A night under the stars

http://www.boston.com/travel/articles/2005/11/27/in_a_new_light/

The first travel story I ever wrote in my life was featured on the front page of the Boston Globe travel section today -- super exciting. My boyfriend and I took a trip to Washington, D.C. last spring break and wound up crashing in our hotel room at 7 p.m. the first night we were there -- missing out on the night festivities we had planned. When we woke up at 11 p.m., we decided to go on a walk, and wound up touring all the monuments at night, which was amazing. There was not a soul around and we had the entire city to ourselves. I wound up turning the experience into a travel feature for a journalism class at UMass, never thinking it would be published.

Black Friday

Black Friday was amazingly tame this year -- at least at the stores I went to. But as usual, there were some people who reverted into a mob scene, injuring one individual in New Jersey and causing a ruckus in several other stores across the country. The worst thing I encountered was two women in a shoving match over a sound system at Best Buy, but it was quickly resolved by security.

http://www.kake.com/news/headlines/2017592.html

Girl dies from boyfriend's kiss

A 15-year-old Quebec girl is dead after being kissed by her boyfriend. The girl, who was allergic to peanuts, went into shock after being kissed by her boyfriend, who had eaten a peanut butter sandwitch hours earlier. So incredibly sad -- I can't imagine how this poor guy must feel. I can definitely relate to allergy sufferers -- I am terrible allergic to bee stings and have to carry an EPI-PEN with me all spring, summer and fall. It's too bad they don't make something similar for nut allergies.







http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20051125/peanut_allergy_051125/20051125?hub=Health

Gas for $1.96?! Oh my!

Gas prices are finally back to normal, at least in the Boston area. I actually found regular unleaded for $1.96 in Billerica today, which was the lowest I've paid since coming to Boston. It's amazing that just this past August, they were predicting that gas prices would be near $3.50 to $4 this December. I just hope the downward spiral continues, especially because it wasn't all that long ago that I could fill up my car for $13.

http://cbs11tv.com/topstories/local_story_329215622.html

Newspaper buyouts

A buyout list will apparently be released sometime in the next few weeks according to my fellow employees, but no one knows exactly when they will come. One nasty rumor is predicting that pink slips will be slid into paycheck envelopes the day before Thanksgiving, giving all disgruntled employees the long weekend to sort out their emotions. So far, nothing big has happened yet, but I feel bad for these excellent reporters who have families and thought their top notch skills had brought them job security. It makes going into the journalism field much more intimidating for me. The field is going to be clogged with excellent, job hunting 35-year-olds, and I will never be able to compete with them. Blech.

Food pantries suffer from bare shelves

One of the top stories I'm covering for the Thanksgiving season is food pantries in the greater Boston area, and how they've been affected by the poor economy, high gas prices, and the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
Many food pantries are seeing a major drop in their donation numbers. So many people have donated to Hurricane Katrina relief efforts, that they have nothing left to donate to the local needy.
While this situation is a major drag, it's being compounded by the increasing number of low-income working families who are turning up at food pantries for assistance with weekly groceries. Directors are blaming rising grocery and heating costs for eating away at family budgets, making it impossible to get through the week without some sort of assistance. Also, the cost of food at the Boston Food Bank, which supplies many shelters in the Boston area, has also gone up. In the end, it looks like Hurricane Katrina did affect New England, even if we are thousands of miles from the Gulf Coast.

And even worse....

Despite being charged with two counts of extortion (see yesterday's post) Mayor Richard Goyette of Chicopee is refusing to step down from his post, despite pressure from city officials. He must be trying to prove something, but it definitely can't be his innocence after those FBI tapes. I also can't imagine what he thinks he'll get accomplished in office. I doubt he'll be invited to make any public appearances anytime soon, for fear of his own safety.