Morning Brew: Rob Ford set to appear in court, marking formal complaints, TTC to revamp its street stops, a new rain record, Port Lands "close enough," and locked parks

Well, here it is. Today is the first day of Rob Ford's three-day conflict-of-interest trial and the court proceedings look set to dominate the headlines for the rest of the week. Ultimately, if judge finds the mayor deliberately broke the provincial rules, Ford could be out office in just a few days. Without a leader, council could hold a by-election or appoint a replacement from within their own ranks. Mayor Adam Vaughan anyone?

Elsewhere, Torontoist has a creative look back at each formal complaint made against Rob Ford since 2010 in a neat board game format. Today's proceedings start at around 10 a.m. and are taking place in the courthouse 361 University Avenue.

The TTC is planning to revamp all of its 10,000 bus and streetcar stops with new, more practical displays that include better maps and route numbers. Currently, the stops don't tell riders which buses and streetcars pass by. LED signs at subway stations were recently tweaked to display the departure rather than the time. Outage warning signs at the entrance to the subway are also on the cards.

Unless you spent yesterday in a windowless cube you will know that it was raining, a lot. The roughly 35 millimetres of rain that fell on the city broke a 31-year-old precipitation record. Zoinks!

The Port Lands revitalization might be a few decades from completion but shovels could be in the ground in as little as two years, according to The Star. City officials say the proposals are "close enough" to their funding goals for the initial council paperwork to begin.

Finally, how do you feel about companies and private groups renting out and sealing off public parks? According to The Bulletin, it's more common than you think. Recently, Sugar Beach near the Redpath refinery was sealed off for a private party. Right now corporations or large groups have to pay a fee - in the region of $3 and $10 thousand - to close a park for non-public events. [via Reddit and user short_balding_guy]

ALSO OCCURRING:

• Orioles drub Blue Jays to gain share of AL East lead [CBC]
• Rogers Centre roof stuck open during Toronto Blue Jays vs. Baltimore Orioles game [The Star]
• Man handed life sentence in Toronto crossbow killing of abusive father [Globe and Mail]
• Package found on TTC subway was 'prank,' police say [CBC]

Photo: "jackie chan does rooftops" by Proletar1at in the blogTO Flickr pool.