Morning Brew: July 14th, 2008

Photo: "City Hall Rod" by photoderek, member of the blogTO Flickr pool.

Your Toronto morning news roundup for Monday July 14th, 2008:

Imagine making your way to your car in a parking lot, only to find that thieves have removed the doors and airbags? Apparently this happens, often enough. GO Transit users and the Toronto Star are putting pressure on GO to improve security and prevent theft at commuter parking lots.

Bikes most certainly aren't safe from thieves either. Police are reporting that close to 5000 have been reported stolen so far in 2008. To the list of anti-theft tips provided in the article, I'd like to add one overriding tip: don't lock your bike and leave it unattended anywhere, anytime. Ride it, return to your home, and take it inside, every time.

Toronto Public Health is warning against high levels of cellphone use by kids and teens. Adults need not worry about the side effects (like frying of the brain) of extensive exposure to radio frequencies, because our skulls are really, really thick.

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The latest in non-traditional recreational drug use (by traditional I mean, you know, booze and coffee and weed and the like) to come to the attention of authorities in the GTA is called "dode" and it's being openly sold at meat shops in Brampton and Mississauga. The dried and ground poppies may be popular amongst transport truck drivers (who want to stay alert), but now that the media is reporting about it, I suspect we'll also see a spike in sales as teens on summer break look for something fun and cheap to do, like seasoning and tenderizing their brains.

Gunfire broke out at Queen's Quay (an area where you'd least expect this kind of thing) last night. I'm not sure what spurred this one on, but it wouldn't surprise me if it turns out that this incident spilled over from a jealous boyfriend altercation on the boat cruise that ended shortly before the shooting. The victim is expected to make a full recovery from a shot to the leg.