There's never a dull moment around City Hall these days. Less than 24 hours after mayor Rob Ford publicly denied allegations that he's crack cocaine user, the Globe and Mail has published the result of an 18-month investigation into the Ford family's alleged ties to the drug trade in Etobicoke.

The newspaper delves into the early adult years of Doug Ford, a councillor and mayor Rob Ford's "best friend," profiling an alleged history as a hashish dealer in the 1980s. The piece refers to the Fords as "a family once deeply immersed in the illegal drug scene."

The Globe and Mail makes it clear that Doug Ford was never criminally charged with possession or dealing. Meanwhile Ford's lawyer, Gavin Tighe, called the story "the height of irresponsible and unprofessional journalism" when given the chance to respond in advance of the story's publication.

Earlier this morning, Doug Ford told Global News the story was "a bunch of sleazy, sleazy journalism ... you're lower than a bunch of fucking politicians. It makes me sick."

How do you think think this news will affect the mayor, who is of course embroiled in his own scandal? Doug Ford is expected to address these allegations shortly, at which time we'll provide an update.

Here's what Twitter is saying.

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

Image: HiMY SYeD/blogTO Flickr pool.

Photo by Jack Landau in the blogTO Flickr pool

This week in theatre rounds up the most noteworthy live theatre playing right now in Toronto. It includes just-opened shows as well as productions that are about to close.

Figaro's Wedding / Burroughes Building / 7:30pm / $35-$60
Against the Grain Theatre has pushed the envelope in the past with inventive adaptations of La Bohème and Turn of the Screw. Their newest piece is a contemporary treatment of Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro aptly titled Figaro's Wedding. The production promises a chic ceremony complete with all the fanfare you'd expect at the nuptial event. It's directed by Joel Ivany with musical direction from Christopher Mokrzewski.

Toronto Festival of Clowns / Pia Bouman Studio/Unit 102 / Various Times / $15
Hold onto your hats, some of the nation's greatest clown talents take over the city during the Toronto Festival of Clowns. Among the shows to look out for are five, count it five, from Adam Lazarus as part of the Trip Bill series. Lazarus also stars alongside Guillermo Verdacchia in The Art Building a Bunker. Other featured performers include that good old twosome Morro and Jasp, mother and daughter team Michelle Smith and Nina Gilmour, and Keystone Theatre's silent film homage, Klondike.

Kim's Convenience / Soulpepper - Young Centre / 7:30pm/1:30pm / $22-$68
As long as audiences continue to clamour for a look at one of the most successful new Canadian plays on the scene, Soulpepper will bring back this comedic gem from Ins Choi that first wowed fringe crowds way back in the summer of 2011. The comedy, about a family forgiving the past, is set in a Regent Park Korean convenience store. Starting in July, the show will travel cross-country with stops in Calgary, Ottawa, and Vancouver.

Sister Mary's a Dyke? / Daniels Spectrum / 8:00pm/2:00pm / $15-$25
Abby is a young and innocent teenage girl harbouring a secret at Crown of Thorns Academy, the oppressive all-girls Catholic school she attends. Her quest to step into her sexuality and reconcile her true feelings with her surroundings takes her all the way to St. Peter's Square. The play is written and performed by Flerida Peña with direction from Nina Lee Aquino.

Hold Mommy's Cigarettes / Alumnae Theatre / 8:00pm/3:00pm / $25
Comedienne Shelley Marshall's one woman show Hold Mommy's Cigarettes charts her journey from steel town Hamilton to marquee stand up act. In a cross-section of some of her most memorable characters, Marshall finds the comic in the tragic and doesn't shy away from cheeky, taboo subjects. She's in Toronto at the Alumnae until June 2.

Photo from the Toronto Festival of Clowns

This new fitness club near Queen and Spadina is riding the latest trend of group fitness training and promising to deliver maximum results in less time for busy professionals who live or work in and around Toronto's Fashion district. I recently gave one of their classes a whirl to see if the whole thing is just a gimmick or whether it'd be a grueling workout I'd remember.

See how I did in my profile of Fuel Training Club in the fitness section.

Board games in Toronto are becoming more popular than ever before. It's not a backlash against video games, but more of a maturing of both the gamers and the games. Board games have evolved from the days of Monopoly and Sorry! Modern games are better balanced, often easier to learn and encourage social group interaction more. Which is something video games lack. Instead of staring at a screen, the eyes of board gamers are on each other. That's why board game sales are up and board game cafes like Snakes and Lattes, GO Lounge and U Tea are popping up all over Toronto.

But the popularity of games has also resulted in an inflation of board games made, so picking the right one can be tough. Luckily Toronto has a number of exciting gaming stores all over the city. Though you could pick up a game from the big box stores, you'll find a much larger selection and better prices at the specialty stores (many of them sell their games for online prices). In addition you'll get expert advice on what game to pick from devoted people that have made gaming their lifestyle.

As an added bonus many stores offer free space for you to bring your friends and play your games at. There are even events running every night at most game spaces. Bring a friend or just head there alone. You're bound to meet friendly faces and it's a refreshing change from the big screen at home.

Here are the top 8 places to buy board games in Toronto.

401 Games
The full name is 401 Games, Toys and Sportscards. The store started as a convenience store 20 years ago, but has grown to one of Toronto's busiest game stores. So busy that they're moving to a location that is three times larger at 518 Yonge street in August. Till then you can drop by for free board game nights (Wednesdays) or just marvel at the massive collection of games, action figures, sports cards, card games and more.

Snakes and Lattes
Located on Bloor, just west of Bathurst station, this board game cafe is also a game store. So if the place is full, and it usually is, you can just pick up a game and head home. They recently expanded and now look more like a bar than a cafe; which is awesome! Their collection of games to play is the largest in Toronto and for only $5 you can play them all for as long as you like.

The Hairy Tarantula
The Diagon Alley of Toronto's game stores; it's central, but difficult to find to the untrained eye. But look for the giant Zanzibar sign across the street and you'll find a staircase that leads to one of Toronto's oldest and most packed gaming stores. If you are looking for something rare or out of print; this is the store for you. Don't let its cramped interior fool you, the store is larger than it appears at first. And don't forget their location at 6979 Yonge St.

Strategy Games
Not all the game stores are located on Bloor or Yonge. On Mt. Pleasant Rd, just south of Eglinton Ave, you will find Strategy Games. Though more focused on classic games (it's run by the Chess'n Math Association (CMA) a non-profit organization devoted to bringing the game of chess to Canadian youngsters), this store is packed wall to wall with new games as well. There's also a rentable space downstairs that seats up to 60 gamers.

Dueling Grounds
Though more focused on war gaming and tabletop role-playing games, this is a hidden gem on Bloor street. Just a few blocks east of Lansdowne station. There's a large gaming area (1500 sq.ft.) in the basement and though it doesn't rival Snakes and Lattes, it's free and available. The medieval weapon collection on the walls also help set the mood.

Silver Snail
You'll find the Silversnail just north of Dundas square. Though heavily skewed towards comics, you'll also find a great selection of board games here. There's also the Black Canary Espresso Bar where you can watch the busy streets while contemplating what game to get next.

Heavy Support Games
If you're in the west end of Toronto and don't want to bother going all the way downtown: stop by Heavy Support Games on the Queensway. Mainly a miniature gaming and card games store, it has great prices on most modern games.

Meeple Mart
Named after the small person-shaped figures used as a player's tokens, this place is more a warehouse than a game store. But it boasts a massive collection of board games. Shelf after shelf of multiple games awaits you...if you can find it. This place is tricky to discover, even if you have the address. Look for the very nondescript door at 290 Carlaw Ave and head upstairs.

Writing by Jorgen Stovne

Photo by Ronnie Yip in the blogTO Flickr pool.

Toronto events on May 27th, 2013

MUSIC | Casey Veggies, Travis Scott in Toronto
Casey Veggies hits Wrongbar tonight. This young US rapper from the Inglewood area in LA has made quite a name for himself since coming onto the scene five or six years ago. Before graduating high school, Casey Veggies had worked with Young Gangsta from Def Jam, putting him on the radar in the rap community. Touring with Mac Miller also helped spread word of his skills. Several mixtapes later, and having worked with Kendrick Lamar, Wiz Khalifa, and Tyler the Creator, he is definitely a happening musical presence, and will be sharing some material from his latest Life Changes mixtape at tonight's show. Producer/rapper Travis Scott from Houston is on the bill, as well.
WRONGBAR (1279 Queen Street West) 8PM $18

MARKETPLACE | Gifts Of My Hands Summer Markets
A special handmade marketplace will be running the last Monday of every month throughout the Summer at Sorauren Park, while the Organic Market is underway. A group of artisans will be displaying their wares in the adjacent field house, and this craft market promises a wide variety of goods for sale: visual art, woodworking, jewelry, ceramics, organic beauty products and more - all made by hand. "Gifts Of My Hands" runs for the same hours as the Organic Market, from 3 PM to 7 PM, so be sure to check it out today, or when it returns on June 24th, July 29th or August 26th.
Sorauren Park Fieldhouse (50 Wabash Ave) 2nd floor 3PM - 7PM

FILM | EARLY MONTHLY SEGMENTS #51 - TRANSITIONS
Early Monthly Segments is a monthly film event that screens underground and experimental films from past and present, curated by Scott Berry, Chris Kennedy, and Kate MacKay, and presented in their original (often 16mm) format. This evening's event will present five films that employ "transition" either as a psychological device or as part of formal structure. Films to be shown tonight are: Michael Robinson's 2003 film, Chiquitita and the Soft Escape; Stan Brakhage's In Between from 1955, with music by John Cage; Barbara Sternberg's 1982 film, Transitions; Matthias Müller's Pensao Globo produced in 1997; and the most recent of the bunch, Fern Silva's 2011 work, Passage Upon the Plume.
Gladstone Hotel, Art Bar (1214 Queen Street West) 8PM (pwyc - $5 suggested)

BOOKS & LIT | BookThug and Toronto New School of Writing presents a reading by Meredith Quartermain, Michael Bough
Experimental TO publisher, BookThug, presents an evening of readings tonight in conjunction with the Toronto New School Of Writing at No One Writes to the Colonel. Meredith Quartermain, former finalist for the Vancouver Book Award, is one of tonight's readers, and will be reading from her book Recipes from the Red Planet. Michael Boughn, also featured tonight, will read from his Great Canadian Poems for the Aged. Author Victor Coleman will read from ivH: an alphamath serial tonight, as well. Books will be for sale at this event, so consider coming out tonight and supporting the Toronto literary scene.
No One Writes to the Colonel (460 College Street) 7PM

Also Of Note

• Elvis Monday
• Firsts: A concert of premieres by junctQín keyboard collective

For more Toronto event suggestions, check out these posts:

• This week in music
• This week in fashion
• This week in film
• Toronto food events
• This week in theatre
• This week in comedy
• Toronto Concerts, May 2013

Have an event you'd like to plug? Submit your own listing to the blogTO Toronto events calendar or contact us directly.

Photo courtesy of the Casey Veggies Facebook page.

There's been a new twist in the tale of Rob Ford's alleged drug video. The Globe and Mail is reporting Toronto police spoke with a senior Ford staffer away from city hall over the possibility the alleged tape could constitute evidence in a murder case, and that it "originally belonged to an individual who may have been killed for its potentially valuable contents."

A photo published with the Gawker story appears to show the mayor with murder victim Anthony Smith. The Globe's source also claimed to know where the video was being held.

Rob and Doug Ford hosted their first weekend radio show since separate drug allegations published by two Toronto newspapers forced both of them to make statements this week. Rob Ford called the local media "bunch of maggots" over their reporting of his alleged drug video, claiming "journalism has sunk to an all-time low." How do you think the press has handled the Fords?

Meanwhile, Gawker's "Crackstarter" campaign is just $17,000 away from its goal with just under 24 hours remaining. The site has expressed fears they may not be able to purchase the tape even if they raise the full $200,000. The owner of the tape has "gone to ground," they say.

Say what you like about Rob Ford, the guy's practically Teflon - nothing sticks. A new poll shows despite allegations of drug use, the mayor's prospects at the next election are unchanged from several weeks ago. The latest figures show he'd still lose in a two-way race with Olivia Chow by around the same margin (roughly 20% of the vote.)

Metrolinx will release its final report on transit taxes later today, recommending the province adopt a 1% sales tax, 5-cent/litre gas tax, and a 25-cent-per-day non-residential parking levy. There would also be a 15% rise in development charges. The taxes would cost the average household $477 each year. The province needs to raise $2 billion each year to finance new transit and relieve crippling congestion.

Finally, 70% of Ontarians think the province should invest in more bike lanes, according to a new survey. The Share the Road Cycling Coalition found 71% of Torontonians would like Metrolinx to include funding in the Big Move for active transportation, like cycling and walking. Should the province raise funds for new bike lanes?

FROM THE WEEKEND

• This Week in Theatre
• This Week In Comedy
• A brief history of Toronto's first Island ferries
• Twitter reaction to the Rob and Doug Ford circus
• New gym specializes in small group fitness training
• The top 8 board game stores in Toronto

IN BRIEF:

• Man jumps out of moving Sunwing plane at Pearson airport [Toronto Star]
• Toronto police arrest man, take phone after attempt to film takedown at Sheraton [Toronto Star]
• Former churches converted to condos as congregations shrink [Toronto Star]
• Toronto cop retires after 46 years on the job [Toronto Sun]
• Jays score 4 runs in the ninth inning for comeback win over Orioles [CTV News]

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

Image: Dominic Bugatto/blogTO Flickr pool.

This Week in Music rounds up the latest news, releases and concerts coming to Toronto.

IN THE NEWS

Yonge-Dundas Square celebrates 10 years with concert series

It's hard to believe that Yonge-Dundas Square, the central hub of downtown Toronto, was officially opened 10 years ago this year. To celebrate this milestone, a free outdoor concert series will run, starting tonight (the 27th) and running weekly until October. The concert series is actually comprised of two different series - Lunchtime Live! and Indie Fridays. The Lunchtime Live! series will run on Mondays from 12:30 to 1:30 pm, with shows by performers including The Wilderness of Manitoba, Scarlett Jane, and Rattlesnake Choir. Indie Fridays will, naturally, take place on Fridays from 8 to 10 pm, and feature artists such as The Pack A.D., Dwayne Gretzky, and Cadence Weapon. For a full list of artists and dates, swing by the official website.

THIS WEEK'S HOT TICKETS

TUESDAY MAY 28 / DAVE MATTHEWS BAND / MOLSON AMPHITHEATRE / 909 LAKE SHORE W / $60 - $96.50 / ALL AGES

You can always count on the Dave Matthews Band to show up in Toronto once the summer weather arrives. One of the most beloved and consistent bands of the past two decades, DMB's eighth album, Away From the World, was released last September. It may not have been as strong an offering as their past work, but really, fans of the band aren't going to complain. If you've never seen these guys live, I highly recommend it - it's less of straight-up concert than it is a prolonged jam session, and it's a hell of a lot of fun.

FRIDAY MAY 31 / THE STRANGLERS / DANFORTH MUSIC HALL / 147 DANFORTH / $39 - $99.99 / 19+

The Stranglers have been mainstays of the English punk rock scene for almost 40 years, and are considered to be one of the bands that brought the genre into the mainstream. They're currently on tour with two of their original members, and this Toronto stop is one of two Canadian gigs. While the maximum ticket price is a bit much, this is still a show well worth checking out.

RECENTLY ANNOUNCED CONCERTS

• MAURIZIO GUARINI / LULA LOUNGE / JUNE 5 / 9pm
• COURTNEY LOVE / DANFORTH MUSIC HALL / JULY 20 / 8:30PM

WHAT WE GOT UP TO LAST WEEK

• New EP highlights Toronto's techno & house scene
• Vampire Weekend show no signs of slowing down
• TV, film, music combine for launch of Toronto art party

Photo of The Stranglers courtesy of Man Alive! on Flickr.

Arts & Crafts most loyal artist isn't Kevin Drew or Brendan Canning but someone who's responsible for crafting the iconic images that are closely associated with the label. He's at shows, he's backstage and he's a friend to many of the musicians who got their start in the early days of A&C.

His name is Norman Wong and he's the label's preferred photographer.

This man behind the lens is possibly the most trusted man in the Canadian music industry, responsible for capturing almost ten years of musicians' blood, sweat and backstage beers. This past Thursday evening, Wong opened his archives to the public in an exhibit titled Norman Wong x Arts & Crafts.

A retrospective that mixes portraiture with candids and prints with Polaroids, the show displays hundreds of images that Wong, a fashion and editorial photographer by profession, has taken of Arts & Crafts' musicians over the last eight years.

Presented by the label, which has been celebrating their 10-year anniversary since the clock ticked 2013, Arts & Crafts' relationship with him is evident in the sheer volume of pictures Wong had stored in his archives — what's on display could have easily produced several more exhibits. Building this kind of repertoire with the label was an opportunity, he says, that came to him because of Broken Social Scene, arguably the label's most famous alumni.

Working in film sales when he first picked up photography as a hobby, Wong credits his start to a girlfriend of Brendan Canning's. She was the one, Wong says, that suggested he shoot the BSS crew. But it was one image that began the project that ultimately became this exhibit currently on display at Field Trip Headquarters (1093 Queen Street West).

"That photo over there," he says pointing to an image of Andrew Whiteman, frontman of Apostle of Hustle, a band that released its first album, Folkloric Feel, on Arts & Crafts in 2004. Whiteman poses in a black blazer, hugging himself with his arms crossed, "That's the photo that started it all."

"It determined the aesthetic for the rest of the photos," he continues. "It was kind of like, okay, that lighting looks good and I like the portraits in black and white." A simple artist's statement, yes, but it neatly sums up this aspect of the show.

Lining the walls of the pop-up gallery's main space are about fifteen large black and white portraits; images of Feist, Broken Social Scene, Cold Specks, and Jason Collett look down on the less-musically inclined gallery goers as they enter the room from the merch shop. (The wall of brightly illustrated tour posters and album art — Feist's Metals, Dan Mangan's All At Once and BSS's final album Forgiveness Rock Record — could be an exhibit of its own.)

As the exhibit extends to the back of the space, through a narrow hallway, smaller black and white prints of recently signed artists are displayed. The Darcys appear together in a portrait, posed and more serious than their normal concert demeanor suggests, while their labelmates Gold & Youth are photographed independently of one another.

By the time the hallway opens up to the back space of the gallery, images are tiny but more personal. Framed Polaroids show artists like Haines and Feist casually hanging out at festivals and on city streets; fun, light-hearted snapshots that are in direct opposition to the posed, deeply-thought out portraits that line the walls of the front gallery space.

Adjacent, a retrospective collage of coloured prints shows just how long Wong has been involved with the A&C family. Photos of Emily Haines, Stars, Constantines and The Dears on soundstages, in subways, on stoops and in bathrooms are plastered overtop each other. There are so many images of A&C's artists drinking, smoking, and (in some cases) playing with finger puppets, every glance extends the grand narrative of the label.

Arts & Crafts has done a lot for Canadian indie music and Wong has been granted access to all of it. Norman Wong x Arts & Crafts is really a timeline of a long-standing relationship amongst several artists.

"It's like the mafia," Wong says, half shouting over the music and the buzzing crowd as the gallery filled with record executives, musicians, media and filmmakers. "It's all about building trust with these guys."

Norman Wong x Arts & Crafts is open Wednesdays, Thursdays & Fridays from 12-7, and Saturdays & Sundays from 12-6 at Field Trip Headquarters (1093 Queen Street West). The show closes June 15th.

Photos by Morris Lum

Doors Open Toronto 2013 is in the books, but that just means that it's time to peruse all of the fantastic photos taken at this year's event. I'm inclined to thank our local photographers who braved the lineups to get into some of the marquee Doors Open destinations. While it might not be just like "being there," this year's crop of photos is particularly strong. It's remarkable how some of the buildings we've seen photographed so often can still inspire, whether it be on account of their beauty or because the photographer has found some novel perspective from which to shoot them.

In addition to what's been submitted to our Flickr pool, this year we've started a collection of photos in our new Streams section. If you've got photos you'd like to share, this is a great way to get eyes on your work (plus it's quick and easy to upload your pics).

View and add your photos to our Doors Open Toronto 2013 stream.

St. James Cathedral by Jackman Chiu

St. Lawrence Hall by Jackman Chiu

King Edward Hotel by Jackman Chiu

The new MLG by Jackman Chiu

Elgin and Winter Garden Theatre by Jackman Chiu

Ditto

Commerce Court North by BruceK

Elgin and Winter Garden Theatre by jp1958

Commerce Court North by dtstuff9

MaRS Centre by TonoAriki

R.C. Harris Water Treatment Plant by Iskou-Hee

R.C. Harris Water Treatment Plant by Jack Landau

R.C. Harris Pump Room by Jack Landau

Native Child and Family Services of Toronto by dtstuff9

One King West by dtstuff9

King Edward Hotel by Greg David

197 Yonge Street (Massey Presentation Centre) by IntoPictures

Bridgepoint Health / Old Don Jail by Marcanadian

Bridgepoint Health by Marcanadian

Lower Bay Station by dtstuff9

Port Lands Energy Centre by BruceK

Osgoode Hall by Jack Landau

Lead image of the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library by aida_dasilva.

It's hard to believe that it's been 10 years that Kensington Market has been closing off its major arteries on the last Sunday of the summer months from May to September, allowing music-food-and-fun-loving pedestrians to roam wild and free.

As a resident of the 'hood, I always look forward to spending the day immersed in some of the city's richest street culture. Some of yesterday's highlights had me hunting for great deals at Bungalow's annual clothing clearance sale, enjoying a Chilean steak sandwich while watching a reggae band play on the rooftop of Zimmerman's Foodmart and introducing a visiting German friend to Tootsie Rolls outside of Pretty Freedom watching Torontonians attempt to Double Dutch jump rope.

Closing down the day was Samba Elegue, the 20 or-so piece Brazilian marching band, which eventually gave way to hora-dancing hippies and Lemon Bucket Orkestra's gypsy-folk-klezmer tunes. Jewish wedding? Nope, but the borscht was surely missing, so I made do with Waterfalls Indian Tapas' Aloo Gobi with rice and salad, a hearty deal at $5.00 a serving.

Check out all the photos of the action in our Pedestrian Sundays stream.

The Loose Moose has been a staple on Front Street since 1989, but if the thought evokes a Coyote Ugly kind of vibe, perhaps it's time to give it another go. This recently opened downstairs venue still offers a prime spot for pre-game drinks but nightly live music and a new and improved menu attracts Bay Street types along with a youthful, high-energy crowd.

Read my profile of The Antler Room in the restaurant section.

The best fish stores in Toronto deal in an abundant array of offshore delicacies, doling out fresh seafood along with advice and tips on how best to prepare the catch. Better still, some will even scale, fillet, smoke or shuck to your specification.

While the criteria for this list seems to cast a wide net, some are obvious choices for their wide selection, while others offer excellent value or exotic fare. I feel compelled to encourage ocean-friendly eating, especially since it's as easy as grilling your fishmonger on the origins and harvesting methods of his or her stock, and, opting for seafoods that are from healthy stocks, in season, local or of lesser known species.

Here are the best fish stores in Toronto.

See also:

The Best Seafood Restaurants in Toronto
The Best Oysters in Toronto
The Best Butcher Shops in Toronto

There's been barrage of chiseling, jackhammering, and thumping coming from of the construction site on the west side of Yonge between Adelaide and Temperance recently. The old building that used to be home to an Addition Elle outlet is now nothing more than a concrete shell and the 163-year-old building next door has vanished. So, what's going on?

Put simply, the old heritage building that used to be on the northwest corner of Yonge and Adelaide is undergoing something of a Face/Off-style procedure: its historic facade is being taken down in pieces, polished up, and reattached to the building next door. Trouble is, the host building didn't have the same bone structure.

"It didn't align very well in terms of columns, beams, and floor slabs with the facade that we are going to put on it," says Ryk Stryland, Brookfield's senior vice president of development.

To get around this issue some serious plastic surgery was required. "We basically propped everything up and then started to cut away all the bits that needed to be replaced. That's what you see happening now. We have everything supported on these on the yellow props."

"The next step will be some time in the next six weeks or so we'll start bringing back the restored sections of the historic facade ... you'll see a whole new, albeit old, structure being re-erected in the next few months."

When the restored historic facade is reapplied it will hide the mechanical guts - fire pumps, cooling towers, emergency generators, chillers, and transformers - that are currently servicing the Bay Adelaide West tower and will eventually be hooked up to the new East tower as well.

"We have to work around all that existing equipment," continues Stryland, which he says adds an extra layer of complexity to the project.

The brick structure at 118 Yonge Street is the last remaining piece of the Elgin Buildings, a Georgian-styled row that once stretched the entire block from Adelaide to Temperance. Completed in 1850, it is one of the oldest surviving buildings in Toronto and is remarkable for its detailed brickwork and quality craftsmanship.

Brookfield the restoration will create a "heritage gateway" at both ends of Temperance Street with the recently renovated Dineen Building, home of blogTO. Drawings imagine the street, new public plaza between the Bay Adelaide towers, and Cloud Gardens tied together to form a large outdoor public space for markets and concerts.

"It's going to be spectacular," says Stryland.

MORE IMAGES:

Temperance Street as an outdoor market as viewed from Yonge Street.Completed Bay Adelaide Centre

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

Image: Derek Flack/blogTO, Brookfield Properties

CraveTO brought together over two dozen food vendors, breweries and DJs on Friday night at Evergreen Bricks Works to celebrate and showcase the best that Toronto had to offer. Over a thousand people weathered the cold to line up for everything from tacos to sushi to tikka masala, with a lot of beer on the side.

Check out these 60 photos to experience (or relive) the event that kicked off patio season.

Thing seem to be going from bad to worse below decks in Rob Ford's office. The mayor's press secretary and deputy press secretary have quit, becoming the latest members of Ford's staff to bail out in the wake of allegations he was caught on camera smoking crack cocaine.

George Christopoulos and Isaac Ransom, pictured at the centre of the picture above, left City Hall "on principle" earlier, joining fired chief of staff Mark Towhey who was reportedly dismissed for telling Rob Ford to "get help." The news also comes days after Ford hired former Don Bosco Eagles assistant coach Xhejsi Hasko, known as J.C., to work under him. The news of that appointment was only made public today.

In the moments after the departure Rob Ford was pictured wandering through the empty office stalls with security staff and city manager Joe Pennachetti.

Speaking with the press as he left his office for a meeting, Ford apologized for calling the Toronto media "maggots" on his Newstalk 1010 radio show last Sunday. "You have a job to, and it's been bothering me a lot," he said.

He said Christopoulos and Ransom had decided to "go down a different avenue" and would be replaced by Doug Ford's chief of staff Amin Massoudi and another staffer Sunny Petrujkic.

"I wish them the best of luck in their future endeavors, and I want to thank them for working hard in this office ... we're just soldiering on," he said.

The mayor's office officially confirmed the departures in a brief written statement:

"Effective immediately, George Christopoulos and Isaac Ransom are no longer employed in the Office of the Mayor. The Mayor thanks both George and Isaac for their valuable contributions and wishes them the best in their future endeavours. Sunny Petrujkic will be the interim Press Secretary until further notice."

Meanwhile, Gawker's Crackstarter fundis rapidly approaching has just reached its $200,000 goal.

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

Image: Chris Bateman/blogTO Flickr pool.

Photo by Maria in the blogTO Flickr pool

PHOTOGRAPHY | A Definition of Awe: Dialogues about Sebastião Salgado's GENESIS
ROM Curator Deepali Dewan gives a tour of Sebastião Salgado's photo project GENESIS, the product of an 8-year expedition to 32 different cities. Depicting landscapes and people that have managed to stay out of reach of modern society, this series of 200 photographs will be the topic of discussion at this special after-hours ROM event. Ticket prices include complimentary hors d'oeuvres before the tour and access to the curated conversations with special guests like photographer David Goorevitch and Evergreen Program Director Stewart Chisholm.
Royal Ontario Museum (100 Queen's Park) 6:15PM $25 general, $15 student/member

ART | Imagining My Sustainable City
No.9 is a group of talented individuals who explore the relationship between art and the environment by working with guest curators and education program managers. Tonight, a collaborative exhibit between No. 9's Contemporary Art & The Environment class and the Toronto District School Board opens to the public in Metro Hall. Imagining My Sustainable City: Appreciating Place and Envisioning a Future Toronto presents student projects that envision and commit to a future landscape based on sustainable practices. The show opens at 5 PM with remarks from the acting director of the Toronto District School Board, Donna Quan; the Associate Director of the Toronto District School Board, Gen Ling Chang; No.9 Executive Director Andrew Davies; and student presenters at 6 PM.
Metro Hall (55 John Street) 5 PM Free

FOOD | Food-Trotting TO: French Baking
Want to learn how to make a simple éclair or Crème Brûlée? Uniiverse offers workshops along with Death Row Meals for Food-Trotting TO, a series of 6 international food events with top Toronto chefs, and tonight's is a lesson in French baking. Michelle Edgar, the brains behind the Distillery District's Sweet Escape Patisserie, will teach a course at Uniiverse HQ with Crème Brûlée, choux pastries and opera cake on the menu. Sign up at Uniiverse.com and get your best apron ready!
Uniiverse HQ (111 Jarvis Street) 7PM $30

ALSO OF NOTE:

• Ferraro at Horseshoe Tavern
• TWM: Children of the Republic, Jared Saltiel & The Pie Rats (Carlo Meriano)

For more Toronto event suggestions, check out these posts:

• This week in music
• This week in fashion
• This week in film
• Toronto food events
• This week in theatre
• This week in comedy
• Toronto Concerts, May 2013

Have an event you'd like to plug? Submit your own listing to the blogTO Toronto events calendar or contact us directly.

Photo from the Sebastião Salgado exhibit and courtesy of the ROM.

Rob Ford's hastily assembled press team is preparing for its first day. George Christopoulos and Isaac Ransom, his press secretary and deputy press secretary, quit yesterday "on principle." Ford has drafted Doug Ford's executive assistant, Amin Massoudi, and promoted another staffer, Sunny Petrujkic, to plug the staffing gap.

They will have their work cut out for them. This morning the Star is reporting a man pictured in the original Gawker story was one of those injured in the King West shooting that killed Anthony Smith, the other man Ford is embracing in the picture. Muhammad Khattak, 19, was hit in the arm and back, the paper says.

The mayor also took time to apologize for calling the press "maggots" on his last Newstalk 1010 radio show when he made the announcement. Are you surprised he said he was sorry?

The news came as Toronto Star reporter Robyn Doolittle told Dean Blundell that she believes there is more than one copy of the alleged drug video in circulation. She said her sources say there are at least two copies, one of which is outside the city. Do you think there's a chance a tape, if one exists, will come to light?

Meanwhile, Gawker's "Crackstarter" fundraising campaign to buy the alleged video of Rob Ford smoking crack cocaine reached (and quickly surpassed) its $200,000 goal yesterday. The site admitted last week it had lost contact with the people who claim to have the alleged video and it's not clear whether the money can be used for its original purpose. Gawker says the money will go to charity if the transaction falls through.

In taxes, TTC Chair Karen Stintz is welcoming the new revenue tools proposed by Metrolinx. The provincial transit agency says a 1% sales tax, 5-cent/litre gas tax, and a 25-cent-per-day non-residential parking levy with a 15% rise in development charges would raise the $2 billion a year needed to avert traffic armageddon. Stintz called the charges "balanced and measured."

The owners of a 127-year-old Queen East heritage building the city says was demolished without proper permits are are claiming they acted legally. Rick Kojfman told the Toronto Star his company, 2235434 Ontario Ltd., had the necessary paperwork to proceed with the demolition of the protected structure at 267 Queen Street E., originally built for grocer Robert V. Lauder. If convicted under the Ontario Heritage Act a judge can order a fine of up to $1 million.

Finally, Toronto's new tall buildings guidelines are now available to read (if that's your thing.) The rules, recently adopted by city council, urge developers to protect heritage features, views of the sky, and minimize shadow impact. The document is designed to be easy to read and understand.

IN BRIEF:

• Woman's body found on trail in Toronto's West End [Toronto Star]
• Person dead after hit by train on GO Transit Barrie line [Toronto Star]
• Blue Jays' bats overpower Braves [CBC]

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

Image: Jeff Hayward/blogTO Flickr pool.