Indigo’s Heather faces her toughest picks yet

Plus, Bonnie Crombie’s leadership bid gains momentum, island cottage life and falling for “The Golden Bachelor” [The Star] First Up [By Andrew Joe Potter] By Andrew Joe Potter Good morning. Toronto FC hasn’t given soccer fans much to celebrate this season, but with Michael Bradley hanging up his cleats after tonight’s game, [Joe Callaghan gives the Reds’ longtime captain his flowers](. Here’s the latest. MUST READS Ramon Ferreira illustration Business [For Indigo to get back on the right page, its famous founder first has to decide on a story]( Having retired for all of three weeks, Indigo founder Heather Reisman returned as CEO last month amid criticism that Canada’s top book retailer had lost its focus, writes Alex Cyr. “Here you had a bookstore selling sex toys and barbecues,” a York University management professor observes. For Reisman to pen a happy ending, her most pressing “Picks” are clear: [Indigo’s identity and a successor who can steward the next chapter](. Facebook ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR [Gaza’s health-care workers have never been more essential — and more at risk themselves]( As of October 19, Gaza’s death toll for health-care workers alone had hit 55. It’s comparatively small when held up to the estimated number of Palestinian casualties of the conflict, with over 4,100 dead and 13,100 injured. However, as Allan Woods notes, the loss of critical personnel, plus dwindling water, electricity and food supplies, threatens to compound the entire enclave’s suffering. [Experts fear Gaza’s health system is dangerously close to collapse](. R.J. Johnston/Toronto Star Ontario politics [Bonnie Crombie’s leadership bid gains steam as past and present Liberal MPPs point to her scare factor]( With just over a month until the Ontario Liberals vote for their next party leader, 27 current and former Liberal MPPs have thrown their support behind Bonnie Crombie, Robert Benzie reports. In an open letter released Friday, they characterize the Mississauga mayor as a candidate “who clearly spooks Doug Ford.” [Here’s why even a few former party leaders think Crombie could haunt the Tories at Queen’s Park](. Andrew Francis Wallace/Toronto Star file photo crime [After 34 years, Toronto’s top homicide cop is turning in his badge with his humanity intact]( When Hank Idsinga was a kid, his mother told him his grandfather was a murder victim. “I saw the trauma it caused my mother,” the outgoing head of Toronto’s homicide squad tells Rose DiManno. “That set me on the path of wanting to catch the bad guys.” And he did; Idsinga has worked the scenes of some of the city’s most horrific crimes. [Here’s how the man bore witness to so much violence without losing himself](. Tracy Hanes/for the Toronto Star real estate [Your own personal island retreat can sound like paradise. Here’s what you need to know]( The advantage of owning a cottage on an island is that even if you’re only a two-hour drive from the city, you feel like you’re worlds apart, writes Tracy Hanes. The obvious tradeoff is convenience; forget to pack the coffee beans at your own peril. Take a tour of the sole residence on Stoney Lake’s Tarbox Island — and stay for the insider tips on [how to make your island cottage dreams a reality](. WATCH THIS Ricky Middlesworth/ABC The smash spin-off “The Golden Bachelor” doesn’t shy away from acknowledging that older adults are sexual beings, too, Debra Yeo writes. Just four episodes in, [there’s still time to fall in love with the surprisingly sincere reality TV phenomenon](. Thanks for reading. Send your questions, comments and First Impression Roses to 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_202240), and I will see you back here tomorrow. 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]( Toronto Star Newspapers Limited. 8 Spadina Avenue, 10th Floor, Toronto, ON M5V 0S8. 416-367-2000 [PRIVACY POLICY](