toronto santa

Morning Brew: Crack tape may be shown in court, Ford might attend Santa parade, sinkhole appears downtown, mayor snubbed by veteran, and stunning rooftop photos

The video of Rob Ford smoking crack cocaine could be viewed by lawyers later today. A Toronto judge will decide whether the digital file should be shown to the lawyer for Mohammad Khattak, one of the men seen in a notorious photo of Ford. Last week the Crown confirmed Khattak does not appear in the video.

Despite his continuing problems, a spokesman for the mayor says Rob Ford will march in the Santa Claus Parade on Sunday. However, the parade's co-chair and general manager were told Ford would be staying home. In previous years the mayor has walked in the event and thrown candy.

Bay and Richmond is a disaster zone this morning. A broken water main has created a sinkhole in the middle of the street, closing it to traffic. A similar leak occurred overnight at University and Dundas.

Rob Ford attended yesterday's Remembrance Day service at Old City Hall but one veteran didn't think much of his presence. As Ford greeted a line of former soldiers at least one refused to shake his hand. A few people booed when Ford took the microphone and some shouted "shame." "I didn't shake his hand because he's a drug addict, a druggie," said Tony Smith.

Speaking of Remembrance Day, Global News has mapped the home addresses of the 6,160 Torontonians killed in the first and second world wars and the Korean war. The uniform spread of poppies is truly humbling.

It's not just Canada's ex-service personnel that are upset with Toronto's mayor: Don Cherry, who made a famous speech at Ford's inauguration, says he's "disappointed" with the mayor's behaviour.

Toronto Poetry Slam are national champs. The city beat 23 other slam teams from across the country at this year's Canadian Festival of Spoken Word. At a slam, teams of poets perform lyrics in front of a crowd, several of whom are randomly selected as judges, and are judged on content and performance style.

This plaster sculpture, collecting dust in storage in Toronto, is either a $425,000 work of art by French sculptor Auguste Rodin or a worthless fake - no-one seems to know. "Walking Man," which was exhibited at the ROM in 2001, has been in limbo during a legal dispute over damage sustained in shipping. Now no-one seems to want it, real or not.

Finally, Notorious Toronto rooftopper and occasional blogTO photographer Tom Ryaboi is getting more press. The Daily Mail published a series of Ryaboi's recent dizzying pictures, several of which are enough to make you feel all funny inside.

IN BRIEF:

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

Image: Jason Cook/blogTO Flickr pool.


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