Spit those fake Halloween teeth out!!!

From the AP:

The government announced an 11th-hour recall Wednesday to warn consumers that fake Halloween teeth sold by the tens of thousands since last year contain excessive amounts of lead.
The $2 packages of “Ugly Teeth” are only the latest in a long line of Chinese-made toys and novelty items recalled because of lead. The Consumer Product Safety Commission announced the recall on Halloween, in a late-morning news release.
In an interview, the commission’s acting head defended the last-minute action in notifying consumers. Nancy Nord said the possible danger was not brought to the agency’s attention until late last week.
She said the commission then worked quickly to assess the problem and issue an announcement. “Whenever we find a violation, we immediately order a recall,” Nord said. “Comparatively, it’s not a huge recall and thanks to the news media, the word is getting out.”
The agency estimates that since January 2006, retailers have sold about 43,000 eight-piece packages of the party favors. There were no immediate reports of injuries or illness.
Amscan Inc. of Elmsford, N.Y., imported the fake teeth. A message left with the company was not immediately returned.
CBS News reported Monday that a chemistry professor at Ohio’s Ashland University tipped off the agency about the joke teeth after testing a variety of Halloween-themed items for lead content. Paint on the teeth contained 100 times the allowable level of lead, according to the broadcast report.

Black Friday, three weeks early

Wal-Mart is springing an early “Black Friday” surprise for shoppers this Friday.

The world’s biggest retailer said today that it will unveil in-store specials on “five of the most sought after gifts this season.” The company will unveil them on Thursday, and the items will be available at the stores on Friday.

Customers can sign up for e-mail or text message alerts or go online Thursday to be the first to learn the secret items and these knock out prices.

Mass transit in Tupelo?

Can you see a day when mass transit will be the way to travel in Northeast Mississippi? I left a transit plan meeting at City Hall tonight, and the question was on my mind.

About 20 people were there to discuss setting up a system to provide more efficient transportation for elderly, handicap and low-income citizens without cars. The system isn’t meant to get people with cars to start riding the bus. But with gas prices continuing to climb, Bob Carlson of the Community Transportation Association of America told me he thinks it’s only a matter of time before rural areas like NeMiss are going to seriously consider adding mass transit. Read more about it in tomorrow’s paper.

It’s interesting considering this story from MarketWatch today:

Each weekday, 34 million Americans ride trains, buses, trolleys or other forms of mass transit, according to the American Public Transportation Association, a Washington-based trade group (read the entire report). That’s a 30% increase over 1995.

With so many people riding, one might think transit systems would be flush with money. Yet several public transit systems across the country appear to be just a few dollars short of collapse. Fare hikes have been common and more are likely as struggling systems seek to shore up finances. Read more.

‘Toyota’ author in town Thursday

David Magee, an Ole Miss grad now living in Chattanooga, has written another book. This one is called “How Toyota Became No. 1″

He’ll be launching his nationwide book tour starting Thursday at Reed’s, from Noon to 1:30 p.m.

While many business books talk about processes, Magee take a deeper look at why exactly the automaker has excelled. It’s no big secret, but it’s all about the people.

You can call Reed’s for more information and/or reserve a copy of the book.

Car sales suffering – will you be buying soon?

With oil rocketing toward $100 a barrel and gas prices to rise soon enough, along with the continued housing and credit crunch in much of the country, consumers are cutting back on spending. And the auto industry is taking a hit, as expected.

October U.S. vehicle sales are due out Thursday, and they could be ugly.

Goldman Sachs analyst Robert Barry told MarketWatch that he expects Ford sales to drop 17 percent. GM is expecting a slight increase.

Overall, numbers are expected to be flat compared to a year ago.

Toyota, which has had three straight months of year-over-year drops, may see a fourth month of declining comparison sales.

Just look at the ads (or lack of) for auto dealerships, who have cut back their advertising in recent months.

I know I’d like a new vehicle, but I just bought one last November, so it will be awhile before it gets a partner in the garage. What about the rest of you in Northeast Mississippi? Any plans to buy a car (new or used) anytime soon? If so, what are you buying and why?

Park Heights to move Tuesday

This just in – tonight is the last night the Park Heights location on West Jefferson will be open. On Tuesday, the restaurant will open at its new location in Fairpark. It’s unclear whether the restaurant’s rooftop dining will open next week as well.

The fine dining establishment (menu) will occupy the west end of the Fairpark at Main development. The Fairpark Grill, also owned by the Eat With Us group, is housed on the east end of the building.

According to the Downtown Tupelo Main Street Association’s e-newsletter, Park Heights will be open Monday through Saturday from 5:30 p.m. until 10:00 p.m. Call 842-5665 for reservations.

Park Heights owner Blair Hughes talked with the Journal earlier this year about the move and what she was planning for her new location. Read what she had to say.

Adieu, AmSouth!

Today, we bid farewell to AmSouth. The AmSouth-Regions merger was announced months ago, and the final conversion in Mississippi wraps up this weekend. By Monday, all the AmSouth locations will be under the Regions banner. It’s going to take some getting used to, especially for the employees. When we called today for bank rates for Sunday’s paper, we were greeting with “Am — Regions Bank – How can I help you?” It’s going to be a learning curve for all.

As we reported earlier, here are some of the changes you can expect to see:

In Tupelo, the Regions branch on Thomas Street is moving into the AmSouth location across the street. The downtown Tupelo headquarters for both banks are merging into the Regions location, but that move won’t be finished for a few more weeks. Meanwhile, the expanded drive-through at the downtown Regions main office should be ready by Friday morning. Read more.

Cheapest gas: New Albany

If you waited to fill your tank in hopes of cheaper gas this week, you’re out of luck.

The cheapest gas this week is in New Albany ($2.63 for regular). The price is 4 cents more than last week.

Sherman has regular gas for $2.65, while Sam’s Club members can get it for $2.66. Kroger has regular priced at $2.69.

Most expensive gas: Starkville, Amory and Oxford all have regular priced at $2.79.

Read Sunday’s Business & Money for more gas prices, plus bank rates and airfares.

Hancock posts $1.8M loss

Hancock Fabrics today reported a monthly loss of $1.786 million for the month ended Oct. 6, compared to a loss of $3.426 million for the month ended Sept. 1. Click here for the entire report.

The Baldwyn-based craft and fabric retailer filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on March 21. The monthly operating report is required by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court as part of the reorganization proceedings.

Any proud CrackBerry owners?

The November Business Journal focuses on technology. We’ve been talking with business people and seeing what technology they use to make their lives easy. We’ve heard everything from Treos to Bluetooth headsets to www.gotomyPC.com. So, we wanted to check in with you Biz Buzz readers. How tech savvy are you? Do you use a PDA? Any fun tech finds that save you hours at work?

Here at Biz Buzz, we’ve decided one of these would be a great addition to our office.