Have you ever wondered about the life cycle of a pine cone, or wanted a more user-friendly book on bird
watching in Kentucky? HomeGrown provides both this week. The pine cone expertise comes from Deborah Hill, a forestry research specialist at the University of Kentucky. Bill Thompson, author of a new book, “Kentucky Bird Watching,” has tips on identifying of those birds at your winter feeder.
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Motorcyclists will be collecting toys for admission into their annual Toys for Tots Benefit ride on Sunday. The Kentucky Motorcycle Association’s annual event collected more than three-thousand toys last year. Organizer Fred Myers says it’s also a parade for the area.
“They tend to forget when it is, but when they hear the motorcycles coming that day, a lot of people stand out on their porches and patios, and actually bring toys out to throw at us and wave at the motorcycles, they really like it,” says Myers.
The ride starts at Riverport Industrial Complex Sunday afternoon, and ends at Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium.
On this Friday after Thanksgiving, known to retailers as Black Friday, shoppers packed Louisville’s store corridors. That’s despite news of the anemic economy. At the Mall of St. Matthews, Louisville resident Kerry McCusker took a break on a bench with her two daughters.
“It doesn’t seem like anybody’s sparing their money though, it’s a whole bunch of money going on here, whole lot of people,” says McCusker.
McCuskey says she plans to limit her spending this holiday season to what her daughters truly need. Other shoppers said that although they still planned to give presents to loved ones, they would be more cautious with their gift-giving dollars. Retail results will show whether that willingness to spend, even if a bit less, can lend a boost to already flagging sales.
Retailers in the Louisville area are hoping for a busy holiday shopping season despite a slumping economy.
Early bird shoppers were out in force Friday morning across the region, including Greentree Mall in Clarksville, Indiana, where Heather Hoffman is Senior Marketing Manager.
“We actually opened the mall at 4:00am, and we had a pajama lounge event, and definitely got some people out early. We had a few stores opening at midnight. I know that K-B Toys had about 100 people at midnight waiting to get in,” Hoffman said.
Retailers worried about weak sales have been offering larger discounts and extended hours this year to lure customers.
Friday, November 28, 2008
Gang Culture
Bloods, Crips, Latin Kings, if you’ve kept up with the news over the past few years, these street gang names will be familiar; and if not from the news, then from movies and television that glamorize gangs. But what is the real story? Sure, the Bloods, Crips and Latin Kings are high profile names, but what about the more local gangs such as the local “Click Tight” group? What is the appeal of gangs to young men and women? Are the myths of gang culture true or urban legend? Join us on Friday when we learn more about gangs. Because this is an archive edition of the show, we’re unable to take calls this hour.
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Light Up Louisville takes place Friday downtown. The annual festival includes a parade, the lighting of the city’s Christmas tree, and holiday games, crafts and concerts. Mayor Jerry Abramson says participants will also get a chance to make a donation to Toys for Tots and send holiday greetings to soldiers serving overseas.
“Outside Metro Hall, families will be able to sign a huge community greeting card to our troops and meet and thank a few of the soldiers currently serving in Iraq, from the Kentucky Army National Guard, who will be home on leave,” says Abramson.
The event will also include ‘Lou-minations’, an annual lights display that will take place at Metro Hall hourly through New Year’s Eve.
Louisville’s largest employer has hired fewer seasonal workers this year than last year – due to the slower economy. UPS spokesperson Jackie Blair says there’s also been a lower employee turnover rate in recent months.
“Once you get a job that is stable and pays fairly well and offers you benefits, you want to stay there, so folks are not leaving, so we don’t need as many this year,” says Blair, “and of course, the economy does play into the aspects of how many employees we will hire over the course of the year.”
UPS has hired about 900 holiday workers to help with the influx of packages, but that’s around 200 fewer workers than it took on at this time last year.
