Morning Brew: December 31st, 2007

Photo: "Christie Park - Toronto" by blogTO Flickr pooler Dubes.

Your morning news roundup for the last day of 2007:

The New Year will come with plenty of celebration and confetti - of the cold, wet, and white variety. Depending on how late your party goes tonight, there could be as much as 10cm of snow on the ground when you make your way home. Drunken toboggan race, anyone?

The New Year will also ring in new taxes and price hikes. In 2008, we'll pay more for car registration, land transfer, garbage removal, water, 407 tolls, and property taxes. The money has to come from somewhere, right?

At the same time that Toronto-area residents prepare for significant increases in cost of living, Canadians the country over prepare to save a whopping $200 next year when the GST gets cut to 5%. Of course, the rich that are buying big save more. PM Harper is fully aware of that but is still making it look like it's a cut for the average Mississauga Joe.

Spacing has an excellent post about the Toronto Star's "Language Quilt". If you like maps, and embrace the diversity we're so lucky to have in Toronto, this one is an incredible one to peruse.

And the "story of the year" in Canada was voted on and declared by the national media collective. Our dollar went on a wild ride in 2007, and was quite the newsmaker.