Morning Brew: Olympic Flame in Toronto, New Regent Park Arts & Culture Centre, Norseman Heights the New Leslieville, No-Strike Clause for TTC Construction Workers, Theatrical Gay Wedding Proposal, Looming College Teachers' Strike

Photo: "parked at monolino" by Bryan Wilcox, member of the blogTO Flickr pool.

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

The Olympic dube flame is edging closer to Toronto, after making an appearance in Oshawa last night. It's now in Pickering, should arrive in Toronto at 2 p.m., gets puff-puff-passed at 4:20 and will appear at a ceremony in Nathan Phillips Square at 7 p.m.

Ever heard of Norseman Heights? Didn't think so. But the south Etobicoke area at Kipling and Norseman is going to be the new home of a Cinespace Studios facility (in the old Consumers Glass complex), which has at least one journalist suggesting that Norseman Heights could be the new Leslieville.

My Girlfriend's Indian-American Lesbian Wedding Proposal was the encore performance at My Mother's Jewish Lesbian Wiccan Wedding last night (see Roger's show review). After the production, the audience was witness to a real life marriage proposal by a gay couple who have come to Toronto to be united in marriage.

A few years ago, it would have been considered anything but a "cultural hub." But in addition to being the home of a new community centre, aquatic centre, park space, and retail outlets (not to mention the best take-out Thai in the city), Regent Park will also be getting a new arts and culture facility. Investment in and revitalization of the neighbourhood continues to make it a more attractive a place to live and visit.

The TTC may be seeking a costly no-strike clause for unionized construction workers tasked with building LRT lines in advance of the 2015 Pan Am Games. But how much will it cost to waive that fundamental right? Being forced into a situation where money trumps worker rights isn't where a union should be steering its members, but money talks, doesn't it?

In other TTC-related news - and rather predictably so - the Toronto Sun continues to squeeze the suicide issue dry.

And college students are taking their frustrations and fears online, as the threat of a walkout by college teachers at 24 institutions could become reality after a strike vote on January 13th. It was just four years ago that the same union shut down colleges for three weeks. It's almost like union strikes and Olympics games are on a synced schedule.