Montreal is a city of beautiful dichotomies. It is Janus-faced, a split personality balancing beautiful days of beautiful people doing beautiful things with bleak undergrounds, hellish weather, and crumbling city cores.

That's what this issue is all about, the yin and the yang, our underbelly and our upper crust, our triumphs and our tribulations. Case in point: In the last 48 hours, we shed our layers and drank in sunny parks one day, and were sitting in the dark writing this newsletter on a dying battery the next as nearly half the city lost its power in an ice storm.

If Montreal were a Dungeons and Dragons character, it'd be chaotic neutral. Not quite good or bad, it'd be a rebel hedonistically doing as it pleases while trying tnot to infringe on anyone else's good time. Montreal ain't the Joker, and it's not Batman. It's more like Catwoman, watching the action happen.

Thing is, whether it's good or bad, there's always something to look forward to.

The sun will rise again. We just hope the power will come back on.

Weekend events you don’t want to miss

Catch up on what's happening during the first weekend of spring.

If you know something we should know, reach out to us on Instagram or by email.

What you need to know

ICYMI: A weekly round-up of the latest local news, from food and entertainment to current affairs and more.

Suing the CIA over mind-control experiments

A class-action lawsuit by victims of the CIA's infamous brainwashing experiments in Montreal, MKUltra, was proposed to Quebec's highest court recently to remove the United States government's immunity. If—and that's a big if—it goes through, that has huge implications for suing the world's most dominant power. (CTV News)

U.S. argues for immunity in MK-ULTRA mind-control case before Quebec Court of Appeal

A proposed class-action lawsuit over infamous brainwashing experiments at a Montreal psychiatric hospital was before Quebec’s highest court Thursday, as victims attempted to remove immunity granted to the United States government.

Montreal

It's not like they had anything better to do

This past week included April Fool's Day, and politicians took time to tell us about their album releases, Twitch streams, and beer launches—you know, instead of doing their jobs. (Montreal Gazette)

Plante’s album, Legault’s Twitch and PQ beer: It’s April Fools’ Day in Quebec

Someone please make it stop.

Montreal GazetteMontreal Gazette

Falling apart, brick by neo-Gothic brick

First two buildings including Super Sexe burned down in a gigantic fire in 2021, and now another's falling apart: The Jaeger building and its neo-Gothic facade dating back to 1914 began crumbling a few days ago, prompting a whole section of Sainte-Catherine Street to shut down. (La Presse)

Danger d’effondrement d’un édifice | Sainte-Catherine bloquée pour une semaine au centre-ville

Un tronçon de la rue Sainte-Catherine est fermé pour au moins une semaine en raison du risque d’effondrement d’un bâtiment historique.

La PressePhilippe Teisceira-Lessard

Keepin' it real in Chinatown

While this story calls it a 'hidden gem', let's be real: Everyone knows Dobe & Andy in Chinatown. It's a new generation running its well-known, diner-style restaurant, and they survived the pandemic thanks to good vibes, Hong Kong-style barbecue pork, and an excellent crew. (Tastet)

Rats, coked-out ballerinas, pizza slices, and yup, that's piss

Yup, sounds like Berrio-UQAM, alright: The STM network's busiest station has become more unpredictable than ever, and some passengers try to avoid it altogether if they can. This here's a first-hand account of a day spent inside it. (Urbania)

Survivre à la jungle Berri-UQAM - URBANIA

« Il fait pas beau dans le métro. »

URBANIAJean Bourbeau

The Village: A patient dying on the table

Despite seeing increased activity in the summer with millions of visitors, Montreal's Village has been deemed a "humanitarian crisis" by the Plante administration due to homelessness, filth, and mental health crises. Here's what they plan to do about it. (Le Devoir)

Discorde sur les remèdes pour sauver le Village

Ensemble Montréal et l’administration Plante se querellent au sujet des gestes à poser pour revitaliser le quartier.

Le DevoirJeanne Corriveau

A history of coffee in Quebec

This retrospective on Quebec's relationship to coffee throughout the 20th century is an interesting time warp back to when espresso was exotic, there were atomic coffee pots, and Brûlerie Saint-Denis was the coolest thing since roasted beans. (Radio-Canada)

Head north, young designer.

Despite the rise of fast fashion, creators are finding affordable studios and building a community out of Montreal’s Garment District, making the Mile End passé by comparison. Meet the new wave of designers now calling it home. (NUVO)

New Chabanel: Montreal Makers Head North

In Montreal’s Garment District, creators are finding more than affordable studios—they’re building community.

NUVOEve Thomas

[insert crab meme here]

Look around Montreal's restaurant scene and you'll be seeing the first few catches of snow crab this season. Demand for the product has skyrocketed in recent years; here's how fishing families brave the dangers of the Saint-Lawrence for a catch. (BESIDE)

Take a Sea-to-Table Journey with Québec’s Snow Crab

A BESIDE story by Caitlin Stall-Paquet with photos by Drowster

Beside

Turning life into ghosts

Part artist, part documentarian, Alexander Henderson's photography is a window into a crucial period in Canadian history, capturing everything from British colonialism and white encroachment on Indigenous land to a massive influx of industry in Montreal fuelled by immigrants. This is his story. (Maclean's)

The Explorer: 19th-Century Quebec In Photos - Macleans.ca

Alexander Henderson spent decades photographing the province’s dazzling landscapes and burgeoning cities. And his work was almost lost forever.

Macleans.caMathew Silver

Tweets of the Week

The best local moments this week from out of the Blue:

That wraps up this week's edition. We’ll be back with more curiosities, local stories, and events to discover next week.

And if ever you catch something we should know, reach out to us on Instagram.