Several hundred supporters at the Empire Lounge in Toronto cheered loudly last night, as Barack Obama delivered a powerful speech from Invesco Field in Denver. As 80,000 gathered around Obama, Democrats Abroad in Toronto joined countless thousands around the world to watch the speech live, cheering and applauding as if Obama could hear them.

Obama earned rousing cheers from the crowd repeatedly, perhaps none more loud than after blasting opponent John McCain for being out of touch with everyday Americans. "It's not because John McCain doesn't care," Obama said. "It's because John McCain doesn't get it."

In their effort to equip 100% of Toronto's buses with bike racks by 2010, the TTC has announced that beginning Sunday, 19 more bus routes will become bicycle friendly. This will bring the fleet of bike rack equipped buses to 43.

What started as a pilot project a couple years ago, with just a few select (mostly north-south) routes, is now expanding to be an option accessible to riders in many parts of the city, heading in any direction. Although bikes are allowed on all TTC vehicles, the bus bicycle racks are the only option during the rush periods.

Unless you've got a friend with a pickup willing to make a few trips or you're hiring professionals, come moving day it's time to turn to the rental truck. U-Haul, Budget, and Discount seem to have the personal moving market blanketed, but Penske and Ryder have locations too.

The appeal of do-it-yourself moving is purely economical; renting a truck is cheaper than hiring a moving company. And instead of using the fuel efficient four-wheeler to get the job done, a rental truck offers the opportunity to get the whole ordeal of moving over and done with. And the last time I checked, mattresses don't fit in cars.

I've come to the conclusion that the names Discount and Budget aren't really a reflection of pricing, but that at least U-Haul is honest with theirs: you will definitely do all the hauling.

A pillar of the Roncesvalles Polish community, Warmia Deli closed its doors Monday. This local gem is the latest family run Polish business in Roncesvalles to close up shop, and I doubt a Polish deli will replace it.

Although there are still plenty of options up and down the street to get pierogies, pickles or packzi, Warmia's offerings were particularly notable. For those who venture out of Roncesvalles for Polish, though, all is not lost.

Police seized 700 more bicycles in three searches conducted today related to the recent "Igor Kenk" theft ring investigation. The searches, including this one pictured near College and Lansdowne, have netted over 3,200 bicycles so far.

Of the thousands of bicycles already seized and on display, only 250 have been claimed by their rightful owners, and only three more days remain to claim the two-wheelers.

Local artist and eco-minded citizen Franke James decided to do the hard thing first and replace her interlocking brick front yard (parking lot) with plants and an eco driveway (paradise). What she didn't expect was a North York demand for concrete, asphalt or interlocking driveways. But, with persistence, she made one of the city's greenest front yards a reality.

Now, one year later, she is enjoying a lot of green space, and has chronicled her tale online.