Toronto Roller Derby is back for the 2012 season! Photo by Georgie_grrl from the Torontoist Flickr Pool.

FESTIVAL: In honour of Black History Month, the Harbourfront Centre is hosting a three-day festival to explore the roots of African-Canadians. Kuumba, now in its 16^th year, includes an appearance by reggae legend Clive Chin (who will be helping to commemorate Jamaica’s 50^th anniversary of independence), among many other musical highlights. Also, be on the lookout for workshops, dance performances, films, comedy, fashion, and more! Harbourfront Centre (235 Queens Quay W.). Friday to Sunday, times and ticket prices vary

Read: Weekend Planner: February 4–5, 2012

This Toronto Zoo polar bear is not the one referred to below. Just click the link. Trust us. Photo by j-riviere, from the Torontoist Flickr Pool.

• If you look into the gaps between all of today’s gloom-and-doom labour dispute news, you’ll notice that they are filled with pictures of a baby polar bear. Save us from ourselves, oh white and fluffy one.
• Have you seen the Globe‘s amazing interactive map of all reported cycling collisions that have happened over the course of the past 25 years? Such tragic data, and yet… such a fun, clicky way of packaging it. We’re so confused.
• We found out earlier today that the negotiations between the City and CUPE Local 416 are close to the brink, but what does it mean when the City says it will “impose” its conditions upon the union if a settlement isn’t reached by Sunday? York University law professor David Doorey explains.
• BREAKING: Big money buys crappy house in good neighbourhood.

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Once a week, Vandalist features some of the most interesting street art and graffiti from around Toronto. Find something great? Email vandalist@torontoist.com.

UPDATE: February 3, 2:15 PM The City has just released the details of its offer to CUPE Local 416 [PDF]. As expected, key sticking points have to do with issues of job security. The City’s spokespeople are now saying that the City has no plans to lock out workers, and that it will instead impose its terms on Sunday, unilaterally.

The history, design, and development of Toronto’s building projects, brought to you by Urban Toronto.

Rendering by KPMB Architects; shows the view on Spadina facing north.

The Globe and Mail has made public more details of their plan to redevelop their site at 444 Front Street West, which will include the construction of a new headquarters at the northwest corner of Front and Spadina (where a Toyota dealership currently stands).

According to those plans, the Globe will sever this parcel from the bulk of their lot to build an 18-storey LEED gold-certified office tower, designed by KPMB Architects. Globe offices will take up the six-storey podium, and other tenants will be sought for the tower; the intention is for the building to serve as a hub for the media and related industries.

A new north/south road will be built west of the office building for access, parking, and loading. The road will presumably to connect to Wellington Avenue, and to some land retained for new green space on the site. Also included in the design: a large public media wall and a wired theatre that could be used for events like TED broadcasts.

The University of Toronto's pedestrian-only area on Willcocks Street.

On Monday, city council will vote on a series of measures from the Toronto and East York Community Council, including a motion to permanently create two pedestrian-only areas at Ryerson University and the University of Toronto. The vote marks the final step in a project that has been, in Ryerson’s case, more than ten years in the making.

Read: City Council to Vote on Pedestrian-Only Streets

I knew it was going to be a good meal when a regular customer invited me to his table to try his food and listen to anecdotes about his love for the restaurant. Drupati Doubles & Roti Shop, located at 975 Albion Road in Etobicoke, inspires this kind of devotion in many of its loyal patrons.

“Five days out of seven I eat here or at the Drupati’s in Brampton,” enthused Trinidad native Vaughn Khan, who started going to the restaurant in 1994. “The food is just as good or better than what they serve in Trinidad. Servings are large, the food is excellent and the people are like family.”

Read: Spice City Toronto: Roti Perfection

Read: Newsstand: February 3, 2012

Read: Urban Planner: February 3, 2012

Photoist is the first post we publish every weekday morning. In it we feature an image (or two) by a photographer in the Torontoist Flickr Pool, to show off their great work and begin the day with something pretty.

Photo by scout13ca from the Torontoist Flickr Pool.

• The Municipal Licensing and Standards Division has been handing out tickets for postering, it turns out—not to the people who put them up (because they can’t be sure who that is), but to the owners of the venues of the shows that are advertised in the posters. This, unsurprisingly, is causing some consternation among said venue owners, many of whom say they have no idea when posters go up and have nothing to do with producing them.

Read: Extra, Extra: Tarragon Theatre Tussle, Postering Perils




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