TTC "U-pass" close to passing for students, possibly also hotel workers. If the scheme passes, the TTC will suddenly be crowded once again, rendering all those recent fleet upgrades essentially moot. Hooray for public transit! Jack Layton calls for Family Day to be named a national holiday. He then asked for a pony and all the candy he could ever eat ever, on the basis that it was about as likely that Stephen Harper would......

David Miller delivered a balanced budget yesterday, thanks to higher property taxes, some fabulous new tariffs, and a one-time infusion of $150 million from the the provincial government. According to Miller, the property tax increase of 3.75% is in line with his commitment to limit raises to the rate of inflation (1.9% in Toronto last year), evidence that the mayor is either math-illiterate or assumes that everyone else is. Transit expert Richard Soberman will......

TSX plunges nearly five percent in one day. The stocks dropped as a result of a worldwide sell-off prompted by the probable American recession that, depending on who you talk to, is either here already, coming very soon, or never going to come ever. Of course, you'll only hear that last one when you talk to George W. Bush. Landlord of "the Dungeon" says it's not his fault. He only rents it out, he......

The Stephen Harper government unveiled its plan for the country in the Throne Speech last night, emphasizing the usual panoply of tax-cuttin', crime fightin', environment dismissin' Conservative virtues. Jack Layton and Gilles Duceppe have already stated they will not support the government, while Liberal leader Stéphane Dion will decide whether to force an election after consulting with his caucus. Dion is envied by the other opposition leaders for his massive caucus. Water prices for Toronto......

Marcel Marceau dead at 84. Torontoist hadn't heard anything. (Rimshot!) John Tory wants to let corner stores sell booze. He says local brewers and vintners are getting a raw deal, and he's got a point. After all, when you go into your local corner store, think of the wealth of independent chocolatiers you have to pick from when you want a candy bar! George W. Bush shuns global warming summit. In other news, sky still......

A 13-year-old boy at St. Mary's Catholic Secondary School in Toronto was arrested after he was found to be carrying an illegal 200,000 volt stun gun in his backpack.The Star quotes school board chair Oliver Carroll as saying that "everyone was shocked." Presumably Carroll was not speaking literally. The Toronto International Film Festival opened yesterday, and as always, will showcase some of the most creative minds and promising newcomers in the movie industry. More......

Environment Canada reports that this has been the driest summer in fifty years for Toronto, with the city only receiving around half of its usual rainfall. Short-term predictions suggest that fall will be equally dry, with the the long-range forecast calling for global warming followed by drought, famine, plague and societal collapse. Sounds like great picnic weather! Provincial NDP leader Howard Hampton has said that, if elected, he will roll back college and university......

Upwards of 1,500 protesters from Montreal, Toronto, Quebec City, and Hamilton marched on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Monday to protest the arrival of U.S. President George W. Bush. Bush will meet today with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Mexican President Felipe Calderon in Montebello, Quebec on the two-year-old Security and Prosperity Partnership. The agenda is to include emergency planning for an avian-flu pandemic, the recall of Chinese-made toys, and border security. Demonstrators......

Enormous DVD piracy bust in Missisauga. Investigators believe it was making over twenty million dollars a year. This is a huge blow to professional movie piracy in Canada. (Well, at least to that one piracy ring. Other movie pirates probably don't care. And in fact are kind of happy about the loss of competition.) Of course, this is not so much the case to people who just want to pirate movies for their own use,......

It was only inevitable; indeed, they would say we asked for it. The Secret, the latest in a long line of mega-selling self-help phenomena, is on its way to Toronto. Several "teachers" featured in the original film and the subsequent book will be holding forth on April 14th and 15th at the Westin Harbour Castle. The promotional literature is distinguished by its modest proposal: "The Secret to everything—the secret to life filled with joy, good......

Ontario to raise minimum wage to $10.25 by 2010 in new budget. NDP critic predictably says "no, we want it NOW," but Torontoist feels this is one instance where Dalton McGuinty's tendency to take as middling a road as possible has produced just about the best possible result. A twenty-five percent raise in the minimum wage over three years (and what will be a sixty-six percent raise since the Liberals took office in 2003)......

George W. Bush made his State of the Union address last night. Among his policy initiatives introduced in the speech were a request to Americans to reduce their gasoline consumption by twenty percent in ten years (while simultaneously claiming American needed to increase domestic gasoline production), and a proposal to tax employer-based health plans to pay for HSAs (which don't actually solve the problems facing American healthcare). An annotated and rather niftily clickable rebuttal......

This was not a very happy week for the -ist network as one of our own, Phillyist co-editor Star C. Foster, passed away early in the week. Her wit, intelligence, and good nature shone through the site, making Phillyist an immensely fun read. She was loved by many and will be missed by all. Phillyist paid tribute to her this week with a heartfelt letter to her and an obituary. And now, the awkward......

It was probably the nastiest mayoral race the GTA has ever seen and it ain't over yet up in Vaughan. Incumbent mayor (and Toronto Star whipping boy) Michael DiBiase and challenger Linda Jackson engaged in all sorts of soap opera-style mudslinging during the campaign. We won't repeat it since you know the deal - sex, stolen email, graffiti, blah blah blah... In the end, 56,000-odd votes were cast and Jackson beat DiBiase by a mere......

Saddam Hussein has been sentenced to death for war crimes, and may be hanged within the next few months. What does the international community say? U.S. President George W. Bush calls the verdict "a milestone in the Iraqi people's effort to replace the rule of a tyrant with the rule of law". The UN and European Union criticize the former Iraqi leader's death sentence. Vatican representative, Cardinal Renato Martino, calls the sentence "eye for an......

Oh boy! Contests! This one comes courtesy of Vice Records, and is for two free tickets to Brooklyn band Favourite Sons's show at the El Mocambo on Friday Saturday night as well as a copy of the group's new record, Down Beside Your Beauty. The show also features openers The Drones and Devastations. For those curious, here are a few MP3s to check out: ▪ Favourite Sons - Hang On, Girl ▪ Favourite Sons......

In a bizarre and tragic scene yesterday, former Toronto Blue Jay (and current New York Yankee) pitcher Cory Lidle perished after flying his plane into an apartment building in New York. The United States heads to the United Nations hoping for a UN resolution that will impose sanctions on North Korea. And North Korea threatens retaliation if Japan goes ahead and imposes sanctions in response to last weekend’s nuclear test. And George W. Bush denies......

The publicity around Death Of A President is much better than the film itself, and this is what's generating the latest buzz: it's an ad for the faux-documentary that both our national newspapers declined to run. According to an article in today's Star, a modified version of the ad will run in that paper which will clearly indicate that it's a theatrical release. CanWest says that their ten other major dailies also rejected the ad.......

Normally we don't like billboards but this one has a bit of charm and moxie so we'll tolerate it for now. It's an ad for an Audiobook store in downtown Toronto that uses George W. Bush in their ads. While some of us may quibble that listening to the Da Vinci Code on CD is hardly reading still it's better than nothing. Photo from Adrants.......

"The greatest public anger surrounds local issues (just as most homicides occur between people who know each other). The debate over the war in Iraq is sedate compared with what takes place in planning commissions and city councils. That's where people form solid enemies who last a lifetime. George W. Bush may be scorned by some people, but it's nothing compared with the loathing they'd feel for someone who wanted to open a motorcycle repair......

There's been a number of unfavourable comparisons of Stephen Harper and George W. Bush of late, both in politics, media and of course those silly attack ads. But what of a legitimate comparison, at least in terms of the campaign? Here is George Jr. on his father's failed 1992 presidential campaign: "First lesson, polls change. I take nothing for granted. Second, we've got a strategy for the timing of policy speeches and set the debate...You......

It's easy to avoid The Game and Fifty Cents. Likewise for Nickelback. It's even pretty easy to stay away from Thornley and the Barenaked Ladies. They don't bother us, and we don't bother them. But there are some bands, SOME bands, that bring us to the brink of violent disgust; it's almost beyond hatred. One example that is often played out here on Mercredi Mixtape is our distaste for Las Vegas corporate rockers The Killers.......

The Wild West is arguably the most enduring myth in the American psyche. Through hundreds of novels, films and tv programs the violent, extremely bloody and often downright exploitative settlement of the American West has largely been replaced with images of stalwart settlers, and quick-handed, decisive men of action. Philadelphia-based video artist Matthew Suib draws links between the cowboys that popular film has created and the current cowboy in the Whitehouse. Currently showing at Mercer......

President George W. Bush is expected to make his first stately visit to Canadian soil later this month, causing some concern in our nation's capital. As previously reported on Torontoist, a certain federal MP (that's you Carolyn Parrish!) has ridiculed the sitting president and his allies on multiple occasions, one time even calling American people "bastards." While it is confirmed Bush will come to Ottawa on Nov. 30 for a two-day visit, it is not......

Still confused about last week's U.S. election? You're not alone. Today, University of Toronto will feature a panel discussion, "An Analysis of the U.S. Presidential Election 2004," to shed light on the baffling re-election of George W and the prospect of enduring the guy for four more years. The participants will include Prof. Megan Boler of the University of Toronto, Prof. Theodore Lowi of Cornell University and Alan Freeman, the Globe and Mail’s Washington correspondent.......

Is it possible that John Kerry's election could actually have a negative impact for Torontonians? While it certainly wouldn't be drastic enough to convince locals to wish for Mr. Bush's reelection, there is one issue dear to the Junior Massachusetts Senator's heart that could impact in an adverse manner upon our own fair city. Earlier in September, the immaculate coif that straddles Kerry's head shook and bobbed with uncharacteristic vitality as the Democratic presidential......