<h4>Headlines</h4>
Let's start Monday with the latest byelection news: the Liberals are suddenly looking at the loss in London West that Ken Coran was brought on to prevent, with a Forum Poll showing the <a href="http://www.lfpress.com/2013/07/05/grits-stall-early" target="_blank">Grits running third to the Tories and NDP</a>. It's still a longish way to election day, but all things considered the Liberals would probably prefer not to be losing anywhere.
The NDP have nominated Adam Giambrone, former chair of the Toronto Transit Commission and onetime Toronto mayoral hopeful, <a href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/former-ttc-chair-giambrone-running-for-ndp-in-scarborough-by-election/article13057555/" target="_blank">as their candidate in Scarborough-Guildwood</a>. He'll be facing off against the Liberal nominee Mitzie Hunter, whom the Toronto Sun's Sue-Ann Levy is taking to task for <a href="http://www.torontosun.com/2013/07/07/mitzie-hunter-becomes-the-hunted" target="_blank">her tenure at Toronto Community Housing in a column</a>.
Windsor Star columnist Gord Henderson is so convinced that <a href="http://blogs.windsorstar.com/2013/07/05/henderson-could-be-a-pretty-sweet-ride-to-the-leg/" target="_blank">NDP MPP Percy Hatfield is going to bag Dwight Duncan's old seat</a> that he "could spend the rest of this month at the beach building sand castles with his grandkids and still be a lock." Windsor-Tecumseh has been a seat most observers have counted on the Liberals losing for a while now, but <a href="http://blogs.windsorstar.com/2013/07/05/poll-hatfield-way-out-in-front-in-windsor-tecumseh/" target="_blank">Hatfield's runaway lead in at least one poll</a> suggests that Jeewen Gill may not see a lot of help from Liberal HQ.
So how important will these races be? The Globe and Mail's Adam Radwanski says they might actually matter: at the very least, losing three of the five races (which now seems to be a possibility) would <a href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/why-this-summers-campaigns-matter/article13049821/" target="_blank">end Kathleen Wynne's electoral honeymoon</a>. But if the new MPPs after August 1 are all NDP, then Wynne at least won't be alone: Tim Hudak will have some tough questions to answer. Of course, last week the National Post's Scott Stinson said <a href="http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2013/07/03/scott-stinson-you-shouldnt-read-much-into-the-five-upcoming-ontario-by-elections/" target="_blank">the byelections wouldn't matter much</a>, so on August 2 one of these guys is going to look smart.
And no matter who wins in Etobicoke-Lakeshore, Toronto Mayor Rob Ford <a href="http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2013/07/07/mayor_rob_ford_wants_byelection_over_appointment_if_holyday_or_milczyn_become_mpp.html" target="_blank">wants an election to replace either Peter Milczyn or Doug Holyday</a>, the two councillors who are running for the seat. Council can choose to either replace a councillor with an appointment or election, though their policy would normally dictate an election at this point in the calendar. Also: former PC Party candidate Steve Ryan insists he <a href="http://www.thestar.com/news/queenspark/2013/07/05/tory_candidate_steve_ryan_says_injuries_ended_political_run.html" target="_blank">wasn't pushed aside for Holyday to run</a>, and the Toronto Star's Martin Regg Cohn is having no time for Holyday's convenient change of heart on <a href="http://www.thestar.com/news/queenspark/2013/07/06/doug_holydays_hypocrisy_in_etobicoke_byelection_cohn.html" target="_blank">when councillors should run for higher office</a>.
In non-byelection news, a public meeting will be held in London today about the fate of the province's horse racing industry. <a href="http://www.lfpress.com/2013/07/07/horse-racing-plan-called-a-path-to-failure" target="_blank">It's the first of four across the province</a>, and the government will use these consultations in part to help decide how to support the racetracks that have come to depend on revenue-sharing with OLG.
All rush-hour GO Trains will <a href="http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/transportation/2013/07/08/go_transit_expands_quiet_zones_to_all_rushhour_trains.html" target="_blank">now have quiet zones on them</a>, after 83 per cent of passengers said they had improved the quality of their commute. While the success shouldn't surprise anyone, that GO is reminding passengers not to activate the alarms just because someone answered their cellphone is somewhat amusing.
An elderly couple has finally been evicted from their longtime home to make way <a href="http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2013/07/07/elderly_couple_evicted_from_their_home_after_407_extension_battle.html" target="_blank">for the extension of the 407 toll road</a>. The couple had fought the expropriation of their home for years but the government's power to seize land for highways isn't novel or controversial. The Kapostin family, for their part, had offered to go peacefully if the province paid them $6 million for their home. The government offered $600,000.
And following up from last week, Natural Resources Minister David Orazietti says he's on the case of a beach north of Sault Ste. Marie that doesn't seem to have gotten any <a href="http://www.saultstar.com/2013/07/05/sault-mpp-david-orazietti-vows-to-get-to-bottom-of-debris-littered-batchawana-bay-provincial-park" target="_blank">tender love and care from parks staff</a>.
<h4>Events</h4>
The Premier's vacation continues this week. NDP leader Andrea Horwath will be <a href="http://blogs.windsorstar.com/2013/07/07/horwath-hatfield-to-tour-windsor-monday/" target="_blank">in Windsor today touring with Percy Hatfield</a>.

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