Morning Brew: Police struggle to find shooting suspects, a battle for a new city park, crossing the harbour, Chow is not for mayor, busker with a rich past, and subway art

Police investigating Monday night's mass shooting in Scarborough say they are battling a wall of silence from possible witnesses and local residents who are in shock and afraid of retribution if they speak out. So far investigators have received just a handful of tips and made no arrests. Elsewhere, Rob Ford says he will appeal to Ottawa and Queen's Park for cash to help crackdown on gangs. The mayor has previously voted against development grants for struggling neighbourhoods.

In related news, councillor Giorgio Mammoliti says an 11 pm curfew for kids under 14 is the best way to stop gang crime. Council squished Mammoliti's idea for a 10:30 pm curfew in 2005.

Councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam, Toronto Centre MPP Glen Murray and city staff want a vacant patch of provincial land at Yonge and Wellesley to become a new park and not another condo tower. The group hope that the province, who is selling the land, can see beyond "cold, hard cash" and accept and offer from the city over a developer.

If you're sick of waiting for a ferry to Hanlan's Point or Centre Island you might want to consider taking matters into your own hands. According to OpenFile, any vessel is allowed to cross the harbour, making it perfectly legal to take a dinghy or canoe to the Toronto Islands providing everyone wears a life jacket. To the waterfront!

Olivia Chow is often touted as a possible 2014 mayoral candidate with the chops to unseat Rob Ford. Too bad she's not interested in taking a stab at the big job, yet, according to the Grid.

Some of Toronto's buskers are truly dedicated. This one, originally from Bologna, Italy, gave up a six-figure salary and a Porsche to play guitar on the streets in the city.

Finally, what if subway maps were works of art. How would the TTC compare to other cities? Turns out Toronto has something of a minimalist approach to transit, especially with all the bus routes and streetcar lines excluded. (via Reddit).

IN OTHER NEWS:

Photo: "ThumbsUp" by Ben Roffelsen in the blogTO Flickr pool.

Source: http://www.blogto.com/mb_toronto/2012/07/morning_brew_police_struggle_to_find_shooting_suspects_a_battle_for_a_new_city_park_crossing_the_harbour_chow_is_not_for_mayor_busker_with_a_rich_past_and_subway_art/

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