Canada’s answer to Pepe the Frog. Kevin O’Leary pivoted from Conservative leadership hopeful to party mascot, leading to questions about how sincere his run really was. The upside for Maxime Bernier is that he looks even more legitimate shaking hands with his newest bro.

“She just likes to climb things.” Now that 23-year-old Marisa Lazo is facing six criminal mischief charges for her downtown crane climb, old friends from Port Colborne—where she grew up before moving to Toronto to study architectural technology at George Brown College—are vouching for her adventurous spirit. And she has something of a fan in rescuing firefighter Rob Wonfor, who said he used a “Perry Como” voice in the process of soothing her. After the save, Wonfor dashed off in time to play in the second of the fire department's morning hockey games. (Wonfor’s team lost.)

Homeless shelter haters portrayed as having a certain look. "Toronto For All” is a city initiative that previously campaigned against anti-black racism and Islamophobia. (Both campaigns were criticized for stoking stereotypes of their own.) The third, in conjunction with the Toronto Alliance to End Homelessness, features two faces that would stand out for their lack of diversity if they were selling a product. (Also, are most NIMBYs really this young?)

Pinball arcade bar landlord insists that he really isn't evil. The owners of Tilt, at Brunswick and Bloor, got attention when they said their landlord's plan to turn their building into a boutique hotel would displace low-income residents. But now tech entrepreneur Andrew Peek, a partner in the renovation, has offered his side of the story. He says he has taken steps to accommodate those affected. “I know change is hard,” writes Peek. “And it’s not lost on me that I’m a catalyst for the change in people’s lives right now.”

The Handmaid’s Tale in a time of hot takes. The new TV adaptation has received glowing reviews and praise for its politically charged relevance. But the story's resurgent popularity has led Margaret Atwood to caution against projecting theories upon her work. The show's star, Elisabeth Moss, has been taking flak for saying that “it’s not a feminist story," then claiming to have meant the opposite. But then, she’s a Scientologist:

An offshoring expert's penthouse is now on the market. Robert Oesterlund was the focus of a New York Times Magazine caper last fall, “How to Hide $400 Million,” which detailed the creative ways in which he tried to conceal his fortune from his wife, Sarah Pursglove. But before that, they bought what was intended to be their principal pad, atop the Four Seasons Hotel and Residences—at least until Pursglove caught wind of an affair. Pursglove has now relocated with their two daughters to Florida—and confirms that she's getting the proceeds:

Prince’s old house now carries a posthumous premium. The asking price for 61 The Bridle Path was $12.7 million when its one-time occupant died a year ago. Then the seller took the property off the market—and the agents waited for spring to relist because that’s when it looks best. But a year of real estate inflation combined with dead celebrity cachet means it's now going for $5 million more.

Word of the moment

FAT BEAVER

The soapy hands of a Hamilton city worker rescued one of these.




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