Monarchs everywhere!

Monarchs, monarchs, everywhere! From today’s Star:

They’re suddenly everywhere — majestic black and orange butterflies fluttering in your garden, preening on a fence, landing on the neighbour’s flowers. This weekend, millions of monarchs — or Danaus Plexippus as they’re known in Latin — are starting their long trek to winter in Mexico’s Sierra Madre Mountains.

The skies above the city, and all around southern Ontario, are filling as they take flight en masse. While some left in mid-August, the bulk of monarchs in Ontario and Quebec will take flight over the next three weeks, depending on the weather. The number of tiny migrants this year is expected to be the most in a decade.

Other headlines from today:

• Durham defying Greenbelt legislation [ Toronto Star ] “It’s the second time in two months that Dalton McGuinty’s Liberal government has tried to block Durham’s attempts to bulldoze a hole through its greenbelt legislation. Durham remains the only region in Greater Toronto which won’t agree to the law that protects a 720,000-hectare arc of green space across the Golden Horseshoe from urban sprawl.”

• Toronto Botanical Garden rebuilt [ Toronto Star ] “Despite the fact it’s brand new — planting didn’t start until April — already the TBG seems a fully established feature on the civic landscape. Even before it officially opens next Saturday, it has the feel of having become an indispensable part of Toronto cultural life.”

• Companies lining up to help run GO Transit [ Toronto Star ] “Potential suitors are already lining up as GO Transit moves to sever contracts with CN and CPR — the traditional operators of GO’s commuter rail service — in an effort to reduce costs and produce more reliable service.”

• 83% support World’s Fair bid [ Toronto Star ] “Residents of the GTA strongly support Toronto’s bid for Expo 2015, according to a Toronto Star/Decima poll. When asked, “Do you support or oppose Toronto’s bid (for) the world’s fair?” 83 per cent of respondents said yes. As to their reasons, the most common response — given by 39 per cent of supporters — was that if Toronto hosted the event, it would help promote the city and the country. One in three believed it would stimulate economic growth. Of those opposing the bid, the majority believed it would be too expensive and wouldn’t turn a profit, while 29 per cent said the money required to put on a world’s fair in Toronto could be put to better use.”

• The new wifi mesh [ Globe and Mail ] “with the launch of Toronto Hydro’s downtown service, a research team and a plucky co-op have put their routers together to see if there are economically viable ways for consumers to share secure wireless Internet without free riding, on the one hand, or paying a $45-a-month fee, on the other.”

• Hands off my parking pad [ National Post ] “The recent decision by Kitchener city council to ban two-car garages in front of semi-detached houses is sure to stir Toronto council to revisit this city’s parking bugaboo: front-yard parking pads.”

• Blue bins might be history [ Toronto Sun ] “City waste management officials are recommending $28.5 million be spent to give about 500,000 single-family homes across Toronto new recycling carts that hold up to four times as much junk as a blue box.”