It's the night before the Toronto International Film Festival kicks off, and you're ruing the fact that you missed the flurry of ticket sales that happened this morning and forgot to buy tickets to any screenings.

Well, fear not. Not only are there still some tickets available (I recommend checking out some of the Short Cuts Canada screenings) at the TIFF box office, but this year the Festival organizers are hosting a free screening of an award-winning film on September 13, the last night of TIFF.

Photo: "Above City Hall" by jonathancastellino, member of the blogTO Flickr pool.

Your Toronto morning news roundup for Tuesday August 26th, 2008:

Commuters looking to drive to subway stations and take the transit to work from there may lose their free parking privileges, as the TTC is thinking of cutting the parking perks from their Metropasses. I'm fairly confident you'll be able to find a follow-up post on this issue on the Metronauts blog today.

The listeriosis death toll has climbed to 12, and now you've got more to worry about than just pre-packaged deli meats: restaurants like McDonald's, Mr. Sub, Tim Hortons, and Boston Pizza have all had to remove items from their menus in response to the tainted meat crisis.

Still shopping around for a stable career with lots of perks? Well, with hundreds of police officers able to retire in the next few years, it might be time to visit your local police academy and start getting a bit more fit for a career in law enforcement.

Photo: "Spadina Towers, Evening Light" by guajava, member of the blogTO Flickr pool.

Your Toronto morning news roundup for Monday August 25th, 2008:

Hurt your ankle running up the stairs for the subway? A new pilot program by the TTC will have constant EMS paramedics at Yonge-Bloor station to deal with minor injuries and ailments. Wrap up that ankle and run back off to work.

I hate to sound preachy, but please wear your seat belts when driving. This seems to happen too often: five Toronto-area men were seriously injured in a traffic accident on the 400 this weekend as they were thrown from their SUV. None of them were wearing seat belts.

Photo: "Spectacular sunset over BMO Field" by absinthe**, member of the blogTO Flickr pool.

Your Toronto morning news roundup for Friday August 22nd, 2008:

For you and me and the thousands of other people that rely on the TTC to be working every day to get around, public transit is an essential service. That's not the case for TTC management and the union, who both agree that workers should be allowed to strike as part of labor disputes.

You hear the warnings everywhere: be careful what you put on Facebook and other parts of the web, or it may come back to haunt you. Now, Ontario's information and privacy commissioner make that even more explicit by hosting a one-day conference youth privacy online< just as school is set to begin.

Photo: "Round About" by tomms, member of the blogTO Flickr pool.

Your Toronto morning news roundup for Thursday August 21th, 2008:

You've seen the ad campaigns telling you that tap water rocks, but now the city is taking the war on bottled water one step further: by banning plastic water bottles altogether. London has already taken the first step; should Toronto be next?

Before you crack open that package of salami for lunch, check the label: meats packaged at Maple Leaf's Toronto plant has been recalled because of a listeriosis outbreak that has already claimed one life here in the province.

Photo: "Toronto Bike" by Scott Irving, member of the blogTO Flickr pool.

Your Toronto morning news roundup for Wednesday August 13th, 2008:

Next time you decide to smash in a window and try and get away after a neighbor catches you, it's probably best not to run through a police station parking lot. Then again, it does make the job easier for law enforcement.

You've heard of drive-by shootings, but what about drive-by stabbings? It might not be in Toronto proper, but a man was stabbed in Brampton yesterday as he was stopped at a red light in his vehicle.