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CVS Caremark to Continue Discount Program
Aug 26th
Gov. M. Jodi Rell, R-Conn.,Atlas charm bracelet, issued the following news release:
Governor M. Jodi Rell today announced that CVS Caremark – which was considering ending its Health Savings Pass pharmacy discount program – informed her that the program will continue. The company’s decision comes after Governor Rell wrote company officials in June questioning whether canceling the discount program might be an attempt by CVS to avoid complying with a new state law that requires pharmacies to give patients using taxpayer-funded Medicaid the same savings given to the public.
In her June 19 letter, Governor Rell also asked state Attorney General Richard Blumenthal to look into the proposed CVS policy change. The effect of the change would have been to eliminate a discount policy for numerous Connecticut consumers.
Governor Rell received a letter today from Elizabeth S. Wingate,cuff Links, Senior Vice President of CVS Caremark,watches, who said the company had decided "after much consideration" that it will not suspend the Health Savings Pass program.
"We will work with (the state Department of Social Services) in the near future to resolve any issues related to the application of CVS discount program pricing to state Medicaid reimbursement," Wingate said in a letter to the Governor. CVS said it recognizes "the importance of continuing to serve individuals and families who may not otherwise have access to prescription coverage."
"This is a victory for Connecticut – a victory for consumers, who count on discount programs like the Health Savings Pass,necklaces, and a victory for taxpayers, who will benefit from the savings our state will achieve under the new law,Beads necklace," Governor Rell said. "The goal of the new law is nothing less than simple fairness – to ensure that Medicaid customers get the same treatment other customers receive when they shop for prescriptions. I am grateful that CVS has opted to join the other pharmacies in Connecticut that are participating in this program."
The law in question is Section 17 of Public Act 10-179, which requires Connecticut pharmacies that offer discounts and savings to the general public to provide those same discounts and savings to individuals on Medicaid. The law was part of the broader budget adjustment legislation passed by the Legislature and signed by the Governor on May 7.
Hundreds receive free food, clothing from one-day
Aug 21st
Brenda and Walter Jones called it a work from God.
The Joneses of Kissimmee are among roughly a million unemployed Floridians. They dropped by the one-day Community Free Market, which is sponsored by a local ministry group and provides families in need free clothing, food and household goods, to find clothing and food on Saturday.
"This is God — an extension of his love," Walter Jones said.
His wife, a former preschool teacher, combed through the racks for clothes she could use for job interviews. She was laid off in January after the school saw enrollment dip. Her husband lost his job as the school’s van driver about two years earlier.
"There are a lot of people that are in the same boat as me," Brenda Jones, 55, said.
In July, Osceola County had the region’s highest unemployment rate at 12.4 percent. In comparison, Orange County had a rate of 11.7 percent.
By the time the doors swung open at 7 a.m. on Saturday, more than 150 people already were lined up outside an empty store off U.S. Highway 192 and Dyer Boulevard. Families continued to trickle in throughout the day.
Since the economy hasn’t improved much,Atlas charm bracelet, organizers, who say they were counting on the Lord’s work to feed and clothe those in need, expected to draw about a thousand people, roughly the same number as last year.
The free community market started 11 years ago in a yard and drew about 100 or so people, event founder Deborah Ashley said. "The [economic] times were better," said Ashley, president of the Unified Mission Ministry with the Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church in Kissimmee. The numbers have exploded over the years.
"We don’t ask any questions. We trust people that come. They’re on their own honor that they’re not taking things from people who really need it," Ashley said.
Rashanda Williams, 34, didn’t make it to last year’s market when she missed her alarm clock after a long night of clubbing. She made a resolution this year to turn her life around for her four children. The Kissimmee woman said her life is now dedicated to her family and church.
But her closet is still crowded with tight-fitting outfits she used to wear to the clubs. That’s all she had to go to church in, she said. On Saturday, she filled a 13-gallon plastic bag with outfits more appropriate for church. No longer will she need to sit in the back pews of her St. Cloud church, she said,necklaces, away from the pastor’s view.
"Now I can get up there and listen," she said. Williams also plans to use the clothes for job interviews. In May, Williams finished her schooling to become a medical assistant and she’s still looking for work.
Each adult received a plastic bag to fill with books, clothes, dishes, shoes and canned foods — items all donated by residents and church members. Pregnant mothers snagged gently used baby clothes. Four hundred bags filled with school supplies were handed out.
Susan Layton,watches, 30,money clips, holds a part-time job. After the rent and other bills, there isn’t much left to buy school supplies and uniforms for her 5-year-old son needs. She stocked up on dark blue jeans and white polo shirts.
"As expensive as the stores are, this a really big help," Layton said.
Her son is now ready for his first day of kindergarten on Monday.
Eloisa Ruano Gonzalez can be reached at egonzalez@orlandosentinel.com or 407-650-6673.
Back-to-school clothing budgets mean saving on sup
Aug 21st
Parents and guardians equipping their children for the upcoming school year say they look for deals on supplies to save extra money for new clothes.
With schools around the region opening their doors within the next few weeks, parents and children are hitting the stores and combing the shelves for the needed gear.
Students from elementary school through high school say new articles of clothing that meet current style standards are just as crucial as new pencils and paper. For parents, that means hundreds of dollars in additional spending this time of year.
"The clothes — that’s what kills you," said Kirsten Edler, a mother of four from Maryland visiting family in Portsmouth. She said that when one of her children wants a certain brand,tiffany, anything else is inadequate.
On Sunday, she was at Walmart in Rochester with daughters Hannah, 17, and Isabella, 14, to pick up some school supplies. Edler also has two sons: Ian, a first-grader, and Nicholas, a 19-year-old college sophomore. Surprisingly, she said it is more expensive to supply an elementary school student with the needed gear than it is to buy what her other children need.
Once they are old enough to work, she expects them to buy most of their own new clothes. Her college-aged son is pretty much set with his Macbook, she said,pendants, but she has to buy for her younger son paper, pencils, markers, glue, a backpack, composition books and more.
To save money, she goes through newspaper advertisements to see what’s on sale each week. For a store like Walmart that she visits regularly, she said she can hold off on buying certain items until they go on sale. There was a $4 pack of colored pencils in the store Sunday, but she refused to buy them, knowing they will be on sale later on.
"I will wait for a week because it’s a store I frequent anyway," she said.
Sophomore Isabella said she is not picky about supplies and like other high school students likes to have a little fun with them. She purchased a folder with Toy Story characters on it, and said other girls in school like things with Disney princesses on them.
"I just like to play around a little," she said.
The girls said the "Indie" clothing style is fashionable — plaids, bright colors, retro graphic T-shirts and sun dresses.
At Journeys in Newington’s Fox Run Mall, store employee Chris Musk said Vans, Converse, Osiris and Sperry Top-Siders are the hot brands right now. The top-siders are boating shoes, while the others come in diverse colors and funky designs.
"Colors attract the younger crowd," Musk said, noting it is interesting the brands and styles from decades ago "are still relevant today."
Rachel Feniger, 16, from Hampton, was in the shoe store Sunday trying on gray Vans and pink Converse All-Stars. She could not decide between them and picked them both, saying she was not concerned with saving money.
"They’re shoes that match a lot of stuff," she said.
However, she passed on a pair of pink striped socks that glow in the dark.
At the Macy’s in Fox Run Mall, a mother and daughter from Portland, Maine, came down Sunday to find sales and escape Maine’s sales tax. Linda Olore and her 8-year-old daughter, Sophia, who is entering the third grade, found good deals on a gray dress, pink plaid skirt with matching knee-high socks and a neon green pair of shorts.
"My fashion sense is anything very bright, bold or unique that has its own personality," Sophia said.
Olore said she lets Sophia pick out what she wants to wear as long as it is appropriate. Concerning herself with her daughter’s style is not too important because "there’s bigger fish to fry," she said.
The Olores are fortunate in that Sophia’s school district does not send home a list of required supplies. Usually during the year, the district will ask for some donations, Olore said.
Like others interviewed, Olore said she will look in newspaper inserts for sales on school supplies at Walmart or Target.
At the Somersworth Walmart, Kaylie Sabo, 13, an incoming eighth-grader at Barrington Middle School, and her grandmother, Claire Sabo, looked to buy all the supplies Kaylie’s school district asked her to get.
Since Walmart carries notebooks, dividers, binders,tiffany, pencil sharpeners, white out, calculators and pens and pencils at low prices, it is the most convenient place to shop for back-to-school, Sabo said. Any savings are a help since Kaylie estimated it cost hundreds to buy her new wardrobe as she likes the styles offered at retailers like Hollister and American Eagle.
"And I’m not done yet,necklaces," she said.
Gorillaz Tickets on Sale Aug. 13
Aug 12th
Gorillaz, the musical project of Blur’s Damon Albarn and cartoonist Jamie Hewlett, performs Oct. 5 at Toyota Presents Oakdale Theatre in Wallingford as part of a 19-date North American tour. Although the band is ostensibly composed of cartoon characters drawn by Hewlett,Atlas charm bracelet, they’ll be augmented on stage by Albarn, Mick Jones and Paul Simonon of the Clash, Bobby Womack, Little Dragon, Pharcyde rapper Bootie Brown and UK rappers Kano and Bashy. Tickets go on sale Friday, Aug. 13, at 10 a.m. for $90,rings, $65 and $49.50.
Mary J. Blige performs Oct. 10 at MGM Grand at Foxwoods; tickets go on sale Aug. 20 for $75, $65 and $50. Smokey Robinson returns Nov. 13; tickets go on sale Aug. 27 for $60, $50 and $40.
Tony Orlando performs Sept. 11 at Mohegan Sun; tickets go on sale Friday at 10 a.m. for $20.
Circa Survive plays the Webster Theatre Oct. 15; tickets go on sale Friday for $16.50. Big D and the Kids Table performs Sept. 24 with Marlborough ska band Tip the Van at the Webster Underground; tickets are $13.
Connecticut rapper Chris Webby performs Aug. 25 at Toad’s Place in New Haven with Piff City and Tallent; tickets are $15 in advance. Boston rapper Sam Adams, former captain of the Trinity College soccer team,tiffany, performs Sept. 1; tickets are $17. Fresh off a tour opening for Kings of Leon, Built to Spill headlines Sept. 3; tickets are $20. Rapper Wiz Khalifa performs Sept. 21; tickets are $16. Mushroomhead is there Sept. 30; tickets are $15. Indigo Girls headline Oct. 28; tickets will cost $35 when they go on sale, which will be "soon," according to Toad’s. Behemoth performs Dec. 4; tickets are $18.
Manic Productions presents Defiance, Ohio, Sept. 14 in the upstairs Lilly’s Pad room at Toad’s; tickets are $8. Hallelujah the Hills is there Sept. 16; tickets are $8. Nails performs Sept. 28; tickets are $8
The Album Leaf performs Wednesday at Daniel Street in Milford; tickets are $12 in advance. The Felice Brothers are there Nov. 1 with Adam Haworth Stephens of Two Gallants; tickets are $15.
Jennifer Knapp plays Sept. 1 at Infinity Music Hall; tickets are $35 and $25. Season 5 "American Idol" champ Taylor Hicks is there Sept. 15; tickets are $75 and $55. Spin Doctors singer Chris Barron plays a solo show Sept. 26; tickets are $30 and $20. Brandi Carlile headlines Sept. 29; tickets are, for some reason, $61, $51 and $46. Veteran light-rock band Orleans is there Sept. 30; tickets are $60, $45 and $40. The Radiators are back Oct. 13; tickets are $45,necklaces, $35 and $30. Lucy Kaplansky is there Oct. 16; tickets are $40, $30 and $25. Eddie From Ohio plays Nov. 7; tickets are $50, $40 and $35. Country-rock band Poco is back Nov. 14; tickets are $70 and $50. Led Zeppelin tribute band Physical Graffiti is there Nov. 24; tickets are $35, $25 and $20. Connecticut native Jeff Pevar is there with "special guests" Nov. 26; tickets are $40, $30 and $25. A Jimmy Hendrix tribute featuring guitarist Andy Aledort is there Nov. 28; tickets are $30 and $20.
To lure the ladies, be a devil in a red shirt
Aug 11th
Scientists have identified all sorts of attributes that women like to see in a man,rings, but many are the sort of thing the guy was either born with or not: a prominent chin, shoulders wider than hips, a relatively deep voice.
The latest research suggests something that men can do all by themselves:
Put on a red shirt.
In a series of experiments, women looked at photos of men and judged those in red shirts to be more attractive and sexy than those wearing other colors. Ditto for black-and-white photos of men that were framed in red, though we’re guessing this tip won’t prove as useful in the singles bar.
The color red boosted ratings by about one point on a nine-point scale of attractiveness, scientists report in this month’s Journal of Experimental Psychology: General.
And, yes, previous studies have shown the reverse: Men like women in red.
Red carries some sort of deep-seated,earrings, apparently biological attraction for women, says Andrew Elliot, the new paper’s lead author and a psychology professor at the University of Rochester.
The animal kingdom offers numerous examples where the redness of certain male body parts seems to lure females. In a type of baboon called the mandrill, for example, males have red faces and rumps — and those of alpha males are the reddest, the paper’s authors write.
In some species, females seem to be attracted to such redness because it is connected to the male’s health, signifying high oxygen levels in the blood. It’s not clear whether that phenomenon is going on with people, but Elliot says the color’s attraction is undeniable.
It may be enhanced by a learned effect, because we’ve come to associate the color with status (red power tie, red carpet).
The psychologist has no plans to change his own wardrobe,watches, however.
"I don’t need to worry about that,necklaces," Elliot says, "because I’ve got a wife of 25 years." — Tom Avril
Many Consumers Are Spending $100 and Up This Valentine’s Day
Dec 29th
According to the survey, 43 percent of consumers will spend between $50-100 on a gift for their significant other, with 14 percent saying they will spend $150 or more. The most common response was $100.
The Buzzillions survey also identified the most – and least – desirable gifts for both men and women ( Valentine’s Day gift excluding flowers). Men wanting to please their mate should focus their attention on necklaces, concert tickets, perfume, chocolate and a Wii Fit – the top five most desired Valentine’s Day gifts among women surveyed. Men on the other hand had a meaningful book, a digital camera, a watch, an ipod and cologne at the top of their list.
The survey also revealed the least desirable gifts for both sexes. Men are least interested in electric razors, golf equipment, pen sets, slippers and underwear, while women will not rejoice at opening a gift containing stuffed animals, golf equipment, appliances and camping equipment.
“Finding the perfect gift can be a daunting task at any time of year, but particularly around Valentine’s Day necklaces when meaning is injected into every purchase,” said Andy Chen, CEO of Buzzillions. “Our focus is making the gift giving process easier, helping to generate ideas, and most importantly, guiding consumers towards the highest quality products — as identified by their peers.”
Buzzillions.com is the most comprehensive customer review site on the Internet. Buzzillions, which currently has more than 4.5 million reviews on its site, collects thousands of customer reviews a day from people who are verified to have purchased the products they are reviewing. Reviews on Buzzillions encompass a wide range of products, from GPS units to cookware, baby strollers, hiking boots and moisturizers.
For a full list of the survey results visit the Buzzillions blog About Buzzillions.com Buzzillions.com is a one-stop product research site for consumers, providing reviews and recommendations from real product users for hundreds of thousands of products in thousands of categories, including consumer electronics, apparel, sporting goods, health & beauty and home & garden. These reviews and recommendations help guide consumers to make informed product decisions that meet their specific needs and uses, with product reviews from people like them, who are verified to have bangles purchased the product. Buzzillions verifies the purchase by partnering with hundreds of retailers who actually send out the surveys to known customers. Retail partners include Toys “R” Us, Staples, REI, Drugstore.com, Brookstone and Ace Hardware. Buzzillions is owned by its parent company, PowerReviews.
CHRISTMAS TREE PERMITS NOW ON SALE
Nov 30th
Christmas tree permits are on sale for $5 each at all Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest ranger stations and the forest headquarters. Each permit allows a family to cut one tree, with a tree height limit of 15 feet, or dig a small live transplant tree. Permits may be purchased in person or by mail and are limited tiffany jewelry to two permits per family. The permits are non-refundable.
When venturing out into the cold and snowy hills in pursuit of a Christmas tree, here are some hints to help make your trip a safe one:
1. Before leaving home, notify a friend or family member where you will be going and when you will return. Then, stick to your plan and let your contact person know when you have returned.
2. Consider carefully your clothing, equipment, and vehicle needs, making certain they are adequate for the worst conditions you might encounter. If planning to drive over snow-covered roads, a high-clearance vehicle may be best, and don’t forget to carry tire chains and a shovel.
3. ALWAYS check out the avalanche hazard before leaving home.
4. Start out early in the day so that you have enough daylight to be able to choose that “perfect” tree.
5. Be familiar with the area that you plan to visit.
6. Carry extra clothing, food, and tools in your vehicle for those unexpected mishaps that may occur.
7. Christmas tree permits may be placed on the driver’s side dashboard in lieu of a Northwest Forest Pass when parking at a trailhead. However, once enough snow accumulates and selected trailhead parking areas convert to Sno-Parks, you must have a valid Washington State Sno-Park permit displayed on your windshield necklaces when parking at any State Sno-Park.
For those who can’t make it into any of our offices during daily business hours many local businesses are also selling Christmas tree permits.
* In Wenatchee, tree permits are available at Hooked on Toys and Arlberg Sports. * In Chelan, permits can be bought at the Chelan Shell Foodmart gas station. * The Entiat Food Center in Entiat is also selling Christmas tree permits. * In the Lake Wenatchee area, Parkside Grocery, Midway Village and Plain Hardware have permits for sale. * In Leavenworth, tree permits are available at Dan’s Food Market, the 76 gas station and Shell Village Mercantile. * In the Cle Elum and Ellensburg areas Christmas tree permits can be purchased at Roslyn Cyclery, Pioneer Coffee, Intermountain Radio Shack, Morning Star Chevron/Deli and Ellensburg Chamber of Commerce. * Christmas tree permits are available at the following locations in the Naches Ranger District area: * Eagle Rock Grocery, Whistlin’ Jacks Resort and Rimrock Grocery Store on State Route 410 * Helms True Value Hardware and Save-On Foods in Selah * Oak Creek Ace Hardware and Slim’s Market in Naches * KOA Campground at Squaw Rock * Vendors selling Christmas tree permits in Okanogan County include: * Chevron Station in Okanogan * The General Store in Conconully * The Junction Mini Mart in Tonasket * Carlton General Store in Carlton * Twisp Chevron gas station, Hank’s Market and Hank’s Mini Market in Twisp * Pardners Mini Market in Winthrop
For more information about Christmas tree permits please contact any Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest office. These offices are open Monday through Friday from 7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Our offices will be closed on the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. Forest Service offices may also close early the day before these holidays, so call ahead for operating hours.
Chelan Ranger District, 428 W. Woodin Ave., Chelan WA 98816; 509-682-4900
Cle Elum Ranger District, 803 W. 2nd Street, Cle Elum, WA 98922; 509-852-1100
Entiat Ranger District, physical address 2108 Entiat Way, mailing address P.O. Box 476 Entiat, WA 98822; 509-784-1511
Methow Valley Ranger District,bangles 24 West Chewuch Road, Winthrop, WA 98862; 509-996-4000
Naches Ranger District, 10237 Hwy. 12, Naches, WA 98937; 509-653-1401
Okanogan Valley Office, 1240 South Second Ave., Okanogan, WA 98840; 509-826-3275
Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest Headquarters office, 215 Melody Lane, Wenatchee, WA 98801; 509-664-9200
Tonasket Ranger District, 1 W. Winesap, Tonasket, WA 98855; 509-486-2186
Wenatchee River Ranger District-Leavenworth office, 600 Sherbourne, Leavenworth, WA 98826; 509-548-2550
Wenatchee River Ranger District-Lake Wenatchee office, CLOSED during the winterFor more information please contact: Sarabjit Jagirdar, Email:- htsyndication@hindustantimes.com.
AA Travel Insurance Urging Travellers to Stay Safe on the Ski Slopes This Christmas
Nov 27th
Holiday goers encouraged not to cut back on winter sports cover
AA Travel Insurance
Gina Rudd
Marketing and Public Relations Manager
Telephone +44 1268 592 172
As the festive season approaches, the ski holiday is perhaps the most christmas gift obvious choice for those looking to book a winter break.
Yet the economic crash appears to have caused a significant reduction in the number of holiday-goers opting for ski excursions: according to the Guardian newspaper, ski trip bookings fell 13% just last year, with empty beds being cheaply sold off last minute, and companies failing to make profit.
With the ski industry now struggling to break even, this year has seen a sharp rise in the cost of ski holidays. Those budget and last minute deals have become harder to find, with ski companies adopting a supply-and-demand approach to save money.(1)
But the holiday-maker can look to the new resorts to find cheaper alternatives away from the more obvious destinations in the French and Swiss Alps. The “piste” found in the Abruzzo Mountains in Italy offer a similar experience to the more renowned ski-spots, and without a glamorous reputation of the more established resorts, it is a more realistic option for the budget conscious.(2)
Add this to the money-saving options of mid-week excursions and the enormous range of necklaces budget flight tickets available across the internet, and a festive holiday spent skiing or snowboarding remains a possibility. Even over Christmas, when expenditure hits a seasonal high.
With the recession still a very real concern, cutting back on essentials like travel insurance may be a tempting prospect, with those splashing out on their ski holiday simply hoping the worst never happens.
Tellingly, a survey commissioned by AA Travel Insurance exposes the need for an insurance package covering winter sports-based holidays. The fact that 57%(3) of holiday goers are taking more adventurous trips, signals a need for people to make sure they are adequately covered when they travel.. A sizeable 19% of those surveyed had required medical attention when abroad. 1 With the cost of treatment abroad potentially far outweighing the cost of the holiday, getting adequate cover for a winter sports holiday is a must. AA Travel Insurance offers a policy which includes medical expenses cover of up to Pounds 10 million and 24 hour medical emergency support which could prove vital in a medical emergency.
A spokesperson for AA Travel Insurance said, “Accidents can happen on a small or a large scale. Being equipped with the right insurance isn’t tempting fate; an insurance policy on a winter sports holiday is imperative in any kind of emergency.”
Notes to editors
(1) Taken from Skiing Trips that won’t break the bank on October 4th 2009 (Guardian.co.uk)
(2) Taken from Skiing’s cheap and cheerful alternative to the Alps on October 4th 2009 (Guardian.co.uk)
(3) Survey carried out by PR Precision on behalf of AA Travel Insurance between 12th – 16th October 2009
About AA Travel Insurance
The AA is not only the UK’s premier breakdown service we also provide great value travel insurance with cover you can trust.
Our secure website allows you to buy single trip travel insurance or annual multi trip travel insurance bangles online in just a few minutes, or if you prefer to talk to someone why not contact our UK-based call centre? Our call agents are available 7 days a week.
AA Travel Insurance is a division of Drakefield Insurance Services Limited which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. Drakefield Insurance Services Limited is part of The AA.
When is a Christmas tree not a Christmas tree?
Nov 25th
You can call the Colorado blue spruce standing in Lake Superior Plaza whatever you want tiffany and co. Minnesota Power isn’t giving it an official label.
A news release from Minnesota Power announcing that the 50- to 60-foot tree would go up Wednesday referred to it as a holiday tree, and that is what it was called in coverage of the event held at 30 W. Superior St. This sparked a debate in the comments section of duluthnewstribune.com, pitting Team Christmas against Team Holiday.
“Some call it a Christmas tree, some call it a holiday tree,” Minnesota Power communications manager Amy Rutledge said Thursday. “When it’s set up for us, it symbolizes the start of the holiday season. It’s important to focus on the fact that it’s a community tree.”
This is the 25th year that Minnesota Power has put up a tree, which was donated this year by a local family. It will be lighted Nov. 20, before the Christmas City of the North Parade, and taken down sometime after New Year’s Day.
Rutledge said there was never an internal discussion about what to call the tree. The news release said “holiday tree,” but a Minnesota Power employee referred to it as a Christmas tree on television.
Rutledge said that no one complained to Minnesota Power about what the tree has been called key rings.
The holiday vs. Christmas debate itself seems to be a sort of holiday tradition. During the 1990s, the decorated tree at the White House was referred to as a “holiday tree.” The one recently shipped from Arizona to the U.S. Capitol has been tagged as a Christmas tree, and has been since 2005.
In 2005, the Rev. Jerry Falwell started the “Friend or Foe” campaign to combat what he said was an attack on Christmas. This included boycotting major retailers such as Target and Wal-Mart that used “holiday” instead of “Christmas” in advertising.
A local Catholic priest’s take: If the tree is on Minnesota Power’s property, then they can call it whatever they want.
“If it were on my land, it would be called a Christmas tree,” said the Rev. William Graham, the chairman of the Catholic studies department at the College of St. Scholastica. “I think Minnesota Power, since they own the land, they get to decide. They’ll get no lip from me.”
The News Tribune couldn’t confirm Thursday whether the tree stands on company land or public land, but Lake Superior Plaza is clearly a public space.
Rabbi Amy Bernstein of Temple Israel said it should be called a Christmas tree, but she thinks there are necklaces good intentions behind calling it a holiday tree.
“It’s an attempt to be inclusive and respectful of other traditions,” she said.
But since there isn’t a tree associated with Hanukkah, Bernstein added, it doesn’t make any sense.
“It’s a Christmas tree,” she said. “Nobody else has a tree.”
Dave Jensch, the station manager at the Northland’s NewsCenter, said the tree was referred to as a Christmas tree during Wednesday’s 6 p.m. newscast show and a holiday tree at 10 p.m.
Jensch said his station typically uses the term “holiday” but has no plans to lose the “Christmas” in the Christmas bangles City of the North Parade, which it sponsors. A name change — to the “KBJR Christmas Parade” — was experimented with a decade or so ago.
“And people went crazy,” Jensch said, adding because of the link to the Merv Griffin song “Christmas City,” it’s unlikely it will ever change.
Bill van Druten of the Lake Superior Freethinkers has a take that goes beyond whether it’s a holiday tree or a Christmas tree.
“It’s foolish to cut down a living tree for that sort of nonsense,” he said. “We can have a very happy December or holiday without destroying nature.”
Snake River Community Players present ‘The Best Christmas Pageant Ever’
Nov 24th
Start the holiday season early with the Snake River Community Players’ production of “The Best tiffany and co Christmas Pageant Ever.”
Performances are 7 p.m. Nov. 20 and 23 and 2 p.m. Nov. 21 at the Wendell High School auditorium. Tickets are $7 for adults, $6 for students and seniors, and $25 for families, which includes two adults and all the children in the family.
In the “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever,” preparations for an annual church Christmas show dissolve into chaos when the director breaks her leg and the ill-mannered Herdman children take over the lead roles.
Co-director Lorna Irwin said the play spreads a fun, positive message that’s perfect necklaces for the holiday season.
“It’s all about people,” Irwin said. “It’s about finding the best in everyone.”
Information: Irwin, 324-7544.
Credit: The Times-News, Twin Falls tiffany bangles, Idaho