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The Editor\'s Desk · Toronto Briefing

Heat warning Monday—stay cool, skip the 401 chaos.

Summer's turned up the dial. Commute's rough; tonight's the move to air conditioning and live music.

Mon · Jul 13, 2026 Updated 1:55 PM
Heat warning Monday—stay cool, skip the 401 chaos.

Monday's here and the heat's already cranked to 8 on the UV scale—that's high enough to catch you fast if you're outside all day. It's 18°C but the warning's real, so plan indoor time if you can swing it. You've got till 8:58 PM of daylight, which is plenty, but the sun's sharp today.

If you're on the 401, it's a mess this morning. There's a collision backed up at the 427 ramp westbound with two right lanes shut down. Heading east? Disabled vehicles are causing pinches near the 400 and at Leslie Street. And there's another one westbound near Dufferin in the express lanes. All the usual suspects are moving slow, so give yourself extra time or find a side route if you can.

This weekend hit the T.O. hard—the CN Tower's been dimming its lights each hour Sunday night to honour the victims of the Salsa on St. Clair shooting. That's the kind of moment that stays with you. Gun violence advocates are calling for real action after a troubling weekend of incidents across the city. It matters.

On a lighter note, Honest Ed's iconic sign is back—it's up at Mirvish Village now, at Bloor and Bathurst. If you remember the old neon, that's a real homecoming for the neighbourhood.

If you're thinking lunch or dinner, there's some solid options around. Chotto Matte down on Bay Street is blending Japanese and Peruvian—that kind of ting is worth a scoop if you're downtown. Sunnys Chinese is running a summer BBQ series with some of the city's top chefs, so that's worth tracking. And if you're into burgers, Friday Burger Company just dropped a secret omakase menu, which is an odd flex but apparently it works.

Tonight's the time to get indoors anyway. Buck Meek's playing The Great Hall at 7, or if you want something more classical, Casa Loma's running Symphony in the Gardens with the Three Tenors at 7:30—that's a genuinely gorgeous scene even when it's hot out. Shinedown and Coheed and Cambria are at the Coca-Cola Coliseum if you're in the mood for heavier stuff. Mack Keane's at Adelaide Hall at 8 if you want something smaller and more intimate.

Stay hydrated out there. See you tonight.

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