Stay in-the-know on all things Toronto with these highlights from the TorontoToday reporting team this week.
Squirly’s Bar: Iconic Queen St. watering hole to close after 36 years
After 36 years, the beloved bar and community hangout spot Squirly’s is closing. TorontoToday reporter Kathryn Mannie spoke to Squirly’s current bartender Hannah Lecours — and former bartender Mike Schram — about the dive bar’s history as a mainstay of Queen Street West’s grungier past and the shenanigans staff got up to.
MAP: See the Toronto homes of 3,223 soldiers who died in the Second World War
Ahead of Remembrance Day, TorontoToday’s data reporter Patrick Cain created three interactive maps commemorating the 3,223 veterans who lived in Toronto and died in the Second World War. Each map contains their names, military rank, location and date of their deaths.
Arm wrestling event encourages trans Torontonians to have some fun
TorontoToday reporter Alex Flood tapped into the niche space that’s queer arm wrestling. He chatted with the organizers of Straps, an arm wrestling tournament that encourages trans participation.
Queen Street West workers detail viral pickup truck crash
Last Friday, a man driving a stolen pickup truck crashed into the Little Burgundy on Queen Street West amidst a police chase. TorontoToday editor Allison Smith visited the crash site Thursday evening and talked to employees working at nearby stores, who detailed exactly what went down during the crash and the aftermath.
CITY HALL: CaféTO restaurants spending more, making more even as participation drops: study
The City of Toronto’s CaféTO program has seen a big drop in participation, but a growth in revenue, according to a new study from the Toronto Association of Business Improvement Areas. City Hall reporter Aidan Chamandy did a deep-dive into why more restaurants have withdrawn from the program.
What Toronto police got wrong in the crackdown campaign on e-bikes, e-scooters
Two days after the Toronto Police Service announced a new enforcement campaign against unsafe e-bike and e-scooter use in the city, the force walked back a key piece of data supporting the initiative. TorontoToday reporter Kathryn Mannie explains what the police got wrong and how the campaign hurts gig workers.
What we learned from this Toronto bike theft map
Ever wanted to know where the majority of bicycle thefts are concentrated in Toronto? Data reporter Patrick Cain lays out the city’s bike theft “centre” in an interactive map using police bike theft data from 2014 to 2024.
