It’s entirely possible that an early work by the next Atom Egoyan or David Cronenberg will screen on Wednesday night at the TIFF Bell Lightbox. With the 2013 Student Film Showcase featuring the best from post-secondary schools around the country and the Jump Cuts Young Filmmakers Showcase kicking off the evening with Toronto-area high-school students’ films, the night will be a coming-out party for a new crop of talent. Judging by the polished creativity of some of the entries, it’s safe to say that young people are more prepared than ever to start telling stories on film from an early age.

According to CBC’s Chris Boyce, the goal of this weekend’s CBCMusic.ca Festival is twofold. First and foremost, the CBC wants to celebrate Canadian music. Second, it wants to celebrate CBC Music, the broadcaster’s online music service, which launched a little over a year ago.

In 1996, Theatre Columbus premiered playwright Michael O’Brien’s “freely adapted” take on the famous Beaumarchais play The Barber of Seville, which was written in 1775. O’Brien’s version mixed in music from the 1816 opera of the same name by Gioachino Rossini, as well as original tunes by composer John Millard. The adaptation also propelled the story forward a couple centuries, with pop culture references galore. With Theatre Columbus co-founder Leah Cherniak at the helm, the musical ended the season with six Dora Award nominations (it won three) and plenty of critical acclaim.

Seventeen years later, Soulpepper Theatre is remounting this zany reimagination of The Barber of Seville, updated once again by O’Brien, Millard, and Cherniak. But, for some reason—the change in decade, or company, or sense of humour—whatever had made the original so magical, has faded, save for a few key performances.

If yesterday’s media hooplah turned you off hearing the phrases “Rob Ford,” “parcel of land,” and “fists cocked” together in one sentence—my apologies. But in case your interest in the Ford vs. Toronto Star Urban Affairs reporter Daniel Dale debacle is still piqued: the Toronto Star has obtained phone records showing a phone call was made from Dale’s blackberry about 45 minutes after he’d abandoned it behind chez Ford. Apparently, a call was made to Robert Andreacchi, executive assistant to Councillor Maria Augimeri (Ward 9, York Centre).

In one account of the event, Dale juxtaposes the fear of being “cornered” by Mayor Rob Ford in the way of a “mano-a-mano physical confrontation” with his previous bold forays into hurricane territory in the slums of Jamaica and refugee camps in the West Bank. The latter, apparently, did not scare him. Basically, despite being referred to as “soft-spoken” and “mild-mannered” by “sources,” he wants you (that’s right, you!) to know he is not a “wuss.” Noted.

Also not a wuss, apparently (oh, boys), is the mayor himself, who supposedly asked his family if they wanted him to step down after the aforementioned scandal. His seven-year-old and his wife both agreed that he should not step down.

Toronto ombudsman Fiona Crean released a report calling for significant changes to the way the city provides services in the midst—or wake—of a crisis. Having investigated how city services dealt with a fire two years ago at 200 Wellesley Street East, a community housing complex, which forced 1,700 residents to flee the building, Crean says there was unnecessary confusion surrounding evacuation processes. Furthermore, post-fire, there was apparently a misunderstanding between the Emergency Planning Unit and Toronto Community Housing over who was calling the shots.

In elephant-related news, Toronto’s three, well, elephant matriarchs will have to wait a few more months before traveling to their new home/retirement residence at a California sanctuary. After a meeting in the mayor’s office yesterday, it has been decided that councillors Michelle Berardinetti (Ward 35, Scarborough Southwest) and Giorgio Mammoliti (Ward 7, York West) will be heading to California with senior zoo staff to talk out the differences between our zoo and the California facility. Honestly, who isn’t deferring their retirement these days?

Councillor Maria Augimeri speaking at an event last spring. Photo courtesy of Augimeri's {a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/councilloraugimeri/5707141804/in/photostream"}Flickr stream{/a}.

In a decision issued today, the Superior Court of Ontario has ruled that the Ward 9 results from the October 25, 2010 election are valid—which means that residents of Ward 9 will not be going to the polls in a by-election after all. The results of the race for councillor in York Centre were challenged by the second place candidate, Gus Cusimano, who lost to the incumbent Maria Augimeri by just 89 votes [PDF].

In a successful appeal of the results this spring, Cusimano alleged that there were irregularities in the voters list, which invalidated the results from last year’s municipal election. Augimeri in turn appealed that ruling, which led to today’s decision. The three-judge panel was unanimous in its decision.

The full text of the ruling…

Augimeri Appeal