We missed it yesterday, but yesterday was the first day of Kwanzaa. Happy Kwanzaa!

Did you brave the crowds yesterday to return some gifts or get some post-Christmas deals? How were things? The weather cooperated a bit.

Speaking of the weather, I swear 5 days ago it was 2° F with a -15 wind chill. Today’s forecase calls for spring-like weather. This is pothole weather, water main break weather and more.

We drew the names for our giveaway and we’ve sent out emails to the winners. We’ll announce them on Monday. Thanks to everyone who entered. Feel free to invite us along for some food.

Robert McLaurin of Erie is featured in this Roanoke Times article about truck drivers and the holidays.

Gas prices (and your 401k balance) aren’t the only things falling. Prices paid for materials that can be recycled are also way down and its affecting local scrap dealers, who just a few months ago were paying out pretty respectable money for scrap – be it cardboard, aluminum, copper and more. Prices for some items are down as much as 85%. Local governments are also concerned – at the moment they’re ok because they have multi-year contracts with recycling companies to collect recyclable materials. But next time the contracts are up, expect Waste Management or whatever company to expect to make up the losses, which of course means we’ll be paying more.

The Vancouver Sun has a review of Gift of Years: Growing Older Gracefully, a book by Sister Joan Chittister, a Benedictine nun from Erie. The book came out this past May.

Here’s a quick video from Christmas Mass at St. Peter Cathedral on Thursday.

Sports

NFL this weekend:
Cleveland at Pittsburgh Sunday 1 p.m. WSEE
NY Giants at Minnesota Sunday 1 p.m. FOX
Miami at NY Jets Sunday 4:15 p.m. Fox
Denver at San Diego Sunday 8:15 p.m. WICU
No Monday night game this week.

The Pittsburgh Penguins blanked the New Jersey Devils 1-0 last night. Ruslan Fedotenko had the lone goal. The Pens face the Canadiens at home tonight.

You can catch the Otters for free this weekend online. The OHL streams games regularly, and now through Monday the games are free. The Otters play Sunday at 2 at Brampton. It’s a nice chance to catch and away game, but nothing beats seeing the team at home. Use code “ohltv” at the OHL website to watch the games.

The Cleveland Plain-Dealer has a nice story on the Erie Bayhawks.

Events

There’s still time to catch some Christmas light displays. The Ferralli’s on Springside Drive in Fairview will run their display from 5:30 to 11:00 p.m. It’s free.

If you’re looking for some live (and loud) music tonight, might we recommend the show tonight at Forward Hall, which inclues Shockwave, Shai Hulud and more. Matty B and the Dirty Pickles are at the Brewerie.