Photo: "DSC05002" by mikepop2ca, member of the blogTO Flickr pool.

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

A 15-year old and a 17-year old are in custody after an alleged botched parking lot gunpoint robbery spilled into Yorkdale mall [CityNews, video]. When mall security tried to apprehend the suspects, one guard was shot in the chest, and apparently saved by the bullet-resistant armor he was wearing. Some kids are really "brave" and really stupid these days.

Is your blue bin not big enough to accommodate all of your recyclables from pickup to pickup? The City is getting tough on items not placed into the bins [NP], and won't pick them up anymore. The solutions? Upgrade to a bigger bin at no cost (you don't pay for the bin, but will pay slightly higher collection fees) or, better yet, compact your recyclables. Jumping on pizza boxes and squeezing the air out of pop bottles is fun.

A landmark study into food-bourne illness in the city of Toronto finds that annually 1 in 6 people are affected by bacteria-induced illness as a result of eating food [Star], with less than 1% of cases reported. What the study doesn't make clear is how many of these cases are the fault of food handlers at grocers/restaurants and how many are the fault of improper handling and preparation by the consumer. The low level of reporting of illness isn't surprising to me, since the majority of cases likely only resulted in minor belly aches.

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Vehicles at two High Park area residences were brazenly sabotaged this week. Residents are fearful and stunned that someone would have the audacity to cut the brake lines of their cars [G&M], for no apparent reason. Could it be that the latest poll has suspected Liberal supporters being targeted by politically-motivated loonball criminals again?

Save our pools! Save our pools! It's not looking good for 39 Toronto school pools slated to be closed next year [Sun, video]. A small group of protesters, sporting swimsuits and goggles, tried to get City Hall to listen yesterday.

The City has pulled the plug on a controversial advertising campaign that references suicide and depicts a radio on the edge of a TTC subway platform [Star]. I agree that the ads are in bad taste [TOist], but the issue raises more questions. Does the company that took out the ads win with all the added media publicity? How does the TTC end up approving these ads (to be placed on their property, and in principle, contradicting their own values), only to revoke them after pubic outcry? How does the TTC allow the ad agency to take and use photos depicting their property, in a way that so blatantly contradicts their own values?

The Jays bats continue to boom, and the team sits at the top of the American League. A grand slammaroo last night was the icing on the cake in a 9-2 victory of the Twins [CBC]. It's early, but fans are excited.