"A clatter of claims to a classic; Maine publisher champions rival author of old favorite" by Joseph P. Kahn Globe Staff / December 3, 2011
A new edition of the poem popularly known as “The Night Before Christmas’’ is being published next week by a small press in Freeport, Maine. Handsomely illustrated, it will sell for $150 and make a thoughtful, if not inexpensive, holiday gift.
It also makes a statement....
--NOMORE--"
"Donors to pay N.Y. store Santa’s salary" November 05, 2011|Associated Press
ST. JAMES, N.Y. - Santa has gotten an early gift.
Donors have stepped forward to keep Santa Claus on the job at a Long Island landmark after he was given the pink slip.
A radio station and a local politician were among those yesterday who said they would pay the $660 salary for the retiree to portray Santa at a county-supported general store in St. James.
Steve Levy, Suffolk County executive, had said it wouldn’t be right to spend the money while trying to close an estimated $135 million budget gap. Up to 750 workers face layoffs. Levy said volunteers could play Santa. Built in 1857, the St. James General Store is on the National Register of Historic Places. It was operated privately for decades, but is now supported with funding from the county government.
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He must have put on the wrong suit.
"Ill. man loses $13,000 in donated suit" December 01, 2011|Associated Press
DES MOINES, Iowa - Charity workers hunted through piles of donated clothes at an Iowa warehouse yesterday, hoping to find $13,000 that an elderly man says he mistakenly left in the pocket of a suit he gave to a Goodwill store in western Illinois....
Dana Engelbert, vice president of marketing for the charity. Engelbert said the man’s wife has cancer and they had been using the money to offset her medical expenses....
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"Fla. woman killed; body hidden under Christmas gifts" December 07, 2011|Associated Press
COLUMBIA, S.C. - After a 67-year-old Florida woman was found beaten, strangled, and hidden beneath the Christmas presents in her home, authorities charged a younger woman the victim had befriended....
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Don't forget the dog:
"Cost of Fido’s Christmas gifts? About $46" November 09, 2011|Associated Press
LOS ANGELES - Just over half of American pet owners will buy gifts for their pets this holiday season, and they’ll spend an average of $46 on their animals, with toys and treats topping the list, according to a new AP-Petside.com poll....
“Christmas is about the pets,’’ said Gayla McCarthy, 58, of Kekaha, Hawaii, whose Australian shepherd, Echo, will find a toy under the tree. McCarthy even got a shirt for her husband as a gift to him from the dog, and she’ll be giving collapsible bowls to all their friends’ dogs....
Major pet retailers have been taking part in the Black Friday and Cyber Monday frenzy for a few years....
--more--"
Also see:
The 'glorious' mayhem of Christmas Eve
Hope, and lives, rebuilt after Irene
Gift deliveries prove ripe for theft
