Morning Brew: May 5th, 2008

Photo: untitled by Megan Faulkner, member of the blogTO Flickr pool.

Your Toronto morning news roundup for Monday May 5th, 2008:

This weekend, Toronto's contingent in the Global Marijuana March amounted to about 15,000 to 20,000 supporters, despite the heavy rain. The Star notes that most were teens and people in their 20's, and there are logical explanations for this. The thousands of older smokers have far too much at stake should they get caught, and those brave enough to risk getting caught were too relaxed at home to bother making it to the rally.

Happy (?) national Emergency Preparedness Week. Do you have the recommended items and plans to deal with a major emergency?

Speaking of potential emergencies, beware the bad beef. Hamburgers and ground beef sold in the city may be ridden with E.coli. Cross-verify the lot numbers if you bought the brands listed within.

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Sometimes disaster strikes in the worst of places. A fire this weekend at the Salvation Army's donated food and toy distribution warehouse caused damages and loses that may be in the millions of dollars. Many of Toronto's hungry rely on the organization's support, and now the organization is now more than ever in need of some from Toronto.

Not all is a disaster, however. Exceptionally-driven, 10-year old Torontonian Amanda Belzowski is inching closer to her goal of raising $100,000 for heart and stroke research - by selling lemonade.

Sunday's closure of the DVP for spring cleaning and repairs should mean a somewhat better ride for commuters today. Now if only the Gardiner and 401 could magically improve in conditions over the course of a weekend...