the Toronto Real Estate Board. Low inventory is given as the reason for the pressure upwards. The board said 12,870 homes were sold in May across the region, that’s an increase of 10.6 per cent increase compared to May 2015. “While the record number of home sales through the first five months of 2016 is not necessarily surprising, it does sometimes mask the larger story in the GTA: the shortage of listings, which has resulted in strong upward pressure on home prices,” said TREB President Mark McLean in a statement. In Vancouver, sales jumped 17.6 per cent last month and the benchmark selling price surged by a breathtaking 29.7 per cent.

United airlines is promoting what it calls Polaris, a cushy new level of service in business class which, it claims, offers up to 6 feet, 6 inches of sleep space. Hard to believe. They spaces are called business class isolation pods. Consumerist 

Some 15,000 cyclists and 5,000 runners are expected to travel the Don Valley Parkway and Gardiner Expressway Sunday for the Becel Ride for Heart in aid of the Heart and Stroke Foundation. Road closures will take place at 2 a.m.Sunday and run well into the afternoon.  Police are recommending people take public transit to avoid extensive traffic congestion in the area, especially in the downtown core and on arterial roadways. Every dollar raised by pledges is said to go to research. The Foundation’s goal is to raise $7 million this year for heart disease research.