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

Your Toronto morning news roundup for Tuesday May 20th, 2008:

Money means more to some retailers and workers than time off on a statutory holiday does. Sears is getting a public spanking by the media for having tried to skirt the provincial Retail Business Holidays Act by holding "invite-only charity events" in their stores. Hi everyone. You're invited to our store for a charity event and, oh, by the way, you can shop as usual.

Pot grow-op busts in upscale York region homes have led police to findings that suggest that weed is being sent to the US in exchange for guns, and harder drugs. Is this one more reason to decriminalize the stuff or one more reason to crack down on it harder?

Gas Mizers, a group dedicated to boycotting oil companies and protesting high fuel prices, plan to create a mini traffic clusterfuck today starting at 10:30am. If you realize that gas should be expensive, and want to avoid being caught in a traffic jam and consume even more gas in the process, stay away from Sheppard and Victoria Park, Victoria Park and York Mills, Victoria Park and Ellesmere, Lawrence and Don Mills, and Leslie and York Mills this morning. We're already aware of the gas price situation, folks. No need to remind us by blocking the roads.

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This long weekend wasn't without tragedy, as separate incidents resulted in bodies being pulled from frigid night waters, from a suspicious fire, and from the roads (150km/h in a 60km/h zone?).

Following up on the extensive report on school safety, an action plan for Toronto schools has been proposed by the board. Recommendations include racial and cultural equity education for students, training for staff in sexual-related abuse, heightened police presence and involvement, and more. Looking forward to seeing them implementing these measures and improving the situation at some of Toronto's most affected schools.

Government-controlled Ontario casinos have been used by criminal organizations to launder dirty money, and the RCMP and OLG are not in agreement on the extent of the problem. Is it just me, or do both the RCMP and OLG seem to be dealing with serious problems of their own of late?