Yarr, there be Lego at sea! (And it's no laughing matter)

Plus, the merits of an Indigenous alerts system, lessons from an American convoy, and a potentially lifesaving COVID-prevention drug [The Star] First Up [By Ashley Okwuosa] By Ashley Okwuosa Good morning, Toronto’s [Pride Parade makes an in-person return today]( after a two-year hiatus due to COVID-19. Here’s the latest. MUST READS Toronto Star Photo Illustration climate crisis [“It’s fun to find a bit of Lego, but it’s shocking to see how much plastic there is in the ocean.”]( In the winter of 1997, a container ship carrying millions of Lego bricks was rocked by a rogue wave 32 kilometres off Land’s End. 62 containers were lost to the sea. More than 20 years later, pieces of Lego are still drifting to shore, and one woman has found, cleaned and recorded thousands of them. Plastic, like Lego, make up 85 per cent of marine waste and has real effects on animal and human health, reports Janet Hurley. [Read more about what five million Lego pieces can tell us about plastics in the ocean](. Heritage Images/Getty Images history repeating [Lessons from another convoy in another place and time]( What can an army of protesters that descended on Washington 90 years ago tell us about the so-called "Freedom Convoy"? While the incidents happened in different countries, during different centuries, and centred on different politics, both were a collection of bewildered men and women responding to aggravating circumstances in the only way that made sense to them, writes Kenneth Whyte. [Here’s what the "Bonus Army" of 1932 can teach us about today’s honking, hot-tubbing rabble](. Supplied Photo/Jennifer Jesty indigenous innovation [Indigenous communities need something better than amber alerts]( In Cape Breton, Jennifer Jesty’s emergency alert system notifies five Mi’kmaq communities about everything from missing people, to boil water advisories, and motor vehicle collisions. And unlike amber alerts, residents can opt-in to receive the notifications, which go out by cellphone, recorded messages to a landline or by email. The success of Jesty’s service has led to renewed calls for a national emergency alert system specifically for missing Indigenous people, reports Steve McKinley, with [many wondering if this could be the model that works](. Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune/TNS covid-19 [There’s a COVID-prevention drug that can protect vulnerable patients — why don’t more people know about it? ]( In April, Health Canada approved Evusheld, a preventative drug for people 12 and older with weakened immune systems. It gives them the COVID-fighting antibodies their own bodies couldn’t make. But doctors say not enough eligible patients — including transplant patients and some cancer patients — know about the drug. [Megan Ogilvie looks at how Evusheld can be a game-changer for the most vulnerable](. Richard Lautens/The Star housing [In Toronto, one building stays up, while another comes down]( The Toronto Preservation Board adopted a city planning report last week that recommended pausing the proposed demolition of 225 properties along the Danforth that are on the city’s Heritage Registry. But, Shawn Micallef argues, Toronto desperately needs new housing and the Danforth is an entirely appropriate place for new development. [Here’s more on the city’s jumbled logic about what houses stay standing](. UP CLOSE Supplied Photo/Situ's Kitchen Sharon Kelly learned to cook traditional Lebanese food from her Situ, which means grandma in Lebanese, and passed the practice on to her twin daughters. Once her daughters adopted a vegan diet, the family gathered in the kitchen to reimagine their favourite traditional meals, culminating in the 2021 launch of Situ’s Kitchen, a plant-based frozen food line that’s now available in 40 stores across Ontario. [Briony Smith shares the story of a family connected by food.]( LISTEN TO THIS Supplied Photo/Rima Sater Field Trip Music & Arts Festival is returning to Toronto this July, and Anishinaabe duo Ombiigizi will be opening the show. In honour of the festival’s return, Ombiigizi member Daniel Glen Monkman shares [five tracks by GTA artists to help kick-start the summer](. Thanks for reading. You can reach the First Up team at [firstup@thestar.ca](mailto:firstup@thestar.ca?source=newsletter&utm_source=ts_nl&utm_medium=emailutm_email=6C53B63A8E3FAD70AD4EF13004527437&utm_campaign=frst_131455), and Manuela will see you back here tomorrow. [The Star]( If you're not enjoying these emails, please tell us how we can make them better by emailing newsletterfeedback@thestar.ca. Or, if you'd prefer, you can unsubscribe from this newsletter by clicking the first link below. [Unsubscribe From This Newsletter]( [Sign Up for More Newsletters and Email Alerts]( [Become a Star Subscriber]( [View in Browser]( [Facebook]( [Instagram]( [Twitter]( Toronto Star Newspapers Limited. One Yonge Street, 4th Floor, Toronto, ON M5E 1E6. 416-367-2000 [PRIVACY POLICY](