Fire-ravaged Badminton and Racquet Club had a problematic past. The big blaze sparked curiosity about the St. Clair and Yonge space, which is largely hidden from street view. Its own website doesn't hide the fact that women were kept away from board meetings until 1980. The facility had separate dining rooms until 1997. The B&R is less forthcoming about how, as recently as 1987, it allegedly had what the CBC once described as “an unofficial, unwritten policy not to allow Jews or other minorities to be members." The club denied the accusation at the time. In any case, the new nearby Phlegm mural provides a signpost for disaster photographers:

John Tory on the defensive against Doug Ford. Roaring back into politics at a budget consultation ostensibly hosted by Giorgio Mammoliti, the author and label-maker is back to threatening a 2018 political run (it's not clear exactly what office Doug has his eye on), which led the mayor to send out media talking points on how to challenge DoFo. Ford Nation has a new pal in Neethan Shan, elected to city council in a by-election earlier this week. He's already under scrutiny for his campaign-trail claim that a one-stop Scarborough subway extension would save residents an hour in travel time, rather than a more realistic five or 10 minutes.

Tim Hortons journalism isn’t as overwhelming as it used to be. Parent company Restaurant Brands International aspires to buy Popeyes, and is currently basking in attention from a sexy Valentine's Day promo for Burger King. As a result, Tims is a little neglected—but it never hurts to have a stolen cup caper during Roll Up the Rim season (even as customers complain about constantly winning potato wedges). With next week’s Canadian launch of McDonald’s all-day breakfast, the competition is ratcheting up in new ways, prompting a group of tech reporters to do crucial consumer research:

Hotel X is looking tough to love. The construction manager at the so-called urban resort at the CNE told the Toronto Star that a May opening is expected—even though several liens remain on the property. But there’s no getting around the building's dated postmodern look. (Hotel X’s mostly dormant social media recently returned to life to boast that its operator's boutique build in Budapest was named the world’s top hotel by TripAdvisor.)

Lone Wolf Tenor’s comeback trail hits a ditch. While the other three members of the Tenors sotto forth without him, Remigio Pereira is readying the release of his operatic solo album, Vox Inaudito. Curious about how things have been going since last summer’s “All Lives Matter” anthem stunt, Vice reporter Manisha Krishnan initiated a Facebook chat with Pereira, only to be caught in a conspiratorial vortex involving George Soros and "agape love." Pereira expressed displeasure with the transcript.

Yonge Street punk rock T-shirt shops are still alive—they just moved inside. HMV might be winding it down, but the Eaton Centre still has plenty of band merch at Hot Topic, not to mention some offerings spotted in Nordstrom. A brushed-Japanese-cotton and cashmere version of Black Flag’s four-bar logo T-shirt raised eyebrows last year when it was offered stateside for $265. Considering the current exchange rate, it looks like a bargain:

The Eaton Centre’s cinematic origins considered. On the heels of the mall’s 40th anniversary, the Royal Canadian Movie Podcast has a discussion about a movie that uses the Eaton Centre's earliest incarnation as a backdrop: The Silent Partner. The conclusion is that the film is too violent, too sociologically outdated and has too little John Candy. But at least you still get to see what the place originally looked like.