Morning Brew: Mihevc wants "body-rub" license review, Ford meets Chappelle, the mayor skipped Pride, stuck Toronto woman gets help, and Hot Box Cafe gets booted
Councillor Joe Mihevc wants the city to re-examine its body-rub and holistic practitioner licenses in the wake of the death of Scarborough spa owner Hua Guang Liu. It's not entirely clear what prompted the idea - Liu's job hasn't been linked to her death in any way - but changes could have consequences for the nearly $1 million the city pulls in each year from the license fees.
Last month it was Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis, now Dave Chappelle has brushed shoulders with Rob Ford (or is it the other way around.) The comedian dropped by the mayor's office yesterday to query a bylaw that prevents him smoking during his sets in Toronto. After the obligatory photo op (natch), Ford confirmed Chapelle owed $305 in fines for the five cigarettes he smoked on stage this week.
When he isn't meeting celebrities, Ford is, allegedly, too busy doing nothing to attend the Pride flag-raising event he claimed conflicted with his schedule. The Star says it's seen documents that suggest the mayor had a very quiet week when he refused to attend the event his taxpayer-funded salary practically obliges him to visit earlier this summer.
And now some heartwarming news out of near tragedy. Friends and family of stranded Toronto woman Anna Leibenko have collected $38,000 toward the cost of bringing the injured former Argonauts cheerleader home thanks to online coverage of her situation. Leibenko suffered head injuries after falling off a catamaran in Croatia and is currently in a medically-induced coma. The family still need more money and you can donate here.
As we reported at the beginning of this month, looks like the smoke's over for Kensington Market's Hot Box CafĂŠ. The building housing the popular pot shop has been sold and a second location of Jimmy's Coffee will be moving in, leaving the Hot Box out in the cold.
Ever wonder if deputy mayor Doug Holyday was right when he said kids (Little Ginny!) weren't living downtown? Metro blogger Matt Elliott has the answers and a couple of useful diagrams. (Hint: kids do live downtown.)
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Photo: "Walking on Clouds" by cookedphotos in the blogTO Flickr pool.
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