Morning Brew: Legal Aid Boycott, Sunnyside Revitalization Plan, Tragic Loss at Zoo

Photo: "World Naked Bike Ride Day Toronto 2009" by asianz, member of the blogTO Flickr pool.

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

In the 1930's, the western waterfront at Sunnyside was the place to be during the summer months. But decades later, we've succeeded at pretty much separating the area from the communities that used to feed it (High Park, Roncesvalles, and Parkdale) by prioritizing car and train traffic over public access to the area. An ambitious 20-year plan to fix this is in sight, and goes to city council soon.

The OPP have announced a province-wide manhunt for a convicted killer who "escaped" from a minimum-security prison in Kingston - by simply walking away from his room and out into the general population. Being relatively unfamiliar with the prison system, I think a number of us are scratching our heads... because although he was well into serving a sentence for 2nd degree murder, he was remanded to a facility with no means of ensuring he remain there.

Tragedy struck at the Toronto Zoo this weekend. One of the more elderly elephants, who had been at the zoo since its opening in 1974, was knocked over my her fellow companions during feeding time, and she didn't make it.

Ontario's legal aid system is in trouble, and the number of lawyers joining the movement to boycotting the system (by refusing to take on cases) is growing. The heart of the issue is funding. While a typical private case is billed at $300 - $400/h, legal aid pays at most $98/h, which isn't enough for the system to function adequately, apparently.

School and daycare are becoming more one and the same for Ontario's kids come 2010. Under a plan that is expected to move forward, Kindergarten will become a full-day service, and a large number of elementary schools in the province will offer expanded services that will extend into after-school programs, and year-round care services. Some kids are going to hate spending their summers at school, but they'll get used to it quickly enough.

Will there be a summer federal election call based on the latest budget report? I predict not.

And for those of you who were not online all weekend (with the gorgeous weather finally here, I can't blame ya!), here's a quick recap of what blogTO was up to:

• Lisa attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new WaveDeck down on the waterfront.
• Jerrold drove a TTC bus on a driver-testing obstacle course.
• Briony checked out launch party for Babar Khan's snazzy French New Wave-style tees at UPC.
• Chandra provided film buff's with the skinny on the upcoming NXNE Film Festival.
• Beverly had mixed feelings about her dining experience at French bistro Le Paradis.
• Christopher visited the University of Toronto's Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics.
• Tim announced the arrival of blogTO's 2009/2010 neighbourhood maps.