Toronto was at least somewhat spared of Sandy's wrath — especially when you think of how bad it is elsewhere — but there is still plenty of local damage associated with the storm. In addition to a fatality near Keele and St. Clair, 45,000 homes are without power and streetcar service on the 501 Queen and 504 King routes has been replaced by shuttle buses.

The St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts and the Toronto Centre for the Arts will remain city property after an attempt to sell both venues failed to yield any buyers. The Sony Centre, also a city-owned property, might, according to the Star, might still be sold, but the prospects for such a transaction appear unlikely. As part of efforts to minimize the tax burden of operating the former two centres, the city will investigate selling their naming rights, amongst other things.

Did you know that Toronto is still considered one of the most deadly cities for migratory birds? Apparently the danger we pose stems mostly from our geographic location and our predominantly glass skyline, but there are preventative measures that builders and building owners have been slow to adapt to.

City-solicited reports on the possibility of bringing a casino to the GTA indicate that, in an ideal scenario, the city could stand to make $195 million in tax-fee revenues from a downtown casino. Under the current OLG model, however, the city would only stand to make $18 million.

In other news, Olivia Chow should really consider a run for mayor in 2014. The road it winds and twists and turns, but these are some favourable early numbers. But maybe it doesn't hurt that she's not even trying. The problems always start when politicians campaign in earnest.

Some video fodder to end the brew: "In Times Neue Roman's Late Night Toronto, a hand-made mask, portraying Mayor Rob Ford infects the city. The mask becomes a vehicle to explore the dark and decadent geographies of Toronto after-hours." Sounds like one of Rob's soul searching subway rides after an unfriendly council vote.

Photo by Neil Ta in the blogTO Flickr pool