Plagued by complaints, the City of Toronto has finally gotten around to ticketing some homeowners who don't clear the snow in front of their property. A city spokesperson said they prefer not to send out inspectors in the winter because it's so difficult to get around. Anxious to cement a reputation for self-serving indifference to the public interest, more than 99% of TTC workers have voted more to reject their most recent contract offer.......

Torontoist Environment Editor Chris Tindal is currently engaged in a federal by-election campaign. This weekly column is an attempt to offer a behind the scenes glimpse into what it's like to be that mysterious Other: a politician. Now that three out of four major party campaigns have offices up and running, our focus has turned to the meat and potatoes of campaigning: the canvass. If you live in Toronto Centre and you haven't yet heard......

In case you were wondering, it's probably not a great idea to be hanging out in the entertainment district at 3:15 a.m. Especially if you're in a luxury SUV. And especially especially if you've got a ponytail. In February of 2006, Toronto police officers arrested Irshad Ahmed and Omar Betty for failure to stop, failure to comply, and obstructing police. Their trial is currently being conducted at Old City Hall, and some interesting evidence......

Photo by Jeremy Farmer from Flickr. It’s an end of an era as the popular indie night Easy Tiger shuts it down on Friday after a 14 month-run. A hipster haven, Easy Tiger is responsible for introducing hundreds of people to the booze can downstairs of College Street Diner that is Tiger Bar. Midland’s finest, Born Ruffians (pictured), will take the stage and the Easy Tiger DJs will spin the tunes. Expect plenty of......

It's time to sharpen your skates, start bubbling up the hot chocolate, and get out your kneepads (and asspads and helmet, if you're like us), because today kicks off the skating season at Nathan Phillips Square. If skating isn't your bag, then you can still come down tonight to check out the Cavalcade of Lights kickoff. The events include performances by Jully Black, Sarah Slean, and Kim Stockwood, as well as a performance by......

In the opening line from 28: Stories of AIDS in Africa, author Stephanie Nolen illustrates a feeling many of us understand. "I looked at AIDS in Africa for a long time before I understood what I was seeing," she writes. Nolen is an award-winning journalist who has spent the past several years as our eyes and ears on the AIDS pandemic in Africa. As the Africa correspondent for the Globe and Mail, Nolen has written......

No word yet on whether that giant lemon will be making an appearance (Yonge and Dundas anyone?), or whether it will finally be revealed how one might actually dismantle an atomic bomb, but hundreds of U2 fans will be rattling and humming into Toronto for the fifth annual (!) inTO the Heart U2 Fan Festival, taking place from November 1 to 3. With fans expected from New York, California, England, and even the Netherlands,......

Provincial and federal elections in Canada are largely determined by quirks of geography. That is, the number of seats each party receives in the legislature is rather independent of the popular vote and has more to do with the way people of particular political leanings are concentrated (or not) within arbitrarily-drawn districts. This makes pre-election polling an interesting exercise in extrapolation; a particular percentage of popular support could translate into quite a range of......

As long as there have been cowboys, there have been gay cowboys. Now that we consider it, Torontoist isn't sure there are any real cowboys any more (well, other than those ones). But if living in Toronto teaches you only one thing, it's that there are gays; gays who want their dress-up parties. This Thursday marks the second appearance of the amazingly-named Steers and Queers, a quarterly queer country night at the Dakota Tavern.......

Mark Carney has been named the new governor of the Bank of Canada, which oversees the nation's monetary policy. Carney is currently the senior associate deputy minister of finance, a job for which they probably don't use the acronym SAD minister of finance, even though it would be funny. Federal Conservative organizers have been told to get their motors running and prepare to get out on the highway, with a federal election possible as......

Say good-bye to your mushy Macs, tart Grannies, foreign Fujis, and sweet Ladies, and say hello to your new favourite apple, the Honeycrisp. Known to aficionados as one of the sweetest and crispest apples around, the Honeycrisp is just starting to make its seasonal appearance at farmers' markets and better fruit boutiques throughout the city. Honeycrisp apples are a bit of an open secret among those in the know. Many lust after the delicious......

If you've ever fantasized about designing your own skateboard deck—and really, who hasn't—the best day of your life may rapidly be approaching. DIY skateboard company Roarockit is opening its first boardmaking program in Toronto. After almost four years as a web-based business selling make-your-own-board kits, Roarockit is opening a school where aspiring boardmakers can attend seminars on how to create their own decks, ranging from basic street decks all the way up to highly personalized......

Photo by Blainekendall.com from the Torontoist Flickr Pool. The Toronto International Film Festival is exciting as all get out. Everyone loves seeing foreign films that might not otherwise get screen time in this city, and it is a little thrilling to see famous Hollywood types having breakfast in your neighbourhood diner. The problem with TIFF is that it's just too long. By day three, many of us just want these filmic types to go......

Despite having seen a lot of screenings after only two days (and already being completely knackered as a result), Heavy Metal in Baghdad is still one of our top films of the festival. We got the chance to talk to the Toronto-born Suroosh Alvi (pictured above on the left)—co-founder of Vice Magazine and co-director of Heavy Metal in Baghdad—about the film and the current situation of Acrassicauda. Today’s Interview: Suroosh Alvi, co-director of Heavy......

Last night, the seats of Harbourfront Centre's studio theatre were packed with a mix of middle-aged art aficionados and well-coiffed hip, young homos all dying to see Francesco Vezzoli give a lecture and screen his notorious Trailer for a Remake of Gore Vidal's Caligula. Vezzoli is an Italian artist known for his work in video and embroidery (yes, embroidery) who set the art world ablaze a couple of years ago with his re-imagining of the......

Continuing his love affair with Toronto, American horror king George A. Romero will be stopping by the Bloor Cinema this coming Sunday to answer some audience questions and offer a sneak peek at his upcoming Diary of the Dead. The legendary director, who may not have actually invented zombies, is still single-handedly responsible for the modern portrayal of the cinematic undead. Filmed in Toronto (like its predecessor, Land of the Dead), and premiering September......

Songs about zombies, drive-by shootings, Obi-Wan Kenobi, pirates, monsters, punching people in the face, pregnancy, "reeking and seeking," families, obesity, virginity—all of them catchy, all of them disconcertingly happy-sounding, and all of them sing-and-clap-along-able. That is what Austin's Oh No! Oh My! is made of, and their albums—their self-titled full-length; their new EP, Between The Devil and The Sea; and their Jolly Rogers demo that the songs from the new EP are culled from—are the......

So much for Brampton. Back in July, Zanta (a.k.a. David Zancai) told The National Post that he was done with Toronto, leaving for Brampton to be with two of his three sons. At the time, Zancai told the Post, "I can’t be me, I can’t be free, and the city of Toronto is to blame....I’m totally a prisoner in my own city. I have to get out of here." To teach the cops who he......

Flush with the success of their campaign to publicly insult women and minorities, the Ontario government has taken the bold step of verbally abusing the entire City of Toronto. Ontario premier Dalton McGuinty yesterday indicated he wasn't inclined to share any of the billions of dollars that the province sucks out of Toronto each year, blaming the looming fiscal crisis on the City's failure to use its shiny new tax powers, and by implication......

"Honest Ed" Mirvish dies at 92. As the man himself would say: He may be gone, but his bargains sure aren't. Torontoist's obituary for him can be found here. Details on the funeral are here. Toronto police board still making up its mind about whether or not to approve Tasers. Insert bad joke about "shocking" here if you want to pretend that you are actually listening to Humble and Fred rather than reading Torontoist. New......

According to an anonymous reader, the White Stripes are playing a free surprise show, right now (3:30 p.m.) at Yonge & Grosvenor. No need to get out yer wallets for tonight's show at the Amphitheatre after all... UPDATE (4:50 p.m.): Okay, apparently show's done (we think? can anyone confirm? Yep, all done.) If you've got photos, we wanna see them! Upload them to our Flickr pool, or e-mail them to tips@torontoist.com! UPDATE (July 6,......

So much for preserving Toronto's cultural heritage—it looks like pretty much the entire stock of Sam The Record Man's flagship store is going up for auction. On Wednesday, June 27th at 10:30 a.m., Benaco Sales Ltd. will hold an auction on location inside the flagship, at 347 Yonge Street. Contents include "Outdoor neon records, unique neon signage, Olde English Shoe shine stations, Antique English Pub Bars, Store Fixtures, Marquee Signs, Pos and Security systems,......

It's almost time to say goodbye to North By Northeast for yet another year. Two longs nights have past, leaving tonight as the last chance to get out an enjoy some of the best new music from around the world. Seeing as it is Saturday, expect a lot of the shows to be really busy so going earlier is always better than later. All the cool kids are doing it! But before we get back......

Reader Jonathan recently let us know about a trip he took to Ottawa and back via (cue dramatic music) Porter Airlines. That's right, the airline of the infamous island airport. It's no secret that we have been less than enthusiastic about airport expansion, of which Porter Air's operation has become the most prominent example. That being said, it's worth noting that Jonathan's review could not have been more glowing: Wow! Flying is amazing! I think......

Have you ever marvelled at the sheer partying power of a group of drunken bridesmaids? Now you can join those elite ranks without all the expense and bother of a wedding. Funkless.com presents the fourth incarnation of Bridesmaidmania this Saturday, May 5. Billed as “the city's weirdest and most entertaining pub crawl,” Bridesmaidmania IV participants (both male and female) will deck out in frilly, tacky, thrift-store bridesmaid dresses and descend upon a myriad of......

Remember Jean Chrétien? We haven't heard much about the former prime minister in some time (dude's been off the map ever since Paul Martin forced him off it). Well, Mizalaina of the Toronto LiveJournal community spotted Chrétien earlier today in downtown Toronto, and has one hell of a story to go along with it: So an hour ago I'm walking north along York St. I hear a crash ahead of me and see a......

Everybody’s talking about the weather—now’s your chance to get out and do something about it. Mayor David Miller is inviting everyone in the city to attend the Climate Change Action Forum this Sunday, April 29 at Exhibition Place. The Forum is a venue to discuss and shape Toronto’s plan for tackling the related menaces of air pollution and global warming. Participants will have the opportunity to learn more about greenhouse gases and climate change,......

Each weekday morning, we pick a recent image from the Torontoist Flickr Pool and feature it here on the site. It's our way to give the many excellent photographers in our pool the attention they deserve! For the first time this year, it finally feels like spring. We're sitting at 12ºC right now, and the temperature is rising to 18ºC tomorrow -- what a relief! It's time to bust out those frisbees, call your friends......

After a brief hiatus, the shawarma hunt is back on. No vertically roasted meat is safe. Red and White 519 Yonge St. Monday - Saturday 11:00 a.m. - 11:00 p.m. Sunday 12:00 p.m. - 11:00 p.m. There's something really nice about a restaurant where you can take your sandwich, sit down and watch some Family Channel with the owner's tween daughter. Everyone wants to eat at the kind of place where you're greeted with something......

Austinist gets arty with an interactive guide to SXSW, loved some local art galleries and a new art exhibit and lamented the possible loss of "Friday Night Lights" production to New Mexico. Bostonist was happy they finally found an Anna Nicole Smith connection to their fair city and that an Apple Store was opening up. They were less happy that new rules have been established limiting underage shows and that their Governor is spending a......