WGGB Springfield » Lifestyle

Some Towns Have Rescheduled Trick or Treating for Saturday, November 5

WGGB Springfield — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 19:54:18 +0000

WESTERN MASSACHUSETTS (WGGB) — After the Great October Snowstorm that cancelled trick or treating this past Monday due to safety reasons, some towns have decided to reschedule it for this weekend.

Chicopee, Greenfield, and Northampton will have a delayed Halloween celebration with trick or treating at dusk on Saturday.

The Bondsville Fire Department will be hosting a ‘Trunk or Treat’ event from 4PM until 6PM on Saturday. Everyone is invited! The event will be held at the Fire Department Headquarters on Main St. in Bondsville. In the tradition of ‘trunk or treat’, if you are interested in distributing Halloween candy from the trunk of your car to local costumed participants, please arrive at the fire station no later than 3:30PM. If you would like more information about the event, or if you would like to support the event by making a cash donation, please call the Bondsville Fire Department at 413-283-9036.

Westfield will have trick-or-treating on Monday night, November 7th.

Other cities and towns we contacted today that have definitely decided not to reschedule this year are: East Longmeadow, Springfield, Ware and West Springfield.

Decisions are still being made in other towns as to whether any events will be held in the upcoming weeks.

Open Casting Calls Season Three MasterChef in Boston This Weekend

WGGB Springfield — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 19:27:01 +0000

FOX is ready to serve up a third season of its culinary competition series MasterChef starring Chef Gordon Ramsay and other judges, restaurateur Joe Bastianich and Chef Graham Elliot.

Open casting calls for season three will be held in Boston on November 5; Atlanta and Washington, D.C. November 12; Austin and Savannah, GA November 19; Chicago and Seattle December 3; and New York and San Francisco December 10. Other venues will be announced by the network soon.

For more casting information, application forms and eligibility guidelines visit www.masterchefcasting.com.

Making Strides Toward A World With More Birthdays

WGGB Springfield — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 23:17:57 +0000

Cancer touches more than just the people diagnosed. It has an impact on everyone around them. That’s why the American Cancer Society Making Strides Against Breast Cancer event has brought together millions of people to celebrate people who have battled breast cancer, educate people about way to reduce their risk, and empower communities to join the fight.

Since 1993, nearly six million walkers across the United States have raised more than $400 million to help fight breast cancer through Making Strides events. The money raised helps the Society to save lives and create a world with less breast cancer and more birthdays by helping people stay well, helping people get well, by finding cures and by fighting back against breast cancer.

Join LA Fitness International Inc. in the fight against breast cancer by donating to their Making Strides Against Breast Cancer team by following these simple steps:

1. Visit http://makingstrides.acsevents.org/orangecounty or http://makingstrides.acsevents.org/sandiego
2. ‘Donate’ → search team LA Fitness
3. Click on ‘Donate to our Team’
4. Enter Donation Level or enter other donation amount
5. Enter Donation Information
6. Enter your Payment and Billing Information
7. Review Information
8. Donate!

Salvation Army Coats for Kids Campaign

WGGB Springfield — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 21:59:31 +0000

Do you have new or gently used winter coats you’d like to donate to the Salvation Army Coats for Kids Campaign?

Once again, abc40 has teamed up with WMAS, Berkshire Bank, and Belmont Laundry to collect Coats for Kids until October 31st.

One drop-off location is at our own abc40 studio at 1300 Liberty Street in Springfield during normal business hours of 8:30 am to 5:00 pm by October 31st.

If you would like to a complete up-to-date list of Coats for Kids collection locations and learn more about the Salvation Army Coats for Kids Campaign at http://www.salvationarmycoatsforkids.com.

Join us this year. Stop by our studio or one of the many collection locations with your new or gently used winter coats.

Long road from farm to fork worsens food outbreaks

The Associated Press — Sun, 02 Oct 2011 10:20:04 +0000

Cantaloupes rot in the afternoon heat on a field on the Jensen Farms near Holly, Colo., on Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2011. Federal health officials said Wednesday more illnesses and possibly more deaths may be linked to an outbreak of listeria in cantaloupe in coming weeks. (AP Photo/Ed Andrieski)

Workers use a tractor to remove plastic from a field of rotting cantaloupe on the Jensen Farms near Holly, Colo., on Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2011. The Food and Drug Administration has recalled 300,000 cases of cantaloupe grown on the Jensen Farms after connecting it with a listeria outbreak. (AP Photo/Ed Andrieski)

Eric Jensen walks a field with rotting cantaloupes on the Jensen Farms near Holly, Colo., on Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2011. Eric and his brother Ryan own Jensen Farms that has been identified as the source of the national listeria outbreak that has killed more than a dozen people so far. (AP Photo/Ed Andrieski)

Chart shows the number of cases of listeria by state

WASHINGTON (AP) — Outbreaks of listeria and other serious illnesses linked to tainted food are becoming more common, partly because much of what we eat takes a long and winding road from farm to fork.

A cantaloupe grown on a Colorado field may make four or five stops before it reaches the dinner table. There’s the packing house where it’s cleaned and packaged, then the distributor. A processor may cut or bag the fruit. The retail distribution center is where the melons are sent out to various stores. Finally it’s stacked on display at the grocery store.

Imported fruits and vegetables have an even longer journey.

The Colorado cantaloupe crop that’s linked to 84 illnesses and as many as 17 deaths in 19 states has traveled so far and wide that producer Jensen Farms doesn’t even know exactly where their fruit ended up.

The company said last week that it can’t provide a list of retailers that sold the tainted fruit because the melons were sold and resold. It named the 28 states where the fruit was shipped, but people in other states have reported getting sick.

“The food chain is very complex,” says Sherri McGarry, a senior adviser in the Food and Drug Administration’s Office of Foods. “There are many steps, and the more steps there are the harder it can be to link up each step to identify what the common source” of an outbreak is.

Fewer and larger farms and companies dominate food production in the country.

Now, many in the produce industry have come together to try and improve the ability to quickly trace food from field to plate.

This is good business. Large recalls, such as spinach in 2006, peanuts in 2009 and eggs in 2010, tend to depress sales for an entire product industry, even if only one company or grower was responsible for the outbreak.

A food safety law passed by Congress last year gives the FDA new power to improve tracing food through the system. Food safety advocates say the law will help make the food network safer by focusing on making every step in the chain safer and making it easier to find the source of outbreaks.

Associated Press

Dakin Pioneer Valley Humane Society Needs Your Help

WGGB Springfield — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 20:24:19 +0000

SPRINGFIELD, Mass (WGGB)

Dakin Pioneer Valley Humane Society needs your help. They have more than 200 cats who need good homes. Dakin is taking in extra cats while Thomas J O’conner tries to manage a virus that’s in the shelter. Because of this they’re offering adult cats for only five dollars. All cats go home spayed, microchipped and vaccinated. The offer will last until October 15th.

For more information: http://www.dpvhs.org/

5 Reasons to Watch How to Make It in America Season 2

TV Guide News — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 16:20:23 +0000

When How to Make It In America returns, best friends Ben (Bryan Greenberg) and Cam (Victor Rasuk) will be back in New York hustling to become successful designers. With their business finally off the ground, Greenberg says viewers will see them move forward, albeit slowly, while growing personally as well. Check out the top reasons to watch Season 2 when it premieres Sunday at 10:30/9:30c on HBO.

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TV Guide Network Counts Down the 100 Moments That Changed TV

TV Guide News — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 22:20:10 +0000

TV Guide Network will look at the monumental moments that have affected today’s television landscape in a five-part series starting Sunday.

Among the biggest: Janet Jackson‘s Super Bowl “wardrobe malfunction,” the Van Doren “Quiz Show” scandal, and how reality shows such as Survivor and American Idol launched a new genre.

Journalists such as Tom Brokaw discuss the debate between John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon, the O.J. Simpson trial and the birth of CNN. Larry King explains how his talk show paved the way for the…

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A Full Plate Greets Agriculture Deputy Secretary In Western Mass

NewsTips — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 04:20:06 +0000

GREENFIELD, Mass. (WGGB) — Sometimes farmers have to go to Washington to make their case known, but in this instance, Washington is coming to the farm. Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Kathleen Merrigan is in the midst of a visit that’s taken her to Vermont and Massachusetts. It’s a sort of homecoming for Merrigan, who was born in Pittsfield and grew up in Greenfield. Among other concerns, she’s interested in how farms have been faring in the wake of Hurricane Irene.

“I saw a lot of community engagement. Farmers are rebuilding. They’re telling me their neighbors just came to the farm uninvited, moving boulders, doing whatever it took. The courage, the resilience of the farming community in this area is astounding,” says Merrigan, who’s concurrently checking how farmers have been taking advantage of the USDA’s disaster assistance programs.

But her thoughts are future-focused as well. With the average American farmer in his/her late 50s and thirty percent of farmers at 65 or older, Merrigan’s choice to meet with college students isn’t accidental.

“We’re in this huge transition time and we’re wondering who’s this generation of folks who are going to be on our working lands and produce our food.”

The answer to that question might be complex and gradual, but the lure of profitability always helps, and one small part of the potential solution could be happening around the corner. The Franklin County Community Development Corporation is participating in a pilot program aimed at effectively extending the growing season for area farmers, while expanding their market. If the idea is revolutionary, the means seems less so.

“This year we hope to freeze 100,000 pounds of local vegetables and distribute it up and down the Pioneer Valley,” says the Corporation’s president, Gary Gruber.

Simple enough. If you can preserve harvested vegetables and stretch their use throughout the school year, says Gruber, you make it worth farmers’ while to grow more crops. But another innovation is the availability of commercial-sized kitchens, for local entrepreneurs to develop and package recipes for sale. Just during our brief visit, all kinds of crops were being processed for everything from ice cream fudge sauce to beverages, to hot sauces.

Why hasn’t this happened all along?

“Capital expenditure,” says Gruber. “A farmer can’t afford to have a commercial kitchen, purchase the necessary equipment, and marketing – they’re farmers. So, we’re trying to be the middle person and get the produce out…”

One destination for those products is, of course, schools. One of the more obvious benefits is that locally grown produce can be sold fresher, but is that enough? The folks in Washington are confident that the program, which Gruber says is happening in just a handful of locales across the country right now, will yield a different and worthwhile bounty for farmers. As Gruber points out though, perhaps the real proof is the testimony of the most honest and austere customers.

“We did a pilot program for Holyoke last year, and we got letters from children, saying it was the best broccoli they ever ate. Maybe the only broccoli they ever ate, but they ate it!”

Obama’s Job Plan: Turn Off the TV

TV Guide News — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 17:20:09 +0000

President Barack Obama knows how to put America back to work, and it won’t be music to your ears — or your kids’ ears.

President Obama agrees to reschedule jobs speech to NFL Opening Day

“We have to turn off the TV set and put away the video games …

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Glee: The 10 Best and 10 Worst Performances

TV Guide News — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 15:39:04 +0000

We know. With hundreds of numbers to choose from, the only appropriate reaction to such a list is: Only 10 best performances? Are there such things as “worst” Glee performances?

Our omissions are even more stunning, but know they were mighty tough calls. “Somebody to Love” or “Keep Holding On”? There’s only room for one power pop ballad that moves you to tears. Kurt, we salute your inspired “Single Ladies” moves, but that song wasn’t so much sung as it was danced to. “Proud Mary” was so good, but in terms of jaw-dropping performances from Artie, we had to go with another.

How Glee boss Ryan Murphy plans to win you back in Season 3

What did make the list?

Other Links From TVGuide.com

Glee

Fall TV Popularity Contest: Was Terra Nova Dino-mite? Was Hart of Dixie Heartwarming?

TV Guide News — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 15:38:56 +0000

Fox rewound the clock and thrust viewers into the prehistoric age with its sci-fi thriller Terra Nova on Monday night, while The CW debuted a kinder and less reptile-filled (except for that ‘gator) drama, Hart of Dixie. We want to know what you thought of these…

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Social TV: How Survivor’s Jeff Probst Bridged the Gap Between CBS and Its Audience

TV Guide News — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 15:38:47 +0000

When Jeff Probst starting live-tweeting Survivor last season, he did it because he wanted to, not because CBS asked him to. But just two episodes later, the network was encouraging fans to follow @JeffProbst before every commercial break. This season, he’s both live-tweeting and answering viewer questions in 15-second video clips using Tout, and the fan response has been overwhelmingly positive. We talked to Probst about how he convinced CBS that live-tweeting was worthwhile, and why Ozzy has the fans to thank for his return to Survivor.

TVGuide.com: The first time you live-tweeted an episode, you said something like, “C’mon, guys, let’s prove to CBS how cool this is.” Were you getting pushback from the network about tweeting?
Jeff Probst: Initially, CBS just didn’t…

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The Voice (and Former TRL) Host Carson Daly: The Founding Father of Social TV?

Lindsay Silberman — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 03:10:00 +0000

Laugh if you want, but Carson Daly may have started the social TV movement way back in 1998 with MTV’s interactive call-in countdown show Total Request Live. Today, he hosts NBC’s fiercely social singing competition The Voice. (In between, he has hosted NBC’s late-late-night show Last Call with Carson Daly.) TRL and The Voice may feel miles apart on the music-show spectrum, but they’ve both contributed to the socialization of TV. We talked to Daly about his role in shaping TRL, adapting the Dutch formula for The Voice and the role of quality in social success…

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Fall TV Popularity Contest: Committing to Whitney? Did Charlie’s Angels Kick Butt?

Kate Stanhope — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 03:00:00 +0000

Was Whitney must-see TV? Did you think the Charlie’s Angels remake was heavenly? Was Person of Interest interesting? Did you find Prime Suspect arresting?

We want to know to know your thoughts — and what you think of…

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How I Met Your Mother Casts Katie Holmes As the Infamous Slutty Pumpkin

Kate Stanhope — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 23:10:00 +0000

It’s the ~~great~~ slutty pumpkin, Charlie Brown!

How I Met Your Mother has cast Katie Holmes as the oft-referenced but never-seen character, Vulture reports.

The 32-year-old former Dawson’s Creek star (and Mrs. Tom Cruise) will guest-star in a…

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All My Children Comes to an End: Creator Agnes Nixon and the Cast Look Back

Denise Martin — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 04:26:00 +0000

After nearly 42 years of scandalous affairs, decades-long rivalries, fairy tale romances, kidnapped babies, serial killers, resurrected loved ones and the occasional Pennsylvania tornado, All My Children as fans have known it will come to an end on Friday. Two weeks before production wrapped, TVGuide.com spent a few days behind the scenes of Pine Valley as writers, producers and cast performed something of a three-ring circus, rallying to deliver what they hoped would be a satisfying conclusion for their loyal viewers.

During one morning meeting, longtime director Steven Williford planned out the moment in which Angie (Debbi Morgan) would get her sight back, enacting how she would stumble, joyful and teary-eyed, toward Jessie (Darnell Williams). Downstairs on set at the Pine Valley police station, Tad (Michael E. Knight) and Dixie (Cady McClain) — together, at last — confronted David (Vincent Irizarry) perhaps for the final time, begging to know

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9 Social Show Integrations We’re Liking Right Now

Lindsay Silberman — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 03:45:00 +0000

Not every TV show wants to be more social. But a few shows get it, and are pushing the social envelope in innovative ways, making their programs much more interactive, a commodity as prized as total audience and demographic richness to advertisers these days.

We’re kicking off the fall TV season with seven straight days of stories about social TV, followed by continued coverage throughout the season. First up, we compiled a list of nine shows that are breaking the social-engagement mold. We’ve spoken to network execs, actors, producers and other TV folk who we consider to be the industry leaders in the social TV space. Here’s what we’re liking right now, but it’s obviously not an encyclopedic list. Which shows do you think get it?

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Fall TV Popularity Contest: Did You Dig The X Factor or Revenge?

Robyn Ross — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 03:05:00 +0000

The anticipation finally is over. On Wednesday, Fox’s The X Factor debuted, reuniting American Idol judges Simon Cowell and Paula Abdul. Was the competition show as exciting as you expected? Or is it just another singing reality series?

Vote: Which fall premieres won you over? Which flopped?

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Jeff Probst Spills 7 Behind-the-Scenes Survivor Secrets

Lindsay Silberman — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 02:18:00 +0000

Survivor loyalists were thrilled when host Jeff Probst revealed he’d be live-tweeting the show again this season. But during last week’s premiere, Probst switched things up a bit. During commercials, he now addresses viewer questions in live, 15-second clips using a new video service called Tout. We tuned in Wednesday, and here’s a list of his answers to our favorite burning questions….

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