Photo: "Too High" by sevennine, member of the blogTO Flickr pool.

What's happening in the GTA (and sometimes beyond):

A man standing accused of arson has also brought back childhood memories of the phrase "liar, liar, pants on fire." While nothing is conclusive until a court of law makes its judgment, a man arriving at hospital with burns to his legs claimed to have had a late night barbecue propane accident, but police believe he may be involved in starting a nearby industrial fire.

Undesirable purchasing policies and a drive to buy and sell locally sourced meats and produce have caused a number of southwestern Ontario grocers to sever their ties to the large grocery chain Sobeys and go independent. Meat doesn't need to be federally inspected in far away locations and then trucked here to be safe, does it?

Ontario is looking to give electric and hybrid vehicles a boost by announcing new strategies for promoting them. The plan includes a large purchaser incentive for consumers (which could bring down the cost of hybrid cars like he Volt down by about 25%), and a commitment to make the government's fleet 20% hybrid by 2020.

And in mandatory city union strike-related news...

Caribana will go on despite the ongoing strike. The annual festival kicked off yesterday at a crowded Yonge-Dundas Square, leaving Nathan Phillips Square lonely and pouting.

The Star has an intriguing piece about a 16-year old girl named Tamie Dolny who was supposed to be a city-employed lifeguard this summer but is instead on strike. I'm not so sure that the posed (straight-faced, armed folded) photo will evoke much sympathy, but it must really suck to be in her shoes.

And striking workers shut down Terra-Green Recycling & Transfer (a private Etobicoke hauling company) for several hours yesterday, until the owner came out and signed a hand-written agreement stating that his company wouldn't pick up any park or residential waste in Toronto. His lawyers are calling it blackmail.