Rob Ford is staying silent about reports in the Toronto Star and Globe and Mail this weekend claiming his associates sought the alleged crack video in the days after the news broke. Both stories focus in particular on Alessandro "Sandro" Lisi, an occasional driver and long-time friend of the mayor who has since been questioned by police over his pursuit of the video.

"Sandro" Lisi and Bruno Bellissimo, the man Ford attempted to visit in jail earlier this year, were at the mayor's side the day after the video story became public. Doug Ford, however, came out swinging in his younger brother's defense. He told AM640's The Roy Green Show that the latest round of newspaper reports were a personal attack on his family.

Also in Ford, the Toronto Sun reports the mayor broke up a fist fight during a weekend visit to Niagara. Ford was due to present awards at the end of a the game when the fur started to fly.

Two Canadians, including a filmmaker from Toronto, say they're OK after being arrested in Egypt. John Greyson, a York University professor, and Tarek Loubani, an ER doctor from London, Ont. were detained during the recent unrest in the country. The news came shortly after another Toronto man was killed by a sniper while participating in a protest.

The TTC's plan to introduce free wifi service to the subway could take longer than anticipated. BAI Canada Inc., the Australian company that won the contract to install the service, has so far failed to sign up any of the big three telecoms companies as per the conditions of their contract. The company has until December 2014 to get some of the companies on board or face losing the deal.

Also on the subway, Pape station is now closed. Trains and buses will bypass the station for the next 12 days while construction crews complete various upgrades.

The Toronto Sun profiled another long-time fixture at the Ex. 89-year-old Dave Farberman has been spinning cotton candy at the CNE grounds for more than 60 years inside his Shirley's Candy Land truck. Sammy Davis Jr.'s "Candy Man" plays on repeat. "I'd never get sick of this song, or this place," he said.

Bitchy the hawk's cold, black eyes have been watching over the CNE grounds for the last six years, terrifying seagulls and other scavenging birds away from their quarry of discarded snacks and garbage cans. The bird, tethered to a short leash on top of the Molson Canadian Amphitheatre, doesn't actually attack her prey - her silhouette is often enough to scatter even dedicated nuisance creatures. The Toronto Star got up close and personal with Bitchy during a typical day at work.

FROM THE WEEKEND

• This Week in Theatre
• How to find farm shares in Toronto
• New doc on Ossington bakery captures changing street
• Sail-In Cinema returns with free movies by the water
• The CNE gets a 1000+ foot zip line for 2013
• So what's a night like at the Cameron, anyway?
• That time when the movies came to Toronto

IN BRIEF:

• Toronto police hold man accused of importing 150 kg of heroin [CBC]
• Ray throws 3 touchdowns as Argonauts beat Eskimos for fourth straight win [CTV News]
• Jose Lobaton's walk-off homer sinks Blue Jays in Tampa [CBC]

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

Image: kaeko/blogTO Flickr pool.