By Carly Maga

Illustration by Roxanne Ignatius/Torontoist.

If you thought finding a five dollar bill in your spring jacket was nice, imagine how David Miller felt when he found an extra $100 million in the city’s surplus. Miller pledged last Wednesday he would dedicate most of the money to reducing property tax increases, a notion that was swiftly passed by the budget committee after a vote on Friday, along with providing additional funding for libraries, public recreational activities, the arts, and daycare. But it’s still a mad, mad, mad, mad world at City Hall as councillors await their turn to tackle the budget in April. Many aren’t pleased they weren’t briefed about plans for the new money before the announcement, and some are still wondering how in the world you miss $100 million in the first place.
Nearly every GO Transit user is in for some changes to their daily commute, as the transit system is revamping the schedules for forty routes, to take effect April 3. Changes also include additional trips on the Lakeshore East line, and six off-peak train cuts.
When the star of The Lost Boys, Corey Haim, died last Wednesday, Torontonians mourned one of our own. Now, we may be mourning our tax dollars, which are covering the cost of his funeral, Corey’s mother, Judy, told Access Hollywood. Suffering from cancer, she was living with her son in Burbank, Calif., when he died, which rumours say was the result of a drug overdose. The two were apparently broke, about two hundred thousand dollars behind in taxes. But with main sources from TMZ, People, and Gawker, the one thing that is for sure is that the City of Toronto isn’t sure it will be covering these costs, though it does have a program to do so. Luckily, Councillor Rob Ford (Ward 2, Etobicoke North) has said he is “more than happy to look into it.”
The a la Cart street food vendors are rolling out once again for the second summer of Toronto’s three-year pilot program. Not because last year was successful, but because many vendors are so much in debt that they can’t afford not to. Expensive and ill-designed carts, poorly chosen locations, and miles of red tape left even the most successful vendor, Nancy Senawong, about thirty-five thousand dollars in the hole.
Using social media to reach the masses is the latest trend in politics. The TTC did it through Twitter, and now Stephen Harper is getting grilled via YouTube. The next step? A “pie-in-the-face” option on Facebook.
And congratulations to Fin, winner of the Best in Show title at Saturday’s Purina National Dog Show! The Kerry Blue terrier apparently clinched the title in the question/answer round: “Some dogs in our nation don’t have Purina, and in other nations like South Africa and the Iraq, everywhere, like, such as…” More to come on the dog show later today.
Finally, great news for Toronto’s syrup-suckers! After a brief scare, urban tree-tapping is a go! The Not Far From the Tree program had its first urban maple syrup tasting at Dufferin Grove Park this Sunday.