Photo: "every person you see in this photo could fit on one streetcar" by tapesonthefloor, member of the blogTO Flickr pool.

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

The Toronto Board of Trade is pushing for the city's auditor general to do an in-depth probe of the TTC's finances - not to seek out any wrongdoings or suspect dealings, but to fully understand and appreciate whether or not Torontonians are getting value for their money. Most Torontonians feel that we don't need an official audit to come to certain foregone conclusions.

Is 89-year old Mississauga mayor Hazel McCallion, who received over 90% of the vote in the 2006 mayoral election, going to run again? Or is she stalling on registering for the next election so she can strategically prop up a chosen successor? Speculation abounds.

Toronto City Hall is looking at the Centennial Park and Earl Bales Park public skiing facilities and contemplating either selling them off or leasing them to private companies as a means of saving $715,000 over the next two years. Three full-time staff, 360 part-time jobs, and some fledgling Olympic dreams would be lost in the process.

I know a picture can be "worth a thousand words," but it's amazing what qualifies as a news story these days. Look! A police car wrapped around a pole!

Regent Park residents finally have a place to put what little money they may have. RBC opened a branch at Parliament and Dundas yesterday, and for the first time nearby residents have a bank within walking distance. It's amazing that it took this long, but I guess none of the big banks saw much benefit to investing in an area not likely to see frequent use, large deposits, low risk loan repayments, etc.

And the NHL trade deadline is fast approaching. Plenty of trade rumours have been circulating about soon-to-be free agent Leaf players Ponikarovsky, Stempniak and Primeau. Kaberle is also mentioned as a possible player for a big deal, but he has no plans to waive his no-trade clause. It should be interesting to see what Burke does, given that he recently pulled off a couple of big trades already, landing Phanuef and Giguere.