Morning Brew: Strike Savings, Lightning Strikes Family, Hockey Fraud, Megabus to Montreal

Photo: "Queen & Church" by Gerry Hawkins, member of the blogTO Flickr pool.

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

In municipal worker strike news (it's been a while, eh?), the City is now saying that it will likely have saved some money after all is said and done. The Star estimates that some workers will be able to recoup about a third of the wages they lost during the strike, by raking in overtime during the cleanup/aftermath. There's no word yet on rebates for you and I for garbage collection services not rendered.

Tragedy struck in Brampton yesterday afternoon when lightning hit a woman and her two children (one hers, one not) in a sports field at Centennial Park. The mother is reportedly in stable condition and the two kids in critical condition. Thoughts and prayers are with them. We can only hope they make it through this life-changing ordeal and live to tell the story.

One of Toronto's nastiest roads, Steeles Avenue, is getting a $10-million fix-up. Having been near the top of the CAA annual "worst roads" list for years, the City is finally in a position to do resurfacing of a significant portion of the road. Please do Dufferin next. Please!

An Ontario truck driver was nabbed at the Windsor border after it's alleged that his cargo included about 100kg of cocaine packed in 1kg bundles. Someone isn't going to be happy about this.

The parents of about 60 young hockey players, who were supposed to go to France for a tourney and have an opportunity to be seen by international scouts, are wondering if they'll ever see their $2000 again. It looks like a guy who is already charged with fraud (in a similar case) is the registrar of the web site that lured these parents into signing their kids up.

And if you're looking to spend a few days in the lovely city of Montreal, and don't mind taking the bus (rather than flying or taking the train), now might be the time to do it. Megabus is once again offering customers some sweet deals on bus fare, with some one-way trips going for $1. I just snagged two return tickets for a weekend in late September... for a grand total of $40!