Rentals are going up, up, and away...

Plus, why Ontario’s nurses are asking for more money, the next step in controlling monkeypox, and why unvaccinated workers are returning to Metrolinx [The Star] First Up [By Ashley Okwuosa] By Ashley Okwuosa Good morning. It’s going to be a hot and sticky weekend. [Environment Canada has issued a heat alert]( for Toronto and parts of southern Ontario, as temperatures are expected to reach above 30 C. Here’s the latest. MUST READS Paige Taylor White/Toronto Star HOUSING [Prepare for Toronto rental prices to jump over the next six months]( The housing market may be cooling, but rentals will soon be soaring. Rapidly increasing mortgage rates are making it harder for buyers to qualify for mortgages, creating a demand for rentals that may drive a 15 per cent increase in prices over the next six months, reports Ghada Alsharif. [Here’s more on the perfect storm causing rentals in the GTA to shoot up](. R.J. Johnston/Toronto Star TRANSPORTATION [Unvaccinated transit workers recalled to work despite the vaccine mandate]( Staff shortages are driving GO Transit and UP Express trains to call back unvaccinated transit workers, reports Lex Harvey. While the workers are contracted to Metrolinx’s GO and UP trains through a private company, they are still required to comply with Metrolinx’s vaccination policy. Some feel the transportation agency is “misleading the public” by quietly allowing unvaccinated workers to return to the job. [Here’s more on how Metrolinx is responding to recent staff shortages](. Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press HEALTHCARE [Ontario’s nurses need more money. Can the province provide?]( Three unions are pushing Premier Doug Ford to increase wages and financial incentives for healthcare workers to solve the staffing shortages in Ontario’s hospitals. The shortages are reaching crisis levels, forcing temporary closures of over 20 hospital emergency rooms and at least one intensive care unit this summer. Here’s exactly [what Ontario nurses are recommending, and how the government is responding](. Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune/TNS MONKEYPOX [The U.S. declared monkeypox a public health emergency. Should Canada follow suit?]( The U.S. is freeing up money and other resources to fight the monkeypox virus and experts suggest Canada should follow suit, report Olivia Bowden and May Warren. [Here’s why contact tracing and vaccination based on exposure are desperately needed before cases spread further](. Drew Angerer/Getty Images U.S. Politics [In America, right-wing nationalists suffer setbacks. What does this mean for the rest of the world?]( A court is ordering American right-wing propagandist Alex Jones to pay millions in compensation for repeatedly claiming that parents of a school massacre victim were part of a hoax. Edward Keenan says it’s too early to say if successes like this will be enough to beat back the anti-democratic nationalist tide in the U.S. — as in Canada and in other countries. [Read Edward’s analysis from across the border](. POV Donovan Vincent: [The Star has a new public editor. Here’s why the job is so vital](. Emma Teitel: [Toronto’s current election season could be characterized as an exodus of its left-leaning councillors. What does this mean for the city]( Rosie DiManno: [Will losing millions in lawsuits stop Alex Jones from spewing conspiracy theories? It’s unlikely](. Seher Shafiq: [Getting more immigrants to run for political office means paving the way for active citizenship](. Sandra Lynn Hutchison: [The disappearance of a student part of the ongoing persecution of Baha’i in Iran](. Thomas Walkom: [Turbine debacle shows Canada’s policy on Ukraine is in a spin](. EAT THIS Giovanni Capriotti/For the Star There are three ways to eat this classic Canadian treat, and Eric De Garie of Eric’s Handcrafted Butter Tarts in Etobicoke has perfected them all, reports Karon Liu. Read our take on [where to go for the city’s best butter tarts]( and go try them for yourself.  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_138260), and I 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](