Photo: "Streetcars (in a clean Chinatown)," by neilta, member of the blogTO Flickr pool.

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

If the knives aren't out, they're at least being sharpened, as speculation surrounding the (sort of) upcoming municipal election, and David Miller's ability to defend his post, reaches an oddly early fever pitch. Smitherman or Tory, the stage is being prepared. And, Miller isn't looking so strong right now.

But it's not all doom and gloom for the mayor, as the almost 200 million dollars worth of federally provided economic relief officially came through yesterday. Destined primarily for infrastructure projects, I'm not sure if this is a testament to his perseverance or the manifestation of an inevitability. I will, however, cherish the filling of city-wide potholes that force me to be altogether too attentive when riding my bike.

Though it's getting a little old, the case between Jim Balsillie and the NHL is yet to cease taking new turns, as The Canadian Competition Bureau is said to be keeping close eyes on the proceedings that'll determine the ultimate fate of the Phoenix Coyotes franchise. The contentious issue is, of course, whether or not the Toronto Maple Leafs' have the right to veto any move of a team to Southern Ontario (and, by extension, if NHL law holds weight beyond its doors). I'm sure Wayne Gretzky can't wait for this to be over, too. It seems that by next week, we might have an answer. Finally. Maybe?

In a story befitting of the film festival, a thief with good luck (or good information) walked off with a briefcase containing thousands of dollars. I know it's a little silly to call out the newspapers from which this news derives, but the circumstantial foolishness (what hotel? which festival?) that accompanies the reporting on this event is, at a very minimum, entertaining.

The title is the thing, at least according to a number of Ontario universities. In a move to seduce students who might be more inclined to go pragmatic, a number of arts programs are dressing up the names of their courses in a (last ditch) effort to rouse the interest of students. Please forgive the indulgence, but my favourite course title as an undergraduate was the following: 'Freedom, Existence, and Meaning: The Idea of the Human in European Thought.' Sure I'm pretentious, but that's ambitious, ridiculous and amazing all at once. Why dress it up?

In a most pathetic form of racial profiling (is there any other kind?), a suspect is in custody in connection with a series of break-ins that apparently focused on South Asian homes in Scarborough and East York. Aside from assessing the names of potential victims as they appeared on their building directories, the perpetrators are said to have sniffed tenants' mail in the hopes of targeting South Asians. I'm not quite sure what else to say about this...