It's finally a done deal. The downtown casino is dead, killed off by a 40-4 vote against by members of city council. A plan by Rob Ford to throw support behind expansion at Woodbine was also defeated. The mayor didn't have much to say after the votes were tallied (he's still hiding from allegations he smoked crack cocaine, afterall) so we didn't get a sense of how he's taking the blow. In the end, not even coun. Doug Ford voted for the plan.

Meanwhile, a Sun columnist says Ford had a statement prepared yesterday but for reasons that don't entirely make sense decided not to deliver it to the media. "He feels he has addressed it through times when he called the whole thing ridiculous," Joe Warmington quotes coun. Doug Ford. "He is standing by that." Can the mayor avoid addressing the issue forever?

We're waiting to find out what Rob Ford's next move will be in the wake of last week's crack smoking allegations. The mayor cancelled his weekly Newstalk 1010 radio show and has so far been silent on accusations he was caught on video smoking the illegal drug, not to mention allegedly making some seriously dubious remarks about Liberal leader Justin Trudeau and the kids he coaches.

A statement - hopefully more than a few lines - is expected today but the Toronto Sun says it won't be a confession. Ford is due to appear later at a special council debate to decide the fate of the proposed downtown casino.

Toronto Zoo might get the pandas nowadays, but the land now occupied by Riverdale Farm used to be the city's premier animal watching institution. For 75 years Riverdale Zoo was home to a bizarre menagerie of wild and exotic creatures, including elephants, hippopotamuses, monkeys, and sea lions.

The historic Cabbagetown attraction closed for good and was partially demolished when the Metropolitan Toronto Zoo opened in 1975. Today, all that's left of the once thriving Victorian wildlife park with its decidedly dubious animal care policies is a scattering of historic buildings and a landscaped green space.

The intersection of Queen and Yonge has largely escaped the recent condo boom, thanks in part to the presence of heritage buildings on three of its four corners. However, that could all be about to change if a giant new 65-storey, 220-metre condominium just proposed by Cadillac Fairview makes it through the city's approval process.

If allowed, the historic Philip Jamieson Building with its rounded corner, currently home to sportswear company Atmosphere, would become the base of the new residential tower. The store's 117-year-old heritage protected interior would become the podium for the building known as the "Residences at the Toronto Eaton Centre" in the document currently on file with the city.

Toronto just had an earthquake. Yup, the news surrounding Rob Ford isn't the only earth-moving event of the day. Two earthquakes, a 5.2-magnitude tremor and a 4.1 aftershock, were reported by Earthquakes Canada 18-20 kms northeast of Shawville, Quebec, a town close to Ottawa.

The rumble, reportedly 10 seconds long, was felt here in Toronto and as far away as Cleveland around 9:43 AM but no property damage has been reported. Several buildings were evacuated in Toronto as a result of the earthquake.

It's going to be an interesting day. News broke early yesterday evening that New York-based news and gossip site Gawker had seen a video allegedly showing Rob Ford smoking crack cocaine. The Toronto Star has also seen the recording in question and is corroborating many of the details. Rob Ford's office has yet to respond. Watch this space, folks.

The video is reportedly for sale to the highest bidder. A crowdfunding campaign has been launched in an attempt to acquire the tape at the centre of the scandal. The organizers say the money - currently just $141 - will be donated to CAMH if the purchase is unsuccessful. Does Toronto need to see the tape or is its alleged contents damaging enough?