Kite flying has been banned at Milliken Park near McCowan & Steeles after string left behind following kite fights has become problematic for wildlife. Rather than banning kite fighting, kite flying in general has been banned simply because it would be too difficult to enforce just the one form of the activity. The City took the measures after residents complained of several wild animals and pets being harmed and city employees also have had to cope with the string tangling up their maintenance equipment. It's too bad kite fighters couldn't clean up after themselves.

Extra manpower has been brought in and rather than being complete in December, the $25-million street-level upgrades to Bloor Street's "Mink Mile" will be finished by late October. It's been more than two years of construction and delays, but in the fullness of time we'll be able to stroll in Yorkville and window shop along the widened, granite pedestrian walk, enhanced with greenery.

Putting two-way TTC streetcar service beside two-way car traffic (rather than mixing them or using dedicated transit lanes sandwiched between car traffic) is a novel idea. But the TTC's plans for a new East Bayfront rapid streetcar service along the waterfront (to run from Union Station, down to the lake, then east) is at risk of being not so rapid at all if it's going to be hampered by so many traffic signals.

A Toronto police officer was whisked away by EMS from a 22 Division training facility in Etobicoke yesterday after reportedly being accidentally shot in the leg. All we know is that he wasn't shot by anyone else, but police wouldn't confirm whether or not he accidentally shot himself. The details might be embarrassing, but does that make them worth hiding?

Dilshod Marupov, the sole survivor of the tragic scaffolding collapse that killed four fellow workers on Christmas Eve of 2009, is suing the Ontario Ministry of Labour and the companies involved for over $16 million. This news comes shortly after the Ministry of Labour laid 61 charges against the companies under the Occupational Health and Safety Act. Citing their failure to ensure worker safety, Marupov seeks compensation for his extensive injuries and pain.

The explosion of bed bug cases here in Toronto (and around the developed world) may be in part due to the banning of the harmful pesticide DDT way back in the 1970s. The bug sure is resilient, but there's a chemical-free way to kill them. Applying high temperatures will do the trick, but comes at a high cost and isn't something you want to do on your own unless you don't mind visits from the fire department.

Are Wi-Fi networks in schools harming our children? Parents in Barrie are leading the call for change to wired connections, because they are convinced that wireless Internet setups at their kids' schools are causing them to become ill -- from headaches to nausea to rashes to memory loss to hyperactivity. These symptoms apparently aren't present on weekends, when the kids aren't at school.

Toronto's "Clubland" is in a major state of flux. Just five years ago, there were about 90 clubs operating in the club district. But after many failed as businesses, coupled with concerted, ongoing residential development in the area, that number has dropped to just 30. City councillor Adam Vaughan is quite content about all of this, but one of his opponents for re-election in Ward 20, Mike Yen, wants Clubland back and is putting the issue on his campaign platform. Also, see this article we published last week.

A construction crew accidentally pierced an 10,000-L underground diesel fuel tank yesterday, spilling an unknown quantity of diesel into the Don River via a sewer. The spill has been contained and authorities are investigating the incident, trying to understand first why the tank was there. No major damage is expected.

Mayor David Miller, several city councillors, and others in the race for the city's top job are blasting candidate Rob Ford for "irresponsible" and "disgusting" remarks he recently made about city council. Specifically, Rob Ford has openly suggested that there's corruption at city hall (referring to the exclusive 20-year contract recently awarded to Tugg's Restaurant, an Ashbridge's Bay boardwalk pub), but he hasn't filed any official complaints or provided any evidence to support his very serious accusations. In related news, polling of decided voters shows Ford widening his lead over George Smitherman.

A warm summer, abandonment, and failure to spay and neuter cats is resulting in a major spike in feral cat populations in Toronto. The City has estimated that there are 20,000 stray cats on our streets, but cat rescue officials peg the number at closer to 100,000 now. 15 years ago, 80% of adoptions from city shelters were canines but now there's been a complete reversal, with 80% of the animals looking for homes being cats. Maybe its time we invite Bob Barker to town, to give us a scolding and teach us some lessons.

Last night a driver ended up travelling eastbound in the westbound lanes of the 401. OPP at Port Credit got the call, but it took them nearly 15 minutes to finally pull the driver over (he managed to drive against traffic from Trafalgar Road all the way to the 427). A 39-year old man is facing charges, including impaired driving and refusing to take a blood alcohol test.

If approved, the North York community of Emery Village would be the new home of a public space featuring the tallest flagpole in North America. Former mayoral candidate and standing city councillor Giorgio Mammoliti has been working with the local B.I.A. and has high hopes that they'll become "the most patriotic community in the country." Some 2500 local business owners are expected to chip in to pay for the $3.5-million pole.

Imagine dropping $20 into a MegaBucks slot machine and winning really, really big? This kind of windfall doesn't happen very often, but after playing the machine for just the third time a Toronto-area man lit up the floor with a $1.7million win at Casino Rama yesterday. The house always wins, but once in a blue moon a gambler scores.

Disability rights activist David Lepofsky (the blind man who took the TTC to court, which resulted in the implementation of audible stop calls on buses and streetcars) is now pointing at flaws in the Presto transit payment system. Visually-impaired Presto users will not be able to read their card balances when they scan their way onto transit. An executive at Presto rebuts that from safety and privacy viewpoints, it doesn't make sense to have the card readers report balances audibly and any other option would create bottlenecks at gates.

According to an inmate at the Toronto East Detention Centre in Scarborough, the food served is not healthy enough, the portions are too meagre, and special dietary needs aren't being acknowledged. As a result, some 300 inmates are staging a hunger strike and may even consider rioting. Generally speaking, being incarcerated doesn't come with the same expectations as staying at a resort hotel, but if inmate health is at risk, perhaps this should be looked at more closely.

It's not clear to me exactly how charges were laid, how the prosecution supported their case, or why the suspect plead guilty, but a 19-year old has been charged and convicted for street racing without having even been caught in the act. Instead, he was reported by an online forum reader, who pointed police to his online boasting about doing 140kh/r in a 40km/h zone. Is being caught bragging about committing a crime enough to substantiate charges and result in a conviction? It would appear to be so.

The only G20-related charges that were laid under the controversial Public Works Protection Act were mysteriously absent when David Vasey, the sole suspect, showed up for his scheduled court date back on July 28th. Police originally stated that an administrative error must be to blame for the missing charges, and now, two weeks later, the official explanation is that the documents' arrival was inexplicably delayed in the mail. Vasey remains sceptical, however, saying that "We know they're scared to challenge us now in the open court system because they know that they will lose this public battle.