Morning Brew: Island Airport Tunnel, Mysterious Midday Abduction, 311 Municipal Hotline, Crossbow Sicko

Photo: "Eaton Centre... what they don't want you to see..." by Dipak49ers, member of the blogTO Flickr pool.

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

The Toronto Port Authority is applying for federal stimulus funding and the move is sure to make Mayor David Miller a very unhappy camper. The project? An underground pedestrian tunnel to the island airport, which will negate the need for passengers to take one of the most ridiculous (90 second, 120m) ferry rides in the world.

Police are searching for Furqan Muhammad Haroon, a 22-year old Toronto man who is believed to have been abducted at gunpoint by a trio of suspects on Saturday afternoon.

In a separate incident, Durham police are looking for three suspects believed to have been involved in car thefts in Pickering. According to CityNews, two cruisers were hit during a high speed pursuit or two stolen vehicles, and four smiling suspects have already been arrested and their mug shots taken.

How anyone could do this is beyond me. In the very least, since police aren't likely to find the person who fired a crossbow at someone's cat, I hope that karma bites the sicko hard.

The 311 municipal telephone hotline that will allow city residents to easily send and receive information related to city issues (like potholes, water issues, garbage pickup, and eventually parks and licensing) is soon to be launched. It took a long time and it's going to cost approximately $35million to set up, so hopefully it ends up being efficient and worthwhile!

And for those of you who weren't online, on what ended up being a lovely late-summer weekend, here's what blogTO was up to:

• Lauren filled us in on Ontario corn. It's local and it's fresh!
• Beverly went up the Simpson's tower to check out the rotating menu at Great Cooks On Eight and T Spot.
• Christopher fired a bunch of crazy guns up in Stouffville and learned that it's actually quite fun.
• Dennis asked whether or not the hybrid buses the TTC bought are the better way.
• Crystal chatted with one of the city's best-known transit enthusiasts, Steve Munroe.
• Emily and Alyssa hopped over to Wild Earth in the Beach for some gluten-free baked goods.
• Tim interviewed Toronto sushiholic Todd Clayton, who's eaten and posted reviews of 38 sushi joints in the city (and counting)!