Photo: "Add a eyes, nose, mouth, ears and some hair." by Squeakyrat, member of the blogTO Flickr pool.

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

It didn't take long for the suspect in a recent night club sexual assault case to turn himself in. On Friday the media released security video footage of a man accused of slipping the date rape drug into a woman's drink, and by Sunday he was in court pleading not guilty. Shortly after his release he was seen dodging the media by running through a pub at the Eaton Centre.

The City of Toronto is set to unveil its 2009 operating budget tomorrow, which may include a hefty 4% increase in property taxes for homeowners. Not a lot of details have been leaked, and as the city (along with the rest of the country and world) goes through some seriously challenging economic times, they remain tight-lipped.

Councillor Rob Ford is once again presenting his colleagues with a list of cost saving measures to reduce what he deems to be excessive spending at city hall. While he's sure to be dismissed by some as a nut bar not worth listening to, others may agree that $80,000 for plant watering can be reduced or eliminated.

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For the third consecutive year, this weekend a Toronto woman greeted Yonge & Dundas passersby with free hugs. While the idea is seemingly as old as dancing hamsters, it's a small gesture that actually brightens peoples' day and brings some warmth to an otherwise cold winter day (in what many people find to be a relatively cold city).

A security company that lost close to $3-million in an armoured car robbery last week is offering a $100,000 reward for information leading to the recovery of the money. Police have no suspects, and think that some kind of high tech device may have been used to crack locks.

And in other news, Toronto-based techies Amber Macarthur and Christopher Dick had a baby boy yesterday! Congrats!