It must hurt being the worst day of the week. Sorry, Monday. Today: in the words of Catwoman, circa Dark Knight, there's a storm coming; the Toronto Star looks toward a new way to make the paper; Mayor Ford jokes about playing hooky from City Hall; a new map outlines Toronto's crime hotspots; there will be no bull on Bay Street; Maple Leaf Gardens play host to the Grits; and a pho fight in a Toronto restaurant.

By Jess Davidson • Illustration by Brett Lamb

Bottled-water salesmen may be in for a windfall (pardon the pun) this week. Forecasts of a hybrid storm, dubbed “Frankenstorm” (so topical!) due to its mixed make-up (of the now-infamous Hurricane Sandy with already severe weather over Ontario), are prompting warnings from the Red Cross to brace for an emergency by stockpiling at least three days’ worth of supplies, as blackouts, flooding, and strong winds could affect many parts of Ontario. Somewhere, Mayor Rob Ford is wringing his hands and muttering about the lack of bottled water at City Hall.

The Toronto Star is jumping on the paywall bandwagon. While full details are yet to be released, the Star announced this morning that a paid-subscription program for full access to all the stories and features on the paper’s website, TheStar.com, will launch in 2013. To soften the blow, the Star has promised an “enhanced website” with more stories, videos, podcasts, and interactive social media features.

Is it possible he doesn’t know he is on the air? Once again, gaffe-prone Mayor Ford said something on his weekly radio show he may wish to take back. First he said he would be “playing hooky from City Hall” to watch high school football games rather than attend a city council meeting. Then said he was joking. Hahahah! Yes, people do love that one about the mayor who seems to put his coaching responsibilties ahead of his job running the City. It’s a real knee-slapper.

Do you live in a crime hotspot? Thanks to the CBC, which plotted crime data for 140 Toronto neighbourhoods over the last seven years onto an interactive map, wonder no more! Areas that stand out on the list include the Bay Street corridor, the University neighbourhood, Moss Park, Brookhaven-Amesbury, Bedford Park-Nortown, Elms-Old Rexdale, and Yorkdale-Glen Park. Data has been organized into the following categories: assaults, sexual assaults, break-ins, robberies, drug charges, stolen vehicles, thefts over $5,000, and homicides.

That brilliant running of the bulls on Bay Street idea that the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair’s marketing department came up with? Yeah, that’s not happening. It seems the City was not on board with the idea of half a dozen 900-kilogram animals being released in the city’s Financial District. Huh, and it all seemed so very well thought out.

The old Maple Leaf Gardens have been seeing a lot of action lately—in fact, much more than has the Air Canada Centre! Next up for the former home of the Maple Leafs (remember them?) is the Ontario Liberal Leadership Convention, where the Grits will gather to pick their new leader over the weekend of January 25–27, 2013.

In today’s WTP (what the pho?!) news, a spirited brawl broke out in a Chinatown restaurant on Saturday night. A fast-thinking YouTuber grabbed proof: