It might be hard to picture today, but Toronto's famous islands haven't always been an oasis away from the mainland. In fact, the Islands are a relatively recent natural creation traceable to a single powerful storm in the 1850s. Before that, the land now home to Centerville and Billy Bishop airport maintained a permanent physical connection to the rest of Toronto.

We've looked back at the Islands' past before, but never discussed how the land itself became permanently separated from the shore and evolved into the idyllic spot it is today.

What a week! First Rob Ford defied expectations by showing up at PFLAG's rainbow flag raising event at City Hall yesterday and today Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair has acknowledged that "there were things that were not done well" at the G20. As far as the latter goes, today's statement from Blair is carefully crafted to praise the TPS more than knock it, but has just enough of a remorseful tone to quiet some of the criticism directed towards him upon the release of yesterday's report from Office of the Independent Police Review Director.

The best streets for cycling in Toronto help one to recapture that pure, unrestricted joy that made you climb onto the saddle in the first place. These are places where cycling becomes more than just commuting or getting from A to B. Rather than put together a utilitarian list focused solely on safety and cycling infrastructure — there's an app for that — the criteria we had in mind when selecting these candidates was a bit more subjective.

Is the street pretty? Can you go fast? Are there interesting things to look at? Think of it as destination cycling, where the road is the main attraction of the ride. Here are 10 great streets to ride on in Toronto. Add your suggestions in the comments section below.

The photos of the week collect each of the editor-selected photos of the day into one post for a contest to be decided by our readers. Sponsored by Posterjack, the photographer whose image receives the most votes will be awarded with a voucher code for a 24"x36" poster print of their work.

All the rules and fine-print can be found in the original announcement post on the blogTO Flickr page. One thing to add, however, is that the voting period ends at 5:00 p.m. on Sunday, after which the winner will be contacted with the good news.

Until now, the only way to take home a Toronto street sign was to shimmy up a hydro pole in the middle of the night with a screwdriver between your teeth. But you can forget all that now thanks to a proposed scheme working its way to council via the Public Works and Infrastructure Committee that will save you the hassle.

Although he had previously indicated that he would not attend today's flag raising ceremony to mark International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia at City Hall, Rob Ford unexpectedly sauntered onto the roof shortly after 12:30 p.m. to take part in the event. And, yes, in case anyone was wondering, the reception was unanimously positive as the mayor received multiple rounds of applause, first upon arrival and later when he read a proclamation decrying homophobia on the part of the City.