The Thanksgiving week vacation is great for families that have to travel for Thanksgiving this year. I’m sure the teachers appreciate the pay increase and week vacation too.

This weekend Florida stores will be competing for parents’ business as they do their back to school shopping. Tax Free Holiday begins today, and it has been the tradition of parents to go out in full force as they take advantage of back to school shopping with the tax discounts. Although it was once a whole week of tax free shopping years ago, a tax free weekend is better than no tax free days at all. Florida’s 2010 Tax Free Holiday runs August 13^th through August 15^th.

The sales tax exemption applies to each eligible book or item of clothing selling for $50 or less and to each eligible school supply item selling for $10 or less. The exemption will still apply no matter how many items are sold on the same invoice to a customer.

Smith immediately praised Walter Payton, the man he surpassed as rushing king, and recognized the two other Pro Football Hall of Fame members of the Cowboys’ Triplets, Troy Aikman and Michael Irvin. He began to cry when recognizing his former fullback, Daryl Johnston. “You took care of me as if you were taking care of your little brother,” Smith said through tears. Smith rushed for 18, 355 yards, with 164 touchdowns, 11 seasons with 1,000 or more yards on the ground, and 78 games with 100 yards rushing.

Jerry Rice proved to be as classy off the field as he had been on the field for 20 seasons. “This is finally it,” he said, ” There are no more routes to run, no more touchdowns to score, no more records to set. That young boy from Mississippi has finally stopped running. “Let me stand here and catch my breath.” Earlier in his speech he thanked coaches and teammates including Hall of Fame quarterbacks Steve Young and Joe Montana. He also paid homage to Bill Walsh, the 49er coach who drafted Rice from Mississippi Valley State in 1985. Rice caught 1,549 passes, gained 22, 895 yards, and scored 208 touchdowns in his career.

Floyd Little was sandwiched between Jerry Rice and Emmitt Smith but he held his own with a wonderful speech of his own. Little was a star running back for the Denver Broncos from 1967-1975 and waited nearly 3 decades after becoming eligible to get elected. He thanked Jim Gray, sportscaster, for his help in getting Little elected into the Hall of Fame. He also personally thanked several members of his family giving specific examples on how they have helped him over the years. Little was sincere as he recognized the important people in his life and went on to give advice to young players playing the game that he loves. The main idea of his speech is that football is important but family is more important.

Dick LeBeau and John Randle were the first two players inducted on Saturday night. LeBeau was inducted after a 32 year wait. He played 14 years for the Lions but is best known as an assistant coach with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He has been defensive coordinator with the Steelers for several years and is the author of the zone blitz. Randle made six straight All-Pro teams (1993-1998) and was chosen for seven Pro Bowls during his career. He is well known for talking constantly during games but his Hall of Fame speech lasted only six minutes.

Russ Grimm and Rickey Jackson played together at the University of Pittsburgh and are now teammates in the Hall of Fame. From 1981-1991, Grimm led the Redskins’ “Hogs” offensive line and won three super bowls. He is the first member of that offensive line to make the hall. Jackson was a talented linebacker and is the first Saints player to be enshrined. Jackson made six Pro Bowls and had 128 sacks.

Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg during a Tampa Bay Rays baseball game

The Tampa Bay Rays lost to the Minnesota Twins on Thursday afternoon at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg. If you only watched the first seven and a half innings of the game, you should not have been surprised by the fact the Rays lost the game. As we all know, baseball is a nine inning game and anything can happen on any given day. Thursday’s game was a perfect example of just that.

Those of you that watched the entire game know the last inning and a half of the game provided the most excitement. The Rays scored the first run of the day off a homerun by B.J. Upton in the bottom of the eighth inning. The Rays then loaded the bases when the second run was walked home. With the score now 6-2, Rays manager Joe Maddon sends Jason Bartlett to pinch hit for Matt Joyce. Maddon appeared to be a genius when Bartlett hit a grand slam off Twins reliever Ron Mahay to tie the game at 6-6.

The ninth inning proved to be just as exciting for all the wrong reasons. Jason Repko of the Twins hit a pop up that hit the “A” ring on the catwalk and the ball dropped onto the infield for a single which scored Jason Kubel of the Twins to make it 7-6. Cuddyer singled to left off Rays reliever Benoit to make the score 8-6. The Twins won the game when the Rays failed to score in the bottom of the ninth inning.

Rays manager Joe Maddon was visibly upset after the game. His comments after the game showed his frustration. “That was probably the perfect commercial advertisement, reason to have a new ballpark. There’s no better reason than that. I know it works both ways, but to lose a game in a pennant situation like that because of the roof totally indicates why there’s a crying need for a new ballpark in this area, regardless of where they put it. It just needs to be a real baseball field, where if you were to lose the pennant by one game and look back on a game like that because the roof got in the way, you’d be very upset. There’s not better reason than that.”

The bottom line is that the Rays may need a new stadium but will not get one this season. Hopefully, this amazing team will put the last two heartbreaking losses behind them and play well down the stretch. They still have the second best record in baseball and played the team with the best record in baseball, Yankees, very well last weekend. The Rays might be the only team in baseball capable of hanging with the Yankees so it is essential for them to focus on finishing strong this season and not looking ahead to the possibilities that await them in the future.

Safelink Wireless offers 150 minutes a month and free cell phone. You can sign up and find out about their income restrictions on their web site. Safelink Wireless is operated by TracFone Wireless.

Assurance Wireless offer 200 minutes a month and a free cell phone. You can call 1-888-898-4888 to begin their application process. Assurance Wireless also provides details about their free cell phone program on their web site. Assurance Wireless is operated by Virgin Mobile.

Both of these programs are provided through Lifeline.

The “Lifeline” and “Link Up” programs provide financial assistance to low-income consumers in connecting a residential phone line and paying their monthly bill. The programs have been active for years and are administered by the FCC and state public utility commissions, but at least half of eligible consumers nationwide do not take advantage of this assistance.

“Lifeline” involves discounts on monthly charges for a primary residential telephone line, including wireless service. “Link Up” involves a discount on the cost of initiating the primary telephone service for a residence, including the activation of a wireless phone that serves as the primary residential telephone. The discounts are available throughout the country, including an enhanced discount on Tribal lands. In general, consumers at or below 135% of the federal poverty guidelines, or who participate in one or more of a number of other assistance programs, are eligible for Lifeline and Link Up.

Related Links:

Lifeline Information for Floridians

Mini-grants are available to fund community projects in neighborhoods located in unincorporated areas and cities (Plant City, Tampa, Temple Terrace) within Hillsborough County. In addition, grants are available to neighborhoods in unincorporated Hillsborough County for tree-planting, low-irrigation and clean-up. Previous grant-funded projects include shrub and flower planting, subdivision entrance signs, playground equipment, neighborhood festivals, crime watch programs, Web sites, newsletters, education activities and more.

Those that are interested in applying for the grant must attend one of the orientation classes offered throughout Hillsborough County.  

• Tuesday, July 6, 6:30 p.m. Brandon Regional Service Center, 311 Pauls Drive, Brandon, FL 33511
• Thursday, July 8, 6:30 p.m. Bruton Memorial Public Library, 302 McLendon St., Plant City, FL 33563
• Thursday, July 15, 6:30 p.m. Town N’ Country Commons Public Library, 7606 Paula Drive, Tampa, FL 33615
• Monday, July 19, 6:30 p.m. Lutz Branch Library, 101 Lutz-Lake Fern Road, Lutz, FL 33548
• Wednesday, July 21, 10 a.m. SouthShore Regional Service Center, 410 30th St. S.E., Ruskin, FL 33570
• Thursday, July 22, 6:30 p.m. County Center, 601 E. Kennedy Blvd, First Floor, Office of Neighborhood Relations, Tampa, FL 33602

Mini-grant applications will be accepted through Friday, Aug. 13, 5 p.m. via drop-off, mail or fax:

• Drop off or mail (must be postmarked by Aug. 13) to: Office of Neighborhood Relations, 601 E. Kennedy Blvd., First Floor, Tampa, FL 33602
• Fax: 813-276-2621

Additional information about the grants can be obtained from the Office of Neighborhood Relations at 813-272-5860 and at the website: http://www.hillsboroughcounty.org/onr.  The web site also has the application for the grant.

Hopefully this will be a benefit to the many people that would make wonderful parents. Beyond the fertility issue, it is amazing how far technology has come that there is now a home sperm count kit. This makes me hopeful for the scientific breakthroughs that will be coming in the near future

She has been successful in her magazine and her talk show; it will not be a surprise to see her new network succeed. It is like she has the Midas touch. Everything she puts her hands on seems to turn to gold.

For additional information call the Gandy Pool at 863-834-3157.

For those that do not live in Lakeland, other local city and county recreational departments are offering swimming lessons this summer. You can also check with your local YMCA for group and individual swimming lessons for children and adults.

Source: National Flip Flop Day Free Smoothie

This vacation, be sure your plans also include capturing some photos of your pet enjoying safe travel. Each year, two entries from the AAA PetBook Photo Contest are selected to appear on a cover of the next edition of The AAA PetBook. The “Best in Travel” winner will also receive $300, pet treats, five copies of the book and a $150 Best Western Travel Card usable worldwide. The second-place winner will receive $150, pet treats and two copies of the book. Photos and completed forms must be received by Nov. 30, 2010. Check The AAA PetBook for details, or access official contest rules, an entry form and the contest photo gallery at AAA.com/PetBook.

You have until June 19^th to enter the contest at Parents magazine website.

The program is similar to the National School Lunch Program. It provides nutritionally balanced meals to children regardless of race, color, sex, disability, age, or national origin during the summer vacation when school breakfast and lunch are not available. All children 18 years old and younger are eligible for a breakfast and lunch at no charge, regardless of whether they are enrolled in summer school.

Hillsborough County Schools has provided a list of the schools and times for the free lunch and breakfast program.  There are many different locations throughout Hillsborough County.

Date and Locations of Free Ink Cartridge Refills:

• June 2 – 8 at Bloomingdale ACE Hardware in Brandon
• June 5 – 12 at Vision ACE Hardware in Dunedin
• June 9 – 15 at Gavins ACE Hardware in Fort Meyers
• June 18 – 24 at Temple Terrace ACE Hardware in Temple Terrace

Other states that will be or already participating in the Free Ink Day are: Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, and Nevada.

You can contact the participating ACE Hardware for specifics about this special. Refilling cartridges is a smart way to cut down on waste. The fact that you can do it for free during this promotion makes it even smarter.

Free Ink Day from INK-O-DEM and ACE Hardware stores

Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg during a Tampa Bay Rays baseball game

Family Fun Days are on Sundays at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg. During these days there are special activities for the children and giveaways for the first 10,000 children 14 and under. Children also get to run the bases after the game.

The Tampa Bay Rays are giving away family 4 packs of tickets to baseball games during Family Fun Days. Details of the entry dates and sweepstakes deadline are available on the Tampa Bay Rays website. There are separate sweepstakes and entry periods for each of the Family Fun Days baseball games. Each Family Fun Day sweepstakes has multiple possible winners and the amount of prize giveaways varies with each sweepstakes. The first sweepstakes was from March 29, 2010 to April 2, 2010 for the April 5^th game the Rays had against the New York Yankees. The last sweepstakes is September 13, 2010 to September 17, 2010 for the September 20, 2010 game against the Seattle Mariners. There are several Family Fun Days sweepstakes between those times. So, you have multiple opportunities to win a 4-pack of tickets to see the Tampa Bay Rays on Family Fun Days.