Pete's Hit and Run Notes

3 July......

Please Remember.....

TRUST FUND SET UP FOR SMITH FAMILY

If you wish to help a family devastated by a fatal car crash while on vacation, you can now make a donation to a trust fund established in their honour.

Bill and Sandra Smith and their three young daughters left early last Thursday for Myrtle Beach.  Their SUV and trailer collided with a transport truck on I-77 in Virginia. Bill, Sandra and Kaylee, 7, died at the scene. Madison, 9, and Genna, 3, are in stable condition.

The Smith Family Trust Fund has been set up at Hamilton Community Credit Union at 698 King St. E. and 499 Mohawk Rd. E. The account number is 3196800, Branch No. 828, Transit No. 21152. The fund has been set up by friends and family and will be used to pay for medical bills, transportation, funeral costs and the long-term needs of Madison and Genna.

Ed McMahon's financial problems keep getting bigger. He's facing foreclosure on his multimillion dollar Beverly Hills home and is being sued by Citibank over $200,000 loaned to him.  Now Mickey Fine Pharmacy is suing him claiming he owes 82 hundred dollars in unpaid bills. He's been unable to work since injuring his neck a couple of years ago. It sure doesn't pay to get sick in the United States.

Boy George has cancelled his North American tour days before it was due to start because he has been denied a work visa by US officials.  He's been banned from the States because of a forthcoming false imprisonment trial in London. Don't you think that might have been one of the first things his agents and promoters would check on when they planned the tour? And duh, he's got convictions.

There will be a lot less fireworks being let off in the United States on tomorrow's fourth of July celebrations. Forest fire danger in California is one reason, another is that local governments are short of money in the slumping economy and a huge warehouse fire in China has literally caused fireworks shortages. 

Get set for another jolt when you open your bills next month. Natural gas prices got hiked 1 July , it could mean an increase of as much as 45% for Enbridge customers and 34% for Union Gas customers.  You might want to start buying sweaters now for this Fall and Winter.

Small disappointment for Britney Spears as the Emmy voters failed to give her the thumbs up and left her off the list of semifinalists for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series. She had been in the running thanks to her role on "How I met your Mother".  Don't feel bad Britney, Mary Kate Olsen didn't make the cut either - and she's been acting all her life !

Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez and his wife have split less than three months after the birth of their second child.  He and  Cynthia have called it quits amid reports linking Alex to Madonna. On three occasions Rodriguez has been asked if he had comment about the stories and his simple answer was "no".  The plot thickens

The federal and Ontario governments are moving towards allowing Las Vegas-style sports gambling in provincial casinos according to the Toronto Star. It's a bid to lure Americans across the border to places like Casino Niagara and Windsor where casino revenues have dropped due to the Canadian dollar and increased border security.

The phrase "jumping the shark" has now been joined by "nuke the fridge" thanks to the most recent Indiana Jones movie. It's all thanks to the scene where he avoids nuclear annihilation by squeezing into the lead lined cavity of a refrigerator, gets blown across the desert and emerges unscathed.  So now, when films venture into the absurd, they're apparently "nuking the fridge".

600 Starbucks all across the United States will close, according to their head office.  Flagging sales, higher costs and economic pressures are to blame. 12,000 workers will be getting the final sugar packet, that's about 7% of their workforce.  No word on closures in Canada, but don't be surprised if the ‘coffee goes cold".

Tuesday, a Japanese firm began accepting reservations for couples wanting to tie the knot in outer space. For 2.3 million dollars a small space vessel will blast brides and grooms 60 miles into the sky for the ceremony with up to 3 guests and an hour long ride which includes several minutes in zero gravity. It's expected most customers will come from China and Arab Gulf nations.