The fallout from Rob Ford's decision to skip out on the Pride Parade for the second year running is continuing to unfold in the media: Torontoist has a thoughtful look at the implications of the decision while the Globe and Mail is urging the mayor to attend other pride events before disappearing to his family cabin if he wants to claw back any affection from the city's gay community.

Here's one for you to chew on. A poll conducted for Spacing Magazine has found 74% of Toronto residents would support a sales tax to fund new transit projects like subways, LRTs and, yes, even highways. Los Angeles already has such a system in place and has managed to make significant additions to its rapid transit network in recent years, including several LRT lines. Would you vote for a tax hike to fund subways and highways?

Torontonian Neil Pasricha's 1000 Awesome Things blog, which has slowly counted down life's little wonders over the last four years - like the smell of the coffee aisle, becoming a regular at a cafe and an airport pickup - has finally wrapped up with the announcement of its #1 awesome thing, "anything you want it to be." Pasricha posted the open-ended final entry just after midnight last night without the usual explanation, story or personal confession. Just anything you want. AWESOME!

City council's decision to send three Toronto Zoo elephants packing for a California sanctuary has cost the Scarborough attraction its Association of Zoos and Aquariums accreditation. The loss of AZA approval will apparently have minimal impact on the day-to-day running of the zoo but there's going to be a bunch of un-official looking animals this summer.

Woodbine Live!, the long-delayed shopping complex (with an exclamation mark!) scheduled to be built in Etobicoke, will begin construction "soon," according to the National Post. The developer says it's also interested in building a GTA casino too! With an exclamation mark!

Thousands of Igor Kenk's dubiously acquired bikes have found a new home in a disused swimming pool at Central Commerce CI near Harbord and Ossington, according to report by The Grid. The bikes - many missing wheels, pedals, and other vital parts - are being repaired by school students for extra credit. Perhaps not surprisingly, Kenk himself has apparently tried to get some of the bikes for himself.

A video of Rob Ford getting lunch at a KFC published on the front page of the Star's website has been attracting criticism in the media and on Twitter as an apparent below-the-belt attack on the mayor. The National Post's Matt Gurney calls it "mockery masquerading as news" in an editorial. Reaction on our Facebook page is, on the other hand, mixed. What are your thoughts?

TWEET OF THE DAY:

Because fighting graffiti is so much more important than championing equality...

IN OTHER NEWS:

• Luke Scott hits grand slam as Jays fall to Rays, 12-2 [CTV]
• LeBron James nets 28 points as Heat burns Raptors, 96-72 [CTV]
• Toronto man charged in elderly father's death [CBC]
• Friends, family 'extremely worried' about missing teen [CBC]
• Police board to examine outsourcing crossing guards [CBC]

Photo: "That Feel" by Lychee_Aloe in the BlogTO Flickr pool.