toronto zombie walk

Morning Brew: Karen Stintz announces run for mayor, Honest Ed's property sold to B.C. developer, new market building delayed, bad in the 'burbs, and a zombie fued

As we reported yesterday, Karen Stintz has announced her intention to run for mayor of Toronto. The Ward 16 councillor and Ford-appointed TTC Chair has frequently clashed with the mayor on transit recently. Stintz and Ford could be joined on the ballot by NDP MP Olivia Chow and CivicAction chair John Tory. "I welcome all comers. Let's bring it on. I feel like I'm warming up ... drop the gloves before the game even starts," Ford said.

David Mirvish has sold the Honest Ed's property to the Vancouver luxury developer behind the Shangri-La building at University and Adelaide. Westbank Corp. typically builds condominiums and mid-rise retail properties, so don't expect an adaptive reuse here. The sale has yet to be finalized.

The new north building of the St. Lawrence Market won't be finished until 2016, the Star reports. The project, awarded to U.K. firm Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners and Toronto's Adamson Associates in a 2010 design competition, was supposed to be complete late next year in time for the 2015 Pan Am Games. City council increased the project budget to $91.46 million earlier this year.

Living in the 'burbs comes with thousands of hidden costs, according to a new report by Sustainable Prosperity, a research group at the University of Ottawa. Its author, Dave Thompson, says owning a home in a sprawling neighbourhood could cost hundreds of dollars a month in car ownership fees, property taxes, and health car costs associated with regular driving. Even the free parking isn't free, he says. Read the interview in the Globe and Mail here.

Toronto's transit planners have historically been very good at drawing lines on maps and not much else. Now an interactive Global News feature lets you build your very own fantasy system for Toronto and shudder at the cost all at the same time. Hooray.

Finally, it looks like relations between Toronto's two groups of resident zombies have turned deathly cold. In an open letter published Saturday, organizers of a zombie-themed 5k run say the Toronto Zombie Walk is "threatening" the sponsors and participants of the faster event. The trouble seems to date back to a Zombie Appreciation Night hosted by the Toronto After Dark Film Festival.

IN BRIEF:

FROM THE WEEKEND:

Chris Bateman is a staff writer at blogTO. Follow him on Twitter at @chrisbateman.

Image: Mark/blogTO Flickr pool.


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