CUPE Local 416 has ratified the deal it brokered with the City of Toronto on a new, four year employment contract. Not all the details have been released, but according to the Globe, some of the key points include the following: "The "jobs-for-life" clause has been restricted to employees with more than 15 years of experience. The four-year deal includes a 6-per-cent pay bump over four years (4.5 per cent in wage increases and 1.5 per cent in lump-sum payments)." City council will vote on the deal tomorrow. Anyone want to weigh in on who won?

Doug Ford is calling SOS. No, not the Abba song; that's the acronym for his new campaign, Save Our Subways. The Toronto councillor is hoping the effort will sway Premier Dalton Guinty to see the mayor's way and move forward with subways rather than at-grade LRT. This might be good practice for Ford, who, apparently, is considering a future in provincial politics one day.

The Toronto Cyclists Union wants more bikes for the BIXI program. With over 64,000 rides in its first month and only 3,000 bikes to go around, there's an obvious demand for the program.

Today is Valentine's Day, but it seems Torontonians could take it or leave it. While other Ontarians have been turning to Google for romantic ideas over the last three-month, our city isn't leading the pack - St. Catharine's is. Granted, they are closer to Niagara Falls, the Honeymoon Capital of the World, so that makes sense. But are we really that jaded? Or is it because most of us live alone in the city and would rather socialize than snuggle?

Well, we already know that Rob Ford has been caricatured more frequently than any local public figure in memory, so it was inevitable his mug would land on one of those stamp-inspired portraits. Don't be fooled by the 5 cents on the Stephanie Kervin painting though: its top asking price is $5,555 on eBay.

IN BRIEF:

• Mayor Ford's executive pushes ahead with subway expansion dream
• Ontario government to sell LCBO headquarters to save money

Photo by dtstuff9 in the blogTO Flickr pool