January 28, 2015 at 4:30 pm

Extra, Extra: Grey Cup Kerfuffles, Toronto Birds, and Turtle Poaching

Every weekday’s end, we collect just about everything you ought to care about or ought not to miss.

Mayor John Tory said on the radio this morning that Toronto would be hosting the 2016 Grey Cup game. A major problem with that claim, though, is that the CFL has not yet announced where the 2016 Grey Cup game will be held. Tory has since apologized for raising the hopes of local CFL fans, saying, “In my zeal to proclaim what a great sports year that it’s going to be in 2016 in Toronto … I misspoke.”

“Location: Swansea. Name: Alan. Mourning: The loss of his one true love, Janet, who left him for that asshole Ron at the ’08 Seed & Grit Fan Expo in Arnprior. Food: Way too many fermented berries. Eyes: The deep black of true sadness.” That is the kind of caption that is making Anthony Famularo’s bird photos extremely popular on Reddit. He takes photos only of Toronto birds, and hopes eventually to get shots of all the 221 species that make their home here. He does suggest, though (jokingly, we’re almost certain), that if a particularly interesting specimen—a “rare-ish species of non-native partridge,” for example—were to pop up just outside the city limits, he might be tempted to do a bit of cross-border bird transporting.
This week, the Toronto Zoo, Crime Stoppers, and the province launched a campaign to crack down on turtle poaching and smuggling. It appears to be a surprisingly lucrative business, one authorities claim can sometimes be linked to larger operations that traffic drugs, firearms, and people. You’re advised to contact either Crime Stoppers or the natural resource ministry, Inside Toronto reports, if you see “anything suspicious involving turtles.”