Photo: "Walking the Dog" by Todd Michael M., member of the blogTO Flickr pool.

What's happening in the GTA (and sometimes beyond):

While racism still no doubt exists, here in the big city most of us feel that our multicultural co-existence is something to be proud of and to celebrate. The same may or may not be true in some parts of rural Ontario, and a racially motivated assault case that just wrapped up has us wondering if it's still the 1940s in some parts. Guilty verdicts were delivered in a case that involved a violent, racially-motivated confrontation, throwing of Asian anglers into Lake Scugog (aka "nipper-tipping"), a fight, a car chase, and a crash resulting in a victim with brain damage.

If Toronto is to succeed in its ambitious waste diversion goals, we need residents and landlords of apartment buildings to share that ambition. But should levies be charged to landlords to account for failure by tenants to abide by recycling protocols? The Greater Toronto Apartment Association and the City of Toronto are likely going to have to settle the debate in the courts.

Should the Province of Ontario be selling Crown corporations to generate monies to help get out of severe debt? The LCBO, Hydro One, and Ontario Lottery & Gaming (OLG) are being considered. In my opinion, Ontario consumers would benefit immensely from the sale of the archaic retail monopoly that is the LCBO, and the bloated and scandal-ridden OLG could use a serious shakeup. But I'm still on the fence about privatization of power.

Newly announced Toronto mayoral candidate Rocco Rossi has gotten himself into trouble already. The Liberal Party (with which he is still employed) suspended his email account after he used it to send messages asking for support in his bid to become mayor. Does he not see this as a conflict of interest? In related news, Rossi is also allegedly hiding something sinister related to the number 23 (see embedded, outlandish, conspiracy nut video below):

As many as 70 firefighters were called to the scene of a 3-alarm blaze at a mansion in the York Mills and Bayview area last night. It'll be interesting to see the finer details of the story once the ash settles (there's an unconfirmed report that the home contained a weapons stash). I also wonder how much renters' insurance costs (and if the tenants had it!) for a swanky place that comes in at cool $6,500/month.

As we near the end of the year, and look with optimism at homicide stats, we also need to take note of the increase in the number of shootings Toronto has seen this year. Note that the number of incidents of gunfire in which no one was injured is way up, which may or may not be attributed to the increase in the sideways gun holding technique.

And in case you missed it yesterday, infamous bike thief Igor Kenk pleaded guilty was was sentenced to 30 months, most of which will be credited for time already served awaiting trial. Just punishment? Hmmm.

Hat tip to @goldsbie for Tweeting the Rossi video.