Photo: "biking by the alien trees" by syncros, member of the blogTO Flickr pool.

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

The Bazis International mega-tower that's going up at Yonge & Bloor will still be doing so, but 12-storeys shorter than previously touted. What happens to the people who camped out in queues on the street and pre-bought those prestigious and expensive south-facing condo units on the upper floors that are no longer going to be erected?

Let's go to the Ex... with our garbage in tow? The CNE grounds could end up being the next temporary dumping station, and it could be much bigger than the the most contested one that was set up at Christie Pits. Of course, hindsight is 20/20 and all of this could have been avoided had the city contracted out garbage collection to private companies long ago.

How often can one read a sentence in the news media containing the words "Scarborough" and "house party" and "teen" and find them be followed by good news? Another joyous social gathering has gone sour due to the shooting death of an 18-year old. So far in 2009, however, murders are down slightly compared to the previous five years.

Speaking of crime and punishment, the Toronto Star has brought back their series investigating our penal and prison systems, and has an interesting piece on a new hot spot for crime: Keele & Eglinton.

Suspicious human remains have been discovered in Mount Forest, ON and there's speculation (but not yet confirmation) that they may be of missing child murder victim Tori Stafford. The find will likely add strength to the prosecutors case in the trial of the two charged with her murder, and will aid in closure for those who loved her.

And for those of you who were out and about and offline all weekend, here's a quick recap of what blogTO was up to:

• Devon had a late brunch at the new Mitzi's on College. The pancakes were great but there was an unexpected strand to her first visit story.
• Christopher took a field trip down memory lane with rock candy, charcoal pencils, and blacksmithing at Black Creek Pioneer Village.
• Briony attended Bootcamp to Bigtime, a model showcase at This is London, and also checked out hippie-centric arts and fashion co-op Heartbeat 960.
• Peter pondered where the best place is in Toronto to learn the art/skill of graffiti.
• College St. bar Souz Dal got a nod on our list of essential Toronto bars.
• And Crystal posted an in-depth interview with city councillor Adam Vaughan.