TTC strike: not today, but probably Monday. If it happens, Torontoist will let you know. If you were to get your ass kicked by a TTC Special Constable, would you prefer a gun, a taser, or the standard pepper spray? The TTC launches a $100,000 study to find out. The Toronto District School Board is set to make some controversial changes over the next few years. A report released yesterday threatens the closure of......

Provincial Conservative leader John Tory, battling to stay employed in the face of disaffected fellow partiers who want to hold a leadership review next month, says in a letter on his website that he has travelled the province listening to members and coming up with ideas to address their concerns. The Tories are lucky; a leader who also had a job as an MPP probably wouldn't have time for stuff like that. Provincial education......

Some Canadian cattle will now be allowed into the United States following a 4-year ban in the wake of several cases of "mad cow" disease. American Homeland Security regulations will still require that any bovines wishing to cross the border carry a valid passport. The latest UN report on climate change says that global disaster is a safe bet if we don't change our carbon-emitting ways by 2012. It's all good for Canadians though, as......

Last week, we reported on a confrontation at College and McCaul Streets where a cyclist stabbed a motorist in the neck and face with a screwdriver. Police have arrested Yonan Inwia for assault, but give no further details. It's stories like this that need Rosie DiManno: "Yonan Inwia fell roughly to the ground, his hands reaching out in a Christ-like fashion to break the heavy fall. Little did Yonan know, today he would be......

You know all those flashy LED lights on the CN Tower? Apparently they're going to get flashier by this Thursday. U of T is set to approve the plan to build a $53 million Centre for High Performance Sport just west of Varsity Stadium on Bloor Street. Maybe their football team could start training to win a game. A 13-year-old has become a quadriplegic after a gang-related stabbing outside of Christie Station on Friday......

Health Canada reports that over half of Canadian kids aged five to 17 are not physically active enough for optimal growth and development. The number of overweight boys ballooned from 15 percent in 1981 to 35.4 percent in 1996; the percentage of overweight girls expanded from 15 percent to 29.2 percent. In less than a generation, obesity in children tripled. As anyone who has tried to lose a few kilos knows, it is easier to......

Ontario plans to ban incandescent light bulbs by 2012 to promote the use of CFLs. Good ban, Ontario. "There's no cell after the bell." The Toronto District School Board bans cellphones in public schools. Bratty ninth graders everywhere let out a collective whine. A Toronto police officer has been charged with corrupt practice, neglect of duty and discreditable conduct after discovering a lost laptop at Spadina and College. The officer took the laptop home,......

There was an unexpected windfall for Green P as a major dump of snow, along with high winds and freezing rain, turned much of the GTA into a parking lot during the evening commute yesterday. Apart from the traffic mayhem, fallen trees and power outages have also been a problem throughout the city. It sure looks pretty, though. The Toronto District School Board will meet with provincial officials today after trustees rejected a recommendation......

This article is a response to a series of comments you can find on Spacing Wire, in which someone compares Toronto to a "crossroads" or "meeting place." The poster claims this label makes sense because the word Toronto originates from an aboriginal word meaning "meeting place." There was no post contradicting the definition, probably because we have all heard this claim before and most of us accept it. Upon further investigation of the matter,......

It's the dawn of election day, so Torontoist assumes that our readers are doing their proper diligence with some last-minute cramming on who's running for school trustee in their respective areas. The Toronto District School Board website isn't going to be of any help, however: it's been hacked by a group of Brazilian script kiddies who go by the name Un-Root Crew. Un-Root Crew, aside from not having girlfriends and using the usual circa-2001......

The Toronto District School Board is holding three public consultation nights to ask parents how they should handle the $84.5 million deficit. Jane Pitfield releases her financial platform and we don't spot many surprises: cutting business taxes, a hiring freeze at City Hall, a rollback of the pay raise to councillors. Former city councillor John Adams is joining John Sewell in a bid to unseat Joe Mihevc in Ward 21 (St. Paul's). Through a election......

The province is giving the Toronto District School Board some more time to deliver a balanced budget. A team appointed by the ministry will work with school trustees and hopefully deliver a balanced budget. Is Queen's Park haunted? Staffers in the office of the Lt. Governor think so. The Star has a meeting with Michael Ignatieff and learns that Iggy might not run in the next election if he loses his bid for leadership of......

A gunman shot one, opened fire on police, and hit an EMS vehicle in the Dundas and Parliament area this morning. Police closed off an area from Parliament to Sumach and Dundas to Queen in search of the man. The Star's story is here and CityNews is also on the case. The Globe reports that crime shot up in the GTA in 2005. But the police are also saying that 2004 was a low-crime......

Big news on the municipal election front. Former mayor John Sewell wants back into the concrete clamshell. He's running in Ward 21 against Miller ally Joe Mihevc. Sewell has the support of Margaret Smith and many from the Save Our St. Clair campaign that lobbied against the right-of-way. Sylvia Watson, current councillor in Ward 14 (Parkdale-High Park), wants out of City Hall and is looking to fill Gerard Kennedy's seat at Queen's Park. This will......

Our favourite civic phallic symbol is turning 30 soon, June 26th to be exact. It's still the world's tallest free-standing structure (what does this mean anyway?). The Toronto District School Board is facing a budget shortfall of about $85 million. But it won't make any cuts without first holding a public meeting. In the meantime, the trustees are feverishly lobbying Queen's Park for more cash. Lots of TTC news today. First talks with the union......

By now, most everyone in the city knows of the single most unfortunate event in Toronto this year: On Boxing Day, while shopping, 15-year-old Jane Creba was killed by errant gunfire. Six other innocent bystanders were also wounded. Just as any other human being in this city - or rather anyone else privy to this story - we feel deeply affected by this. And, as it should go without saying, our utmost sympathies to any......