When Councillor Giorgio Mammoliti (Ward 7, York West) mused in Monday’s Sun about the possibility of opium dens lurking within some Toronto massage parlours, we couldn’t help but conjure up pulpy images of seedy locales dripping with racist Yellow Peril stereotypes. Which got us thinking: did Toronto have a problem with opium dens back when [...]

Director Keirda Bahruth and the subject of her documentary, Bob Forrest. Photo courtesy of Hot Docs. The tragic rock star arc—from struggle to success to some manner of addiction to spiritual tailspin—is more than just Behind the Music boilerplate. It’s the stuff of myth; like Aesop’s fables for generations fuelled by celebrity and self-immolation. And [...]

Where you going, dude? Pizza’s not here, man! Photo by Christopher Drost/Torontoist. So unless you live under a rock—or are in Pizza Gigi’s target demographic and don’t wake up until 5 p.m.—you’ve probably heard the news that the venerable slab shack at Harbord and Lippincott streets was raided late Sunday, and Toronto Police located all [...]

When asked about a potential viewing of the property at 32 Leyton Avenue, what surely must be one of the cheapest houses for sale in Toronto, realtor Peter Leung chuckled knowingly. “It’s not a regular house,” he warned, though Torontoist could tell from his tone that he suspected we already knew why. Still, he proceeded: [...]

Photo by Katherine Verendia. If you’ve been looking at the upcoming shows listed on the Toronto Centre for the Arts’ website, you might have been perplexed to hear that Axl Rose was going to be tying on his bandana one more time for a three-night engagement at the North York theatre. But it’s not actually [...]

Ever wonder what hundreds of thousands of dollars looks like? These 41 Division officers pose with almost $400,000 in cash recovered during the execution of a search warrant in the Danforth and Birchmount area on Wednesday. A 62-year-old man was arrested and charged with trafficking cocaine, and these guys (photographed with their battering ram) got [...]

Today is tax deadline day, and if the Canada Revenue Agency says you owe money, pay now or get nailed with penalties. If the government owes you, wait for it or head down to the LCBO and take it out in wine coolers (provincial portion only). The debate over legislating TTC workers into essential servitude [...]

Four federal byelections are being held today, including two in the Toronto ridings of Willowdale and Toronto Centre. The Liberals are considered to have the edge locally, where the Conservative “We Loathe Toronto” campaign of the last two years hasn’t been as well-received as hoped. Happy St. Paddy’s Day and remember to get voting before [...]

City councillor, unintentional humourist, and Torontoist favourite Councillor Rob Ford has grabbed himself some headlines again. He refuses to apologize for his comments on Wednesday, “the Oriental people, they’re slowly taking over…they’re hard, hard workers,” because his sweeping generalization was intended as “a compliment.” However, a spokesperson for the Canadian Council of Lazy Asians has [...]

Unionized Toronto Star employees met at a downtown hotel yesterday and voted 96% in favour of a strike, or as the Star itself might say, “Star Employees Vote To Strike At Hotel.” In another sign of potential economic trouble on the horizon, the benchmark TSX stock index dropped 623 points in two days. While most [...]

The owner of a Coffee Time franchise at Queen and Sherbourne was arrested this week for allegedly selling marijuana, crack, and illegal cigarettes out of the store. The news won’t surprise those familiar with the neighbourhood, but it will bring new meaning to the question “Will that be one lump or two today, sir?” Illustration [...]