This isn't good: The Toronto Fire Department's call response time is two minutes slower than the North American standard, according to a previously secret report that was released by order of the Star. It takes Toronto Fire Services eight minutes to attend to a call; the standard is six. The only part of the dispatch process that is 'up to speed' is the firefighters' speed through the city's streets. Just think of the fallout if Fire Services are actually cut...

The balls are back. Well, at least some of them are. Following a parent-teacher meeting last night at Earl Beatty Public School, the school has decided to allow soft sports equipment back into the schoolyard, including basketballs, tennis balls, and, yes, even Nerf balls (who plays with those things anymore?). No word about the hard balls making a comeback though.

A group of Occupy Toronto protesters who had set up a new camp in the basement of a commercial building on Queen Street West has been booted out of their new digs by the city. Mind you, the group was squatting, but at least they had requested a 36-month lease at 99 cents a year. Anyway, they're looking for a new place to squat/occupy now.

Get a glimpse of the Toronto Facebook offices with this video of their "hackathon" that brought programmers together for an overnight session of creating new apps for charity. (Who knew we had a Facebook office?)

How does Toronto bury its nameless? Well, provided the corpse isn't suspected of being involved with foul play (which would allow the police to keep it in the morgue), the body is treated to a respectable, but small, funeral service that is appropriate to the deceased's religion and culture and then they are buried — just in case next of kin shows up years later. And of course this is all paid by the city.

IN BRIEF:

• John Lorinc asks: handcuffs or straight jackets on waterfront
• York region bus strike delays commuters
• Leslie Street spit: natural habitat or convenient dumping ground?

Photo by Moodycamera Photography in the blogTO Flickr pool