Bob Rae and Martha Hall-Findlay win seats for the Liberals in federal by-elections. Downside: oh, God, Bob Rae. Upside: commenters will have to wait until the next federal election to bitch and moan about Torontoist contributor and Green Party candidate Chris Tindal's column (Chris finished in third place, with only thirty-six fewer votes than NDP candidate El-Farouk Khaki in the Toronto Centre riding). Ottawa to give Toronto $303 million to buy hybrid buses. The catch......

Another death on the Gardiner. A motorcyclist died in an accident around 7:30 pm. Earlier reports blamed racing but a police detective said the biker was most likely trying to perform a wheelie when his bike flipped over and killed the rider. Palais Royale will be getting its parking lot. This fall, the city will be paving over a median on Lakeshore Boulevard to provide parking space for the renovated club. The city is breathing......

This morning's papers are split between a huge fire and carjackings. So first the carjackings. A 44-year old ex-con known to police as the "Buggy Bandit" was at it again this morning. The man successfully stole a SUV from a woman. He proceeded to drive dangerously, flipping the car over several times and then proceeded to try to steal a number of other cars until he was stopped by onlookers and the police. The "bandit"......

The City is receving about $980 million dollars from Toronto Hydro. There was some fierce debate about how the money will be used but in the end the City will earmark the money for waterfront redevelopment and the York U subway. Sadly fancy ketchups or green dresses were nowhere on council's radar. Pictured here are the very happy Toronto Hydro mascots. Despite the promise of a billion dollars the city still needs more money. Council......

Elected municipal officials across Toronto now have four-year terms thanks to Queen's Park. Citing the increased complexity of municipal affairs the province rushed through a bill lengthening municipal government terms. The reform divided council and raised criticism from local activists like former mayor John Sewell. Anti-poverty groups are peeved at Jane Pitfield and want her off the city's homeless advisory committee. They're angry over her desire for a by-law that bans panhandling. Residents near the......

After sifting through the heaps (mounds?) of MIA discussion around the internet over the past few months, Torontoist thought it's about time we came up with some of our own opinions on the Sri Lankan/British, by-way-of-blog superstar. As most conscious MIA listeners already know, there's a growing controversy over MIA's Palestine Liberation Organisation shout-out as well as alleged ties to the Tamil Tigers. As Torontoist interprets it, the MIA debate surrounds the political message of......