Morning Brew: May 15th, 2008

Photo: "Camomile Ant" by sig11, member of the blogTO Flickr pool.

Your abbreviated Toronto morning news roundup for Thursday May 15th, 2008:

The TTC is learning that the hybrid expensive diesel-electric buses they bought aren't coming close to saving the 20-30% in fuel consumption touted by the manufacturer. Records are showing closer to just 10% in fuel savings.

Four carjackers were caught in the act on video, and the police want the help of the public in identifying them. I watched the video, and have concluded that it's more an exercise in identifying shirts.

Night court is a great option for those not wanting to miss work to deal with their problems involving the Provincial Offences Act, but as of July 1st, night court will no longer be an option. Judge Harold T. Stone is happy to have more time to spend with his family.

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Did you know that there are 19,231species of bee in the world? The world's top bee experts are in Toronto this week and hope to use DNA mapping technology to help researchers catalogue and identify up to 5000 more species.

An OPP officer has been charged with street racing. Police from a different jurisdiction pulled him over after he was clocked driving his cruiser at more than 50km/h over the speed limit.

And finally, the National Post has a great piece on the life and death of hydro utility poles, inspired by an old leaning one in Little Italy.