Photo: "Cherry Beach sunrise" by Grandpaparazzi, member of the blogTO Flickr pool.

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

Adam Giambrone may be the most surpsing person to be at the centre of a "sex scandal," but the story surrounding the man who wishes to be mayor is taking an awfully familiar turn as Giambrone admitted to having multiple affairs over the last year. He vows to stay in the race, but will Torontonians push him out of the race like an American politician? Or does the Sun's Mike Strobel have his finger on our collective pulse when he applauds the councillor?

TTC Union boss Bob Kinnear is getting angry and wants what he calls harrasment to stop. He may have a point that we can't keep playing "gotcha" with the operators, collectors and other front-line TTC employees if we want to see real progress made, but even Kinnear has to realize that riders are fed up and finally feel like their voices are being heard. That and taking it out on riders won't win us over. So let's hope Kinnear sent a similarly strong message to his union members, urging them to step it up a notch (or several).

It may not be Snowmageddon, but Toronto finally got a noticeable amount of snow last night - the first of 2010. Although it wasn't enough for me to need to do more than run the windshield wipers to clear the car, so I'm thinking all the news coverage warning us of snow was just to make sure we didn't feel left out as the east coast got dumped on again.

It seems that the Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB) is the next target of the Competition Bureau, pointing to anti-competitive behaviours such as making MLS data hard to get. Some of the stifled innovation could make it easier for agents and clients to share information but could allow for lower commissions (which I'm guessing TREB doesn't like). If only the Competition Bureau could do something about skyrocketing Toronto house prices.

In the midst of news about as sad as it comes is a heartwarming angle to the story. As Leafs GM Brian Burke says farewell to his 21-year-old son Brendan (who died in a recent car accident), hundreds if not thousands of well-wishers came by (despite difficult weather) to pay their respects and offer their support. Best wishes to the whole Burke family.

It seems that Dalton McGuinty has caught the fever. The prorogue fever, that is. Expect the Ontario legislature to take a break (albeit a short one) and a speech from the throne sometime after the Olympics.

Watch for ads about the new HST to hit the street starting Thursday. The $1.6 million campaign is the government's way (or, at least the Liberal's way) of selling us on the much-maligned 13% tax to start later this year. Note to Liberals: pretty sure people still won't like the tax when things like gas, haircuts, internet and houses get more expensive.