Barbecue Grill Recall

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with the firms named below, today announced a voluntary recall of the following consumer product. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed.

Name of Product: John Deere Gas Barbecue Grills

Units: About 3,100

Manufacturer: Onward Manufacturing, of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada

Importer: Mi-T-M Corporation, of Peosta, Iowa

Retailer: Deere & Company, of Moline, Ill.

Hazard: Operating the grill in windy conditions can blow the flame under the control panel, causing the grill to overheat or cause flashbacks. Flames could damage the hose that supplies gas to the burner, causing an uncontrolled flame. Also, the grill's control knobs could overheat, resulting in burns to hands.

Incidents/Injuries: Mi-T-M Corporation has received one report of a minor burn received when the user touched a grill's control knob that had overheated due to the flame blowing under the control panel.

Description: These are John Deere Gas Barbecue Grills with model numbers HR-BG6203 and HR-BG5202. The model number is on the CSA approval sticker on the back panel. The recalled grills have a John Deere symbol on the center of the hood and a John Deere decal plate below the control panel. These are 52,000 BTU grills with 460 sq. in. cooking surface. The Model HR-BG6203 includes stainless steel doors, stainless steel side shelves and a side burner rated at 10,000 BTU. The Model HR-BG5202 has stainless steel doors with black plastic side shelves.

Sold at: John Deere dealers from March 2006 through August 2006 for about $600 for the model number HR-BG6203 grill and about $500 for model number HR-BG5202 grill.

Manufactured in: Canada

Remedy: Consumers should stop using these grills and contact Mi-T-M Corp. or the John Deere dealer where the grill was purchased to receive a free repair kit.

Consumer Contact: Call Mi-T-M Corp. toll-free at (877) 535-5336 between 7:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. CT Monday through Friday, or visit the firm's Web site at www.mitm.com

Media Contact: John Lembezeder, Mi-T-M Corp., at (800) 367-6486, Ext. 208.

To see this recall on CPSC's web site, including pictures of the recalled products, please go to: http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml06/06257.html.

Starbucks Raising Prices

Starbucks Corp. announced this Thursday that it planned to raise prices of its lattes, cappuccinos, drip coffee and other drinks by 5 cents, or an average of 1.9 percent. This increase, which goes into effect Oct. 3 at all company-operated stores in the U.S. and Canada, will mark the first time the company has boosted drink prices in two years.

Starbucks also is increasing the price of its coffee beans by about 50 cents per pound, or an average of 3.9 percent. That's the first price increase for whole beans in nine years. Starbucks will not be raising prices on the prepared drinks it sells in refrigerated cases at this time. The company cited the usual suspects in raising prices. They cited costs going up, including fuel and energy, as the driver behind the price increase.

Yoplait Assisting In Breast Cancer Fight

Beginning this month, look for the pink lids on packages of Yoplait® Original, Light, Thick and Creamy, Light Thick and Creamy, Whips!, Yoplait Smoothies, and Nouriche. Save them, wash them, and mail them in before December 31 2006 and Yoplait will donate 10 cents to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation through our Save Lids to Save Lives® program. Yoplait will guarantee a donation of $500,000 and has a goal to raise $1.5 million.

If you want to join the fight, mail your lids (cleaned of course) to:

Save Lids to Save Lives
P.O. Box 72716
Rockford MN 55572-7016

Free Starz Preview On Direct TV

The movie services Starz and Encore will be offering a free preview on Direct TV from September 14 through 17. Premering this weekend, only on Direct TV, will be the movie Chicken Little, a family favorite from Disney. Customers will be able to sample 12 movie channels, view trailers at Direct TV's website, and if they order Starz will be able to receive a $25.00 rebate.

Black And Decker Recall Cordless Electric Mowers

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with the firm named below, today announced a voluntary recall of the following consumer product. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed.

Name of Product: Black & Decker and Craftsman Brand Cordless Electric Lawnmowers

Units: About 160,000 mowers -- Note: 140,000 of these Black & Decker and Craftsman brand lawnmowers were recalled in September 2002, but also are included in this recall.

Hazard: An electrical component in the lawnmowers can overheat, posing a fire hazard.

Incidents/Injuries: Black & Decker has received 10 additional reports of electrical components overheating, including one additional report of a fire extending beyond the mower. -- Note: The original recall involved 11 reports of electrical components overheating. One of these resulted in a minor hand burn and nine resulted in reports of minor property damage extending beyond the mower.

Description: The mowers were sold under both the Black & Decker and Craftsman brand names. The recalled Black & Decker mowers have the model CMM1000 or CMM1000R and are labeled as Type 1 through Type 4, both of which are located on the silver and black label affixed to the rear door of the mower. Mowers labeled as Type 5 are not included in this recall. The Black & Decker mowers have either an orange or green deck with a black motor cover. The Craftsman-brand mowers have model number 900.370520 and include all date codes and types. The model number is located on the silver and black label affixed to the rear door of the mower. The Craftsman mowers have a dark green deck with a black motor cover.

Sold by: Home center, hardware and discount stores, and authorized Black & Decker dealers nationwide from February 1996 through December 2005 for between $360 and $450. Craftsman-brand mowers were sold at Sears and Orchard Supply Hardware stores nationwide from January 1998 through December 2000 for between $360 and $400.

Manufactured In: United States and Canada

Remedy: All consumers should stop using the lawnmowers immediately and call for information on receiving a free inspection and repair if necessary. Consumers who had their mowers repaired as a result of the previous recall should have their mowers again inspected and repaired, if necessary, as part of this recall.

Consumer Contact: For additional information, consumers with Black & Decker mowers should contact Black & Decker toll-free at (866) 229-5570 between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. ET Monday through Friday, or visit the firm's Web site at www.blackanddecker.com Consumers with Craftsman-brand lawnmowers should call (888) 375-9741 between 7 a.m. and 9 p.m. CT Monday through Saturday.

Risk Of Downloading Screensavers

Yahoo has a good article for computer users to read about the dangers of screensaver downloading. Essentially, you are cautioned from downloading from sites that are not familiar. Here is a quote: "Those who end their search with a download are likely to find adware, spyware, or worse tagging along for the ride."

Microsoft Announces Vista Pricing

Microsoft says its new Vista operating system will cost the same as comparable versions of Windows XP.

The suggested retail price for Windows Vista Home Basic -- the consumer edition of the new operating system -- is $199. Consumers already running Windows XP who want to upgrade to Vista will pay $99. 95. Windows Vista Business will cost $299, with the upgrade priced at $199.

The home version of Vista is scheduled to be released early next year. Microsoft will also offer Premium and Ultimate versions. Vista Premium priced at $239 will let you do things such as record live TV. Vista Ultimate, priced at $399 dollars, includes work-at-home features.

The Best Grocery Stores

ABC News has a story about the best grocery stores in the country. Whole Foods made the list as one of the best chains in the nation (I still haven't been to one yet) and there were chains named as "Best Of _______ Region". Noticably absent is the Pacific Northwest. The chain listed for the West Coast has no stores up in Washington or Oregon.

IRS Announces Refund Of Telephone Taxes

Consumers can claim a standard $30 to $60 refund next year for a tax on long-distance telephone calls that the government declared invalid, the Internal Revenue Service announced Thursday.

Telephone customers had been paying the 3 percent federal excise tax on local and long-distance service. The government this month stopped collecting the tax on long-distance calls after businesses repeatedly fought the tax in court and won.

Next year, consumers can use their 2006 tax returns to claim a refund on long-distance telephone taxes paid since March 2003.

The standard refund starts at $30 and increases by $10 for each additional exemption claimed on a tax return, up to $60. A married couple with two dependent children, for example, could claim a $60 refund.

The IRS will add a line to the 2006 tax returns mailed next spring, enabling individuals to claim the refund. The tax agency will also create a special form for people not otherwise required to file tax returns, so they can request their money back.

The IRS said it based the refund amounts on telephone usage data, and that the standard amounts reflect averages for households of different sizes.

Individuals do not have to use the standard amount. Consumers who have their old phone bills can instead add up the taxes they paid between March 2003 and July 2006 and apply for a refund.

The tax dates back to the late 19th century and the Spanish-American War, when telephones were a luxury and the government needed revenue.

In recent years, multiple businesses successfully challenged the tax because it applied to long-distance calls billed according to time and distance, a billing formula mostly replaced by flat-rate calling plans.

The Treasury Department has said it expects to return $13 billion to consumers, including businesses and other organizations.

Businesses and nonprofit organizations will have to compute their taxes paid before applying for a refund. The IRS said it's looking to make that calculation easier through methods that might allow them to estimate the taxes paid. The IRS will take comments on that topic through Sept. 15 through a special e-mail, Telephone.Tax(at)irs.gov.