Morning Brew: Ford criticizes McGuinty over scandals, casino park hits a snag, Globe and Mail gets a paywall, botanical gardens need green, and no smoking on patios

Rob Ford says he saw yesterday's resignation of Premier Dalton McGuinty's coming, claiming it was time the provincial leader left office for being "up to his eyeballs in scandals." Also in Ford, the Globe and Mail says the mayor logged significantly fewer hours with his constituents this summer compared to last year. Is this a problem for the man whose raison d'être is public service?

In casinoland, it turns out that park the developers said they'd build over the Railway Lands near the Rogers Centre is kind of, well, a total fantasy. The company doesn't own the air rights to the space above the track, Metrolinx does, and getting the necessary approval could be tricky. That said, the developers remain positive, saying it will be no harder than building a giant bridge.

Regular online Globe and Mail readers will have to cough up or move on shortly. The newspaper is establishing a paywall that caps non-subscribers to 10 articles per month. Will you pay to keep reading the paper's GTA coverage?

The city's botanical gardens need more cash to avoid closure, but the city says it will have to wait to see if it will get a much-needed grant increase. The collection of gardens at Edwards Gardens near Lawrence and Leslie is on land owned by the city. The parks department decided to kick the request for more money up to the budget committee, where a response won't be delivered until next year.

According to The Star, city council has been asked to reconsider the "no touching" rules in Toronto's strip clubs. City staff have recommended that small touches or "benign contact" be allowed from dancers but not "sitting, touching or resting" on patrons.

In smokes, Toronto Public Health is says banning lighting up on public patios, doorways, hospital grounds and sports fields. It seems like such a policy would have decent support too. 86-percent of people asked in the staff report want smoke free building entrances, 74-percent want smoking stubbed out on restaurant and bar patios. Sound like a breath of fresh air?

Finally, here's Rob Ford getting treated to an awkward close-up performance of Gangnam Style at a football game earlier this month from fourth-year York biology student David Kim. Check it out.

QUICK CLICKS:

• Toronto police chief hints at station closures in light of cost-cutting [Globe and Mail]
• Garrett Styles' accused killer to face trial for manslaughter -- not murder [National Post]
• Unknown New York City Samaritan saves Toronto man who has cardiac arrest [The Star]

Photo: "*" by jamesbf in the blogTO Flickr pool.