When Toronto went dark, our humanity shined brighter

Plus, José Bautista's emotional return, the Lazy Girl Job, and the fight against rising crystal meth use [The Star] First Up [By Andrew Joe Potter] By Andrew Joe Potter Good morning. And congratulations to superstar slugger José Bautista on his enshrinement in the Toronto Blue Jays’ Level of Excellence yesterday. If you remember his era fondly, you’ll want to [read Mike Wilner’s excellent recap]( of the emotional afternoon. Here’s the latest. MUST READS Lucas Oleniuk/Toronto Star blackout 2003 [Twenty years later, Toronto remembers the day our city went dark]( On Aug. 14, 2003, 55 million people lost power across Ontario and the American northeast. Richard Warnica reminds us that the ultimate culprit was [a forgetful technician and some sagging power lines in Ohio](. (Oops.) But it’s telling that what we remember most vividly is the confusion (and magic) the blackout ushered in. From famous Torontonians like [news anchor Lisa LaFlamme and chef Matty Matheson]( to Star readers like you, [we all have a memory of when the lights turned off]( — and the humanity around us shined a little brighter. Steve Russell/Toronto Star public health [Overshadowed by the opioid crisis, Toronto’s crystal meth problem has gone unchecked]( In 2014, only 1.5 per cent of ER visits to the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health were related to amphetamine use; that number ballooned to 8.3 per cent by 2021. All signs point to increased crystal meth use in Toronto, Victoria Gibson reports. With little funding, few formal supports and no approved medical treatments, community outreach workers and physicians are struggling to mitigate the impact of meth use. [Here’s how the stimulant’s effects are visibly playing out on city streets](. Pexels employment [The Lazy Girl Job craze is forcing bosses to rethink how they manage employees]( The latest TikTok-fuelled employment trend has older managers baffled. It doesn’t sound too different from “Quiet Quitting.” Workers approach their job as a paycheck rather than a measure of their worth, Sarah Laing writes. Followers don’t work unpaid overtime or go above and beyond to impress their bosses. [Here’s how it’s impacting how managers do their jobs](. Rick Bowmer/AP Photo Hawaii FIRES [As Maui reels, the sum of its fiery destruction is still unknown]( With 93 confirmed deaths, it’s already the deadliest wildfire the U.S. has experienced in over a century. But authorities on the Hawaiian island of Maui are cautioning that the death toll will only rise since crews with cadaver dogs have only covered 3 per cent of the search area, the Associated Press reports. [Here’s more on the efforts to find and identify those lost](. Lance McMillan/Toronto Star FEEL-GOOD STORY [How a long-forgotten promise came back to light and reignited a grandmother’s tradition]( It started with Sharon Nickle taking her grandkids to tea at Toronto’s King Edward Hotel. The then-general manager was so tickled by the two young girls that he comped the group’s bill and made a promise: When the girls turned 18, they could stay overnight at the prestigious hotel for free. The memory of the gesture faded, Janet Hurley writes... [until a staffer at the hotel discovered a handwritten letter 13 years later](. UP CLOSE Toronto Star/Wood family Oscar Wood, known among Blue Jays fans as “Mini Bautista,” became a viral sensation during the Jays’ 2015 postseason run. Now, Wood might be taller than the man whose swing (and beard) he once imitated, Gilbert Ngabo writes, and [he’s spreading his love of baseball across the pond](. VISIT THIS Nick Lachance/for the Toronto Star At some point, everyone in the Canadian jazz scene has plied their craft at The Rex, writes Adam Gutteridge. At the intimate Queen Street haunt, the lights and ceilings are low [but the energy’s high, and magic is made nightly](. 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_194903), and Manuela will see you back here Monday. 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]( [View in Browser]( [Facebook]( [Instagram]( [Twitter]( Toronto Star Newspapers Limited. 8 Spadina Avenue, 10th Floor, Toronto, ON M5V 0S8. 416-367-2000 [PRIVACY POLICY](