Photo: "Swimming with ColorCheckers" by Daifuku Sensei, member of the blogTO Flickr pool.

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

Toronto managed to evade a winter storm this weekend, but a few of our prominent local politicians have become embroiled in a storm of epic proportions. The Prime Minister's Office sent out a recording made by the Conservatives of an NDP caucus teleconference that reveals Jack Layton leading coalition-related discussions. I'm pretty sure I have an opinion on what's worse - that these discussions were held well before the insane economic plan was delivered by the Conservatives, or that the talks were infiltrated, taped, and shared by the Conservatives. It's believed that a deal to form a Liberal-NDP coalition, with support of the Bloc is in the works, and coalition action in the form of a stimulus package is being planned.

Total mayhem and horror erupted at a child's birthday party in Oshawa this weekend, leading to the stabbing death of a mother, injury to a few others (including two kids), and the assailant being shot dead by intervening police. What a horrific tragedy.

Something about this story just doesn't seem right. Five fires broke out in five different TTC subway stations within half an hour of each other - due to heaters used by the TTC to prevent switches from freezing? Ummmm. Does this happen often? Even Fire Marshall Bill wouldn't approve!

As of right now, Twitter is essentially dead to me. And surely to some of the over 700 followers of blogTO on Twitter. And to people all across Canada.

Twitter made a shocking announcement earlier today that service providers in Canada are charging too much to make outgoing Tweets via SMS possible. As a result, the Twitter experience is no longer the full Twitter experience - effective immediately.

Photo: by Qinn, member of the blogTO Flickr pool.

Photo: "Art Gallery of Ontario at Sunset - Frank Gehry" by Scott Norsworthy, member of the blogTO Flickr pool.

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

Although the idea of creating offshore wind-powered energy farms in Scarborough has its fair share of proponents, it also has its detractors. Visual blight, sound, risk to migratory birds, and unknown long term effects (huh?) are among the cons that are making for heated debate amongst residents.

The proposal for public transit by ferry along Toronto's lakefront has been dealt a blow, after the TTC has heeded the advice found in a commissioned transportation expert's feasibility study. The report pegs the costs of building and operating the service as far too high for the few benefits that would result, so for now, it's a dead concept.

Hamilton is considering a ban on smoking in public housing, beaches, and parks. A report due in June of next year will likely spark a debate between those who feel they have a right to breathe clean air when they're taking a stroll, and those who feel they have the right to blow smoke in the faces of others while they're trudging and panting their way along the boardwalk.

We can always count on CityNews for lifesaving tips. After all, pretty much everything out there is poised to sneak up on us and unexpectedly kill us, right? "Trust no one" this holiday season. It could be counterfeit Christmas lights engulfing your family and your home in flames, or it could be an argument over a holiday bonus with your jerk of a boss that leads to cardiac arrest. ZOMGWTF? Who writes this stuff? Do they intentionally mask the identity of their writers under the umbrella of "CityNews.ca Staff" or is it a backend technical limitation that's to blame?

I spotted this computer printed and hand-written public appeal taped to the drive-thru pickup window at a Tim Hortons out in the west end.

Based on the URL on the bottom of the page, it would appear that the political cartoon (that was run in the November 10th edition of the Toronto Star) has been sent to Tim Hortons' employees via an internal email. In this case, an employee appears to have decided to deliver the message to every customer that uses the drive-thru as well.

Photo: "Glass Ceiling" by sniderscion, member of the blogTO Flickr pool.

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

Marijuana activists are expected to be out in full force this morning, protesting the police raid on and seizure of assets from the pot-friendly Kindred Cafe. The owner of the cafe, Dominic Cramer, is expected to turn himself in today as well. He has no criminal record, and has been operating the cafe for three years. Will this trigger a broad revisiting of our pot laws?

Advertisers for cereal bars - take note. Whether you're a farmer or a computer nerd, your body and mind need fuel in the morning. Although it is the most important meal of the day, if you find yourself pressed for time in the morning, it's not a good idea to drive while eating a bowl of cereal.

The Chinatown restaurant Happy Seven has apparently taken a final dive and is swimming in the restaurant dead pool. While most media outlets blame the closure on its rat problem, Torontoist's Jonathan Goldsbie feels that the real problem lies in the media's overblown coverage of the restaurant's rat problem. I'm thinking both contributed, but ultimately the rats are to blame.