Our thoughts and prayers go out to all those affected by today’s school shooting at Dawson College in Montreal, especially our fellow Metrobloggers in Montreal.

One of the authors, Jay, has worked at Dawson College for the past nine years and was in the school today during the shooting which left one woman dead and 19 others injured. The gunman was shot dead by police.

Luckily, Jay was not hurt; he did, however, witness one of his colleagues get shot while trying to protect a student.
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Metroblogging just launched its 49th city: Sacramento!

Sacramento, California, that is; not to be confused with Sacramento, Illinois; Sacramento, Colorado; Sacramento, Kentucky; or, any of the other Sacramento cities in the U.S. and abroad.

Check out what’s going on in Sacramento here.

Our thoughts go out to everyone in the city of Mumbai, especially our fellow Metbloggers in the area.

Authors on Metroblogging Mumbai have been covering the aftermath of the seven explosions that rocked crowded commuter trains in and around the city during Mumbai’s Tuesday evening rush hour.

Mumbai (formerly known as Bombay) is the most populous city in India.

It is home to several important financial institutions – the Bombay Stock Exchange, the National Stock Exchange of India, and the Reserve Bank of India.

Bloomberg’s most recent update on the situation has the death toll at 173 and the number of people injured at 490.

A first hand account of the blast, maps of the railway and real-time coverage of the aftermath in Mumbai is available on Metroblogging Mumbai.

Metroblogging recently launched its 48th site in Rio de Janeiro. This is the first Metroblogging site in Brazil, and the first in South America.

Welcome, Rio!

Click here to stop by the new site and to check out what’s happening in Rio.

I just want to wish our Canadian neighbors a very happy 139th birthday today.

Happy Canada Day!

Visit Metroblogging’s Canadian sites for an inside look at how Canadians celebrate their Independence Day:

Montreal
Toronto
Vancouver

Today is the 100 year anniversary of the Great San Francisco Earthquake. Check the San Francisco Metblog site for comments on some of the activities occuring today, including a 5am wakeup call of church bells and sirens.

MGal mentioned it in a comment, but it deserved a post. It seems there isn’t much news in the Detroit area about the immigration protests happening around the country. I suggest taking a look at Chicago, being the closest to us. If you’re looking for something a little lighter, they also have Acrobatic Cats.

After just shelling out an arm-load for my upcoming honeymoon, I can appreciate a low-price fare to just about anywhere.

It may not be that far away, but as many Metro Detroiters have discovered over the years, Chicago’s a great place to go for a long weekend away. It’s a beautiful city with plenty of shops, culture and restaurants, and attractions like the Navy Pier.

I wouldn’t normally call Chicago a cheap place to go, but with the $1 bus fares megabus.com is introducing tomorrow to promote travel between the two cities, Chi-town is looking pretty affordable.

While the company only offers a handful of fares at the $1 price, I just looked at the cost to travel from the Motor City to the Windy City and back tomorrow, and I could board the bus for a non-stop trip for $8.

I don’t even know if I can get to work and back on $8…

I am in San Francisco this week for work. I love this city – with it’s busy city streets, public transportation and 60 degree weather. Right now I have tenative plans to meet up with some of the SF Metblog crew later. Fingers crossed.