Saturday Brew: Captain John's for Sale, More Mariam Makhniashvili Speculation, Fort York Revitalization, Protecting the Queen's Park Vista, Leafs Suck

Photo: "Nothing Playing" by ~EvidenceE~, member of the blogTO Flickr pool.

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

Captain John's -- the dinner-boat with the most -- is, after four decades, up for sale. In commemoration of this, the Globe has asked a number of Torontonians in and around the entertainment business what they would do with it. The answers range from the comical to the bizarre, but for my part, I'd just like to see the kitschy landmark preserved. An eye-sore it may be, but I like it.

As reports of Mariam Makhniashvili's presence in the West continue (following an America's Most Wanted episode), the lead investigator in her case is speculating that she might be travelling with a group of teenagers who are described as professional beggars looking to raise funds to travel across Canada and/or return to Europe. Is the word gypsy completely faux-pas now? The hesitance of the writer to use it certainly leads me to believe that it must be, but I wasn't aware that even non-derogatory use was off-limits...

The winning design in a contest to revitalize Fort York was revealed yesterday, with the leading vote-getter opting to work around the Gardiner Expressway rather than go under it. Although David O'Hara, Fort York's museum administrator, says that the relationship to the Gardiner ''was not part'' of the jury's discussions, nor a defining aspect of the design, I have to think that the unanimous decision has to do with the project's willingness to embrace the highway we love to hate.

A proposal by the Four Seasons to replace their current hotel at Avenue just north of Bloor with two high-rise condos has raised the ire of politicians who believe that views of the provincial legislature should be unencumbered. Apparently, the desire is to keep the northbound view of the buildings free of visual clutter (thought the current hotel already compromises this). Seriously? It is downtown Toronto, isn't it? I'm not sure that it's realistic to curb development based on maintaining (or creating) such "vistas."

And though things were temporarily looking up for the Toronto Maple Leafs, reality has once again set in. Losers to the Buffalo Sabres last night (eight times now, isn't it?), it would appear that the play-off spot they were so close to is once again something of a pipe dream. I try to be optimistic, but with Boston in town tonight, I can't say I'm expecting anything other than a boring loss.