Morning Brew: Kinky Speeding, Hotel Pool Drownings, Another Swarming Murder, Yorkville Development Snags

Photo: untitled by Gabi~, member of the blogTO Flickr pool.

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

Mayor David Miller is talking tough on the ongoing strike, now telling the media that if the striking city union gets what they want (which, according to him, is more than the city can afford), 2010 may require major cuts to services, possible layoffs, and a hiring freeze.

The OPP were involved in a hot pursuit on the weekend. A driver was radar-gunned doing 140km/h in a 100km/h zone on the 401, and when police pulled him over near Port Hope, they found that he was also watching porn on a portable DVD player. There's no word on what film he was watching, or if the intensity of the action in the film directly corresponded to his speed.

A bizarre incident at a Best Western hotel pool out in Kingston has a mother and daughter dead by drowning and a third victim in critical condition. So far the signs are pointing to this being a tragic accident afflicting non-swimmers, although several theories are being mulled over.

Another swarming murder within the Scarborough Tamil community (a short distance from where a previous swarming murder occurred just over a week ago) has police seeking as many as 5 suspects, and has one Tamil community leader condemning the violence. We can only hope that the trend doesn't continue.

Yorkville residents are speaking out to save the historic Hazelton Avenue schoolhouse from being razed for condos, and due to the ongoing city strike, the decision to allow developers to proceed may lie with the OMB instead.

More details about Bazis International's 1 Bloor East development are emerging. What was supposed to be an 80-storey landmark condo/retail complex at Yonge & Bloor has reportedly been scaled back by a number of floors, but also appears to be in deeper financial trouble and tied to potentially questionable money. Buyers aren't happy.