Morning Brew: April 28th, 2008

Photo: "The Bars" by ariehsinger, member of the blogTO Flickr pool.

Your Toronto morning news roundup for Monday April 28th, 2008:

Bow-chicka-chicka-bow-bow. It's hard to find a decent lap dance these days. Free porn on the net, the high cost of dancing licenses, the proliferation of illegal massage parlours, and an ongoing crackdown on foreign dancers are all identified causes for a major shortage of strippers and the high number of closures of adult entertainment establishments in the GTA.

The future home of Toronto's first Africentric school has been chosen. Sheppard Public School near Sheppard & Keele already runs after-school black heritage programs, has a lot of vacant space, and is accessible by public transit (most of the time).

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Toronto has been criticized by a world-renown urban planner for putting too much emphasis and effort into development of the downtown core and neglecting high-rise residences and schools. While some may be quick on the defensive, I'm inclined to think he's bang on.

This weekend was quite the emotional rollercoaster ride for those that rely on public transit. The wheels are once again turning, but what's next? Today, expect the TTC to explain the procedures for refunds for Metropass holders (details likely to appear here). Tomorrow, expect city council to review a motion and potentially request that the province declare the TTC an essential service. An announcement being played over the TTC PA system this morning apologizes for the inconvenience the strike cause, but whether or not Bob Kineear will show his face anytime soon, or the union will issue an official apology for their actions late on Friday night are some of the still burning questions. As far as the failed contract goes, an arbitrator will take up to 90 days to continue with efforts to bring the TTC and the union to a deal. Oh, and I suspect someone will be assigned the duty of removing a few blue penises that appeared this weekend.

Here's the whole situation, summarized in comedic form (thanks for the link, uSkyscraper!):