Photo: "coffee break" by uwajedi, member of the blogTO Flickr pool.

Your Toronto morning news roundup for Wednesday September 17th, 2008:

Yesterday was an absolutely brutal day in the GTA. Three are dead and one in critical condition in separate incidents. It seems that playing basketball, going to school, and walking in your quiet neighbourhood are no longer trivial (i.e. blood-free) activities.

We're coming up on the 200 year anniversary of the War of 1812, and to mark the occasion, Fort York will be getting a $12.4million makeover. Building restorations, walking paths, a new walking bridge over the railway tracks, and a push to add the site to the list of UNESCO World Heritage sites could improve the site's tourist appeal.

Would you pay $5/month for a daily digital version of the Toronto Sun? It's not clear to me what incentive news junkies would have to do this, since there's plenty of news online, for free.

--

VIVA, the transit system that links commuters living north of the city to the TTC, may not be operating come Monday if workers strike. The union doesn't like the thought of employees being fired if their sick leave exceeds 12 consecutive months.

Ryerson University has started using the movie theatres for student lectures at the Toronto Life complex at Yonge & Dundas. No word on whether or not the concession stands will be open for classroom hours, or if staff will be searching backpacks for outside food or drink.

Hydro One is planning to install a massive new power feed into Toronto. I've been hearing about this for a long time now (because someone I know is trying to prevent a huge hydro pylon from being dropped right beside his country home). Apparently it'll be necessary to prevent blackouts in the future, as our needs continue to rise.