toronto sugar beach

Morning Brew: Council mulls legal fight for its shark fin ban, speculation is rife over miracle baby, the Star gets OLG ad wrap, and Riverdale Farm gets a $25K pledge

City council will discuss whether or not to fight for its shark fin ban later this week. A court ruled the law was invalid and sent it back to the city for revision. Deputy mayor Doug Holyday said there isn't an appetite for a expensive legal challenge to the decision. Should the city fight to ban shark fin products within its borders?

Speculation is rife about what caused a newborn girl to apparently come back to life after being declared dead in the early hours of Sunday morning. One theory is the girl entered a deep state of hypothermia, making her already tiny pulse practically undetectable. The hospital isn't releasing any further information other than confirming it's conducting a review and the baby is resting in a stable condition.

The Toronto Star got the full OLG treatment overnight. The provincial lottery and gaming group ran a full wrap of the newspaper's website, suggesting it's making a not-so-subliminal push for support in the city. The ads carried the tagline "bet you'll have fun" but were removed by this morning.

Things are looking up for cash-strapped Riverdale Farm. The W. Garfield Weston Foundation, a charitable group connected to the Loblaws and Weston baking companies, has pledged to match donations of up to $25,000 from the community. A report in 2011 identified the $500,000 a year cost of running the attraction as something city council might consider cutting.

Arthur Bishop, the son of first world war flying ace Billy Bishop, died late last week aged 89. Though his father held the family record for shooting down planes, Bishop was also a skilled pilot active during the second world war. The Toronto Star has his full obituary.

Finally, freezing rain and snow flurries are making for a sloppy start to the working week. Environment Canada has issued severe weather warnings for parts of the GTA, though not Toronto, warning of tricky driving conditions. Take care if you're on the road this morning.

IN BRIEF:

Chris Bateman is a staff writer at blogTO. Follow him on Twitter at @chrisbateman.

Image: "Sugar Beach (Winter) - 1" by Subjective Art/blogTO Flickr pool.


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