As much as we all hate stepping on green feces or being chased by the large, angry, honking birds when we cross through city parks, do Canada geese really need to be rounded up by the hundreds and gassed to death in New York City? Beaten and shot in the head in New Jersey? There must be another way to control them.

A string of back alley arsons in Little India has residents concerned and police on the hunt for a suspect. Discarded building materials found in nearby alleyways on Gerrard (which have been an eyesore for some residents for some time) were apparently used by the arsonist to fuel the fires. Some of the garbage is now gone as a result, but at the cost of three garages.

Drivers: say goodbye to the alternating centre lane on Jarvis Street. Tomorrow construction begins and within two to three weeks we'll see active bike lanes ready for use. Cyclists: say hello to a new thoroughfare just east of the core, from Charles St. to Queen St. Hopefully the controversial conversion will have the desired touted effect: little change for motorists and significant incentive to create an influx of cyclists. I have my doubts.

In another victory for cycling advocates (after 15 months of effort back-and-forthing with the City and research done by the City) Toronto has taken the leap, and converted two car parking spots outside of the Centre For Social Innovation into bike parking. I can think of a number of places where this kind of conversion would be an easy and welcome change. Every TTC subway station outside the core, for starters.

The first of the Toronto Police's "10 Most Wanted" protesters has been arrested and faces charges of arson and two counts of mischief over $5,000 stemming from the burning of police cars during the G20 summit weekend. For an added twist, the accused is a TTC employee. (No, not that TTC employee).

A wacky story involving a bank robbery in Stratford has a Toronto connection. After robbing two banks in Stratford, the suspect hopped into a taxi cab and paid $240 for a drive to Toronto. The dispatcher and driver came to understand that the passenger was wanted by police, who used the taxi driver's cell phone to track the suspect's movements via GPS.

The University of Toronto is poised to invite federal Liberal Party leader Michael Ignatieff to return to academia by taking a prestigious role at the Munk School Global Affairs. This, of course, would only happen if and when Ignatieff fails in his quest of "leading a Liberal government and getting Canada back on track."

And the Toronto Argos broke two embarrassing streaks at their home opener last night. By defeating Calgary, they won their first home opener since 2006 and also recorded two consecutive wins for the first time since the end of the 2007 season. As wild and unlikely as it would have been just a couple of years ago, the Argos are actually within striking distance of being a bigger draw than the Jays.

Photo: untitled by sig11, member of the blogTO Flickr pool.