Morning Brew: McNally Robinson Files for Bankruptcy, Suspended Cable Cars as Transit?, Major Expansion of Island Airport Planned, THS vs. OSPCA Saga Continues, Homicide in the Junction

Photo: untitled by Iace Ganon, member of the blogTO Flickr pool.

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

McNally Robinson has applied for bankruptcy protection and also abruptly closed two of its four Canadian bookstores - including the one in Don Mills. Another book retailer is close to biting the dust, as consumers continue to buy from online shops rather than brick and mortar, and e-books gain in popularity.

With Transit City moving forward (a plan for transit expansion in Toronto that relies almost exclusively on a series of LRT lines and vehicles) there's another rather underdog traffic congestion-fighting theory floating about - surface and suspended cable cars. I think we should forgo gondolas and wait it out until we can build hovering or flying shuttle buses.

The Toronto Port Authority is poised to make major expansions to the Billy Bishop Toronto City Center Airport, and if all goes as planned (i.e. unabated), flight frequency will increase a whopping 77% by the end of 2010. Will Mayor Miller make this his final battleground, the climax of his career, and a part of his legacy? Or will he back down and leave the fighting to someone else?

Do you recognize this man? He's wanted by police for allegedly robbing two banks last week, one that led to a chase and the crashing of a police car. He made off with $9000 total, which to a desperate person might seem like a lot of cash.

The animal welfare saga that's pitting the THS vs. the OSPCA continues, as workers begin to return to work at the Toronto Humane Society. According to the Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, the vast majority of animals (approximately 95%) under THS care are currently not healthy enough to be adopted. It's become so difficult to know what's what in this case.

And the city notched its 62nd homicide of the year, when a man was gunned down outside a pizza shop in the Junction last night. Details aren't many, but we do know that two suspects are being sought.