Photo: "massey hall" by Jay Morrison, member of the blogTO Flickr pool.

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

With the death of Darcy Allan Sheppard still fresh in many citizens and politicians' minds, Councillor Michael Walker's push for mandatory helmet and bike licences will be reviewed during a Public Works and Infrastructure committee meeting tomorrow. In the meantime, The Star has yet another article -- this time an instructional Q and A -- on how cyclists and motorists need to follow some basic rules in order to effectively and safely share the road. If only it were that simple. The majority of North American cities just aren't built to accommodate this sharing of the road, and while following the rules helps, it doesn't ensure that accidents won't happen at an alarmingly high rate.

In a move that comes about fifteen or so years too late (at least for me), the Toronto high school, Eastern Commerce, is piloting a project in which classes don't begin until 10am. Needless to say the students are thrilled, but there's actually compelling research to indicate that teen brains just aren't programmed for early classes. Perhaps, then, I'm still a teenager because it's feeling altogether too early this morning.

Hope springs eternal this time of the year, as my beloved (and often despised) Toronto Maple Leafs kicked off training camp over the weekend. With a revamped roster that bears Brian Burke's blueprint (how's that for alliteration?), expectations are back up in Leafland. At a very minimum, news about actual hockey games -- pre-season or not -- might help to turn attention away from that other saga.

GO commuters traveling through Union station will find that renovations now allow for increased access to the transit hub. But there's just one problem: the change to the platform means that a significant number of departures and arrivals have changed location, which is set to cause some confusion. Nevertheless, early indications from 680 News are that commuters are quite pleased with the progress.

Oshawa Councillor Robert Lutczyk is pushing for another KISS concert after tickets for a first one sold out in a matter of minutes. After having won an online competition for a live date from the band, the 'Shwa had to fight to bring the band to their small venue in the first place, so I'm thinking this ain't gonna happen. And this is too bad, Oshawa deserves a little good news every once in a while. And that's not smarmy downtown Toronto B.S. -- I mean it.