CITY COUNCIL • Mayor Ford wants Ward 9 byelection [The Star] • Residents of Ford country back killing Cadillac snow removal [The Star] • Toronto Podcast: On bike lanes, the crumbling Liberal Fortress and Prime Minister Ford(?!) [National Post] • Polling data didn't factor into support, Ford says [The Sun] TRANSIT • TTC board to get private members [The Star] • TTC bus route cuts and seasonal service changes begin Sunday [The Star] • TTC looks at running bigger buses on Finch [The Star] • TTC chair hopes to add two private-sector members to board quickly [National Post] • Variety Village finally ...

CITY COUNCIL • Ford’s approval rating at 70 per cent, poll finds [The Star] • More residents claim Ford went way over campaign spending limit [The Star] • Mayor Rob Ford's approval rating rises to 70 per cent [Globe & Mail] • Ford's schedule reveals little activity [Globe & Mail] • Mayor facing third audit request of campaign finances [Globe & Mail] • Will PM deliver for Ford Nation? [Now Weekly] TRANSIT • The Fixer: Too much light at TTC parking lot [The Star] • TTC literary fame for ‘little grandma’ [The Star] • 'I realized I just killed somebody,' TTC drivers describe subway suicide [The Star] • Rocketing UFO spotted underground ...

CITY COUNCIL • Ford allies tout ‘direct line’ to Harper [The Star] • Ford campaign overspent by $70,000, complaint says [Globe & Mail] • Ford’s gamble of backing Harper puts him in a sweet spot [Globe & Mail] • With Tory majority, Ford anticipates ‘a direct line to Ottawa’ [National Post] • Councillor wants to ensure clinics provide legit massage [The Sun] • Election good for Toronto, Councillor Ford says [The Sun] • Ford helps turn Toronto blue [The Sun] • Toronto's New Culture Plan Is All Business [Torontoist] FEDERAL ELECTION • Six GTA ridings came down to the wire [The Star] • Fiorito: Why Peggy Nash won in Parkdale-High Park ...

FEDERAL ELECTION • Polling station snags reported across city [The Star] • Liberals crushed in GTA [The Star] • James: GTA boosted Tories but will they return the favour? [The Star] • Toronto votes: Scenes from the city’s election night [National Post] • Battleground 416: Conservatives, NDP take big chunks of Liberals’ Fortress Toronto [National Post] • Battleground 905: A wave of Tory blue [National Post] • Tories sweep suburban ridings in GTA [Globe & Mail] • Liberals' Toronto foundation crumbles [Globe & Mail] • Harper to move fast to use his new authority [Globe & Mail] • Levy: Toronto saved ...

CITY COUNCIL • City Hall Diary: Urban votes should count for more [The Star] • Council spending includes cakes, lion dances and 4-digit cellphone bills [The Star] • Rob Ford campaign finances face possible audit [The Star] • A Harper government would benefit taxpayers, Rob Ford tells rally [Globe & Mail] • Posted Toronto Political Panel: So Mayor Ford endorses Stephen Harper — now what? [National Post] • Ford endorses Harper because of implied support for Sheppard subway [National Post] • Councillor expenses not as exciting as yesteryear [National Post] ARCHITECTURE & DEVELOPMENT • Porter: Tycoon Miles Nadal donates to a centre for Regent Park youth [The Star] • Stuck ...

Synonymous with both subways and shopping but most recently with streetscaping construction woes, Bloor Street has joined St. Clair as an example of the troubles tied to Toronto’s aspirations of greater beauty and efficiency. As cheeky new pylon ads proclaim that spring will bring “134 new condos” (ie: trees) to birds in the area, Bloor is finally nearing the end of its dramatic saga and settling into its much-hyped greener identity. However, while attractive couture, condos and now trees claim the street corner by corner, the man who had the most impact on Bloor Street’s identity – Joseph Bloor himself – is still awaiting proper acknowledgement. Charles Pelham Mulvany and Graeme Mercer Adam give a good overview of Joseph Bloor’s back story in their book History of Toronto and the County of York. Born in 1789 near Staffordshire, England, Joseph Bloor moved to Canada with his wife Sarah Lees in 1819. Bloor began life in the Town of York as innkeeper of the Farmer’s Arms on King Street, where he worked from 1824 through 1831. He used his profits from the inn to purchase four tracts of land – land that what would later become Bloor Street – and founded the Village of Yorkville with William Jarvis. As Mike Filey noted in a 2009 column, Yorkville was essentially Toronto's first suburb: Bloor moved his family of six north and began selling small lots to others seeking "clean suburban air outside the city." Bloor also opened a brewery and began competition with Yorkville’s other resident beer maker, Severn Brewery.

TRANSPORTATION • U.S. diplomats interested in TTC contracts, cables show [Globe & Mail] • West Collision Reporting Centre to close May 3 [Globe & Mail] • Q&A: A boss on the GO [National Post] • GO Transit won’t see fare increase this year [National Post] • Metrolinx gives summer timeline for Eglinton line construction [National Post] • Metrolinx: Spending your tax dollars in secret [National Post] • Presto pass could vanish [The Sun] ARCHITECTURE & DEVELOPMENT • Ford’s sale of city’s waterfront real estate begins [Globe & Mail] • Decision to nix the Fort York Bridge will prove costly [BlogTO] G20 AFTERMATH • Crown seeks six months for G20 protester [The ...

After the wet week that Toronto's had with all of these April Showers, today's a good time to turn our attention to our city's water infrastructure. UPDATE: Ready to see whether your brain power matches up to this week's rain power? Where can this Toronto water tower be found?online survey Sure enough, most of you had no trouble recognizing the site of this water tower as being just South of the corner of Eglinton and Warden Avenues. Meanwhile, this ...

CITY COUNCIL • Centrist councillors wary of trash proposal [National Post] • Council's 'mushy middle' the focus of garbage debate [The Sun] • Levy: Trashing union's 'facts' [The Sun] CANADIAN POLITICS • Anyone-but-Harper crowd goes after GTA votes [The Star] • Exclusive: Province to scrap secret G20 law [The Star] ARCHITECTURE & DEVELOPMENT • $23 million Fort York bridge rejected in council surprise [The Star] • The Fixer: Moss could cause bandshell roof rot [The Star] • City halts work on foot bridge to Fort York [Globe & Mail] • University of Toronto gives eviction notice to school for the gifted [Globe ...

CITY COUNCIL • Despite pleas, city moves to privatize trash pickup [The Star] • Hume: A vote for Cusimano will be a vote for Ford [The Star] • City moves ahead on trash privatization [National Post] • Toronto committee votes in favour of privatizing garbage collection [Globe & Mail] FEDERAL ELECTION • Toronto key to majority for Harper's Conservatives [The Sun] • National Public Transit Strategy Still Missing from this Election [Torontoist] STREETS • Fiorito: A play torn from the pages of the street [The Star] • The Fixer: Hey Rogers, bury that cable [The Star] • Temporary street parking permits okayed [...