The Wall Street Journal offered up these great suggestions on some of the organizations that accept donated candy. They include some Ronald McDonald houses and Operation Shoe Box which donates items to soldiers serving overseas.

Here are the directions on how to donate your candy to the troops.

Now there's new information about the California accident that spurred that action. A family was driving down the highway near San Diego when the gas pedal caused their gas pedal to stick.

They made a desperate call to 9-1-1 but crashed a short time later. All four family members died in the crash.

The preliminary investigation blames the floor mat. And Toyota has told drivers of millions of Toyota and Lexus models to remove their floor mats until further notice.

According to a story on CNN, "The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has documented 100 incidents where accelerator pedals on Lexus and Toyota vehicles stuck."

Another item noticed by the NHTSA is the push button ignition on the car involved in the crash in San Diego. If you have a car with this type of ignition you need to know that in order to kill the engine you have to push and hold the start button for more than 3 seconds to disable the engine.

It is not clear if the driver in California tried that.

You can go here to find out if your Toyota or Lexus car is affected by this recall.

According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission says it has received eight reports of flashlights overheating and melting, including one person who suffered burns to their hand.

There are two types of Halloween-themed flashlights: the mini flashlights pictured above and flashlights with stencils pictured below.

They were sold exclusively at Target from August 2009 through September 2009 for $1 and $2.50.

If you bought any of these you should return them to Target for a full refund or call 1-800-440-0680 if you have questions.

Remember if you spot something worth a mention, feel free to send me an e-mail.

Free Boo-rito
The name alone may make you want to take part. Customers who visit Chipotle on October 31st dressed as a burrito or something Chipotle-like (they say anything in foil, a head of lettuce, bag of chips, avocado, etc.) will get a free burrito, order of tacos, bowl or salad. They do this every year and Micah, one of our producers here at KVUE, says the managers are pretty liberal with what they consider costumes. Thanks Tom for letting me know this deal.

Free Black Jack Taco
Taco Bell says it's not a trick but a treat. Come into any Taco Bell between 6pm and midnight on October 31st and get a one free Black Jack Taco. The fine print says it's up to each manager to decide whether to participate in the giveaway.

Halloween Fun
Bass Pro Shops is having an entire day of Halloween fun for the kids. From noon to 4pm at all the stores they'll be decorating masks and roasting marshmallows. Thanks Susan for letting me know.

Super Sonic Halloween Specials
Kathy told me that Sonic is pulling out the treats as well. You'll find several 50 cent Halloween specials. Drive into any Austin area Sonic Drive-in and get 50 cent Corn Dogs and 50 cent ice cream dishes ALL DAY Saturday, October 31st open to close. You can go here to find a Sonic near you.

Free Ice Cream next Wednesday
Amy's Ice Creams celebrates its 25th anniversary in November. So mark your calendar because as a way to say thanks to all of their customers ALL locations will be giving away free ice cream from 2pm to 6pm on Wednesday, November 4th.

Restaurant Deals
Once again Restaurant.com is offering some of the best savings of the month. Up until Saturday, October 31st you can save 80 percent on restaurant gift certificates by using the discount code TREATS before you check out. That means the $25 gift certificates which normally sell for $10 can be purchased for just $2.

Travel Deals
• Don't forget about the Southwest Airlines deals. You must book by tomorrow, Thursday, October 29th to take advantage of the airfare that's as low as $25 one way. To read more check out my blog posting from yesterday.

• I found this site the other day and thought it was a great place to find several travel deals from some of the bigger websites all in one place. It may be worth checking it out if you've got plans to vacation or are simply looking for an excuse to getaway. One of the great reminders is that you can get a $200 voucher if you book a flight or a flight and hotel through Expedia by the end of the year.

It's why you may be excited about the research UT is doing. Thanks to a grant by Wal-Mart UT researchers are testing seven different types of native grasses to try to find a combination that proves to be drought resistant and requires less maintenance.

And they may have found it.

According to UT researcher Mark Simmons the native grasses so far seem to be a mixture of Buffalo grass, Blue Grama and Curly Mesquite grass. They are all currently commercially available, which means you can plant them in your own yard.

You can find more information about those grasses and the UT native lawn program here.

You can also go here to learn how to plant some of these native lawns.

What's wrong with what we're currently doing?
According to Simmons, "Some of the grasses we use on our lawns here in Texas aren't the best species."

For example Bermuda and St. Augustine--Bermuda grass is hearty and grows easily. It is also pretty drought resistant. However, Simmons said it grows so fast that it requires more mowing than many of the native grasses.

St. Augustine is one of the most popular grasses. Simmons said it is actually more susceptible to pests and disease and like most lawns requires a lot of water.

"Lawns use between 30 and 60 percent of the urban water around the country," said Simmons.

"With a native grass with these native grasses you can effectively let them go dormant, drought dormant," said Simmons. "So after a summer like we've just had under the water restrictions, you could allow these turf grasses to actually go brown. They won't die they just go dormant. And then when the rains come they'll just green up again."

So far that's exactly what researchers have found. A lack of water won't kill these native grasses. Like Bermuda grass they're easy to grow, but they are less susceptible to weeds and require less mowing.

"These were mowed two to three weeks ago," Simmons said pointing to two plots of grass sitting side-by-side. "And you can already see the Bermuda grass is much higher now. It's coming up about twice the height of the native turf grasses."

And there's another benefit to using native grasses.

"It's actually a much more pleasant texture to sit on and walk on," said Simmons.

Southwest Airlines just launched a huge airfare sale. You'll find some fares as low as $25 one way.

Check here for the list of cities and fares. You have until Thursday to book your trip and you must travel December 2 through December 16 or January 5 through February 10, 2010 and not on Sundays.

These airfare deals expire October 29, 2009, 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time.

That's why I wanted to share a site I think is worth book marking.

It's called Repair pal.com. This site allows you to look up the make and model of your car and any type of car repair. Then punch in your zip code and it not only helps list a range of prices but directs you to dealerships and independent car repair places that can do the repair.

You can also look up terms in case you need more explanation as to what needs to be fixed in your car.

It really can help take the mystery out of car repair and it is free.

An article in the Austin Business Journal shows that despite unemployment hitting a 26 year high in September, a survey by Intuit, Inc. Found "44 percent of small business owners are planning to hire new employees within the next 12 months."

"Sixty percent expect their businesses to grow in the next year, and newer businesses are the most bullish, with 80 percent of companies founded less than three years ago expecting growth over the next year."
So what are those businesses looking for?

"Fifty percent of the small businesses that responded said they were looking for a people person or jack of all trades over a creative genius or mathematical wizard.

Upcoming Job Fair
Jobs News Austin.com is hosting another job fair this Thursday, October 29th, from 10am to 2pm at the Doubletree Hotel (6505 IH-35N).

Below you will find a list of companies that will attend:
• AAA Texas Insurance
• Modern Woodmen of America
• Vision Security, LLC
• National American University
• D Diamond Healthcare Service Nursing Aide Training School
• Job Ready Training
• Dallas Police Department
• US Army
• Brake Check
• Physicians Mutual
• San Antonio Police Department
• Corrections Corporation of America
• Securitas
• Mary Kay Cosmetics
• Central Texas Blood & Tissue Center
• Travis County
• Southern Career Institute
• Buena Suerte
• Timberline 1
• Vision Security
• Progressive Insurance
• Airband Communications
• Starwood Hotels & Resorts

KFC has learned from the Oprah coupon fiasco. Today KFC is giving away one free piece of grilled chicken and you don't need a coupon to get it. According to the fine print the piece of chicken is the manager's choice and this offer is only good at participating restaurants--so you may want to call ahead.

Then don't forget about the free spaghetti being offered at Buca as part of World Pasta day.

The city is putting together a comprehensive plan, almost a vision for the future of the city and it wants your feedback.

So go here to fill out the survey.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is warning parents that 28,350 Maxi-Cosi Mico Infant Child Safety Seats may have serious safety problems.

The car seats were produced from July 2007 and February 17, 2008 and have the model numbers 22-371, 22-372 and 22-515. Below is the 22-371 model.

According to NHTSA the base and the mounting bracket may interfere with one another causing the base to warp. That may cause the car seat to not be properly mounted which may cause your child to be injured in a crash.

You can call 1-877-657-9546.

Remember you can always sign up to receive recall e-mail alerts here.

Buca di Peppo is giving away spaghetti Monday, October 26th. A spokeswoman for the company says it's part of World Pasta Day.

So all day Monday you can get a free 8 ounce portion of spaghetti to take home and a free 8 ounce order of spaghetti with marinara or meat sauce when you buy a large or small order of pasta. You must dine in. This offer is not good for carry out orders.

However, it is good at all the Buca restaurants and all day October 26th. So enjoy! And thanks Tom for letting me know about this.

Remember if you ever spot a good deal--send me an e-mail.

It is one of the upsides of our down economy.

An article in the Wall Street Journal paints a pretty picture if a flat screen TV is on your list. "The average price of a flat-panel TV dropped to a record low of $630 by the end of August, down from more than $900 a year earlier," according to research firm NPD Group.

Other consumer-electronics products also have hit record low prices. Camcorders fell to an average price of $275, down from more than $360 a year earlier, NPD said.

The price breaks are said to be the result of slow consumer sales.

"The price declines we're seeing this year are steeper than normal in many more different categories," said Steve Koenig, an analyst at the Consumer Electronics Association, which calculated that consumer-electronics prices fell 7.7% overall in the first half of the year compared with a 1.9% price increase a year earlier, the Wall Street Journal found.

However, Koenig says prices have fallen so much you shouldn't expect them to fall much further.

On this is happening on the heels of an announcement by Wal-Mart to offer weekly deep savings on a variety of products starting today through the holiday season. That includes the 100 toys the retailer will sell for just $10.

Compare Prices
Here are a few of my favorite comparison shopping sites:
Bing
Biz Rate
CNet
Price Grabber
Deal Time
My Simon

Book Deals
• There is a big book price war happening right now. It started with Amazon and Wal-Mart.

Wal-Mart started it by offering the 10 most anticipated books for $10. Then Amazon decided to get in the game by matching those prices. So Wal-Mart countered dropping the price to $9 and Amazon matched again.

Well now Target has gotten in on the deal, offering nine books for $8.99.

• Barnes & Noble has several eBooks that you can download free.

Restaurant Deals
Restaurant.com is offering 70 percent off gift certificates through October 25th. Just use the code PUMPKIN before you check out and the $25 gift certificates that normally sell for $10 can be purchased for just $3. Remember to read the fine print under the tab where you select the amount you want to purchase to see if there is a minimum purchase required.

Free Snuggie
Let the jokes begin. You know you've wanted to try these out since seeing the infomercial, so here's your chance. You can get a Snuggie free by going here.

Free Luggage Tags
KLM is giving away two free luggage tags that you can personalize. You can upload your own photos so that you'll always recognize your bag or use one of their photos to make them memorable.

Amazon is offering downloads for what it calls the world's most relaxing music free.

Free Recyclable Bag
Red Gold is giving away free recyclable bags all you have to do it go here to sign up. Sorry all of my fellow Austinites--this deal is only good for people living in Illinois, Kansas, Mississippi, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, Oklahoma and Wisconsin. It is also only good while supplies last.

Plum Organics is recalling some of its pouches of baby food because it may be contaminated with Clostridium botulinum, which can cause botulism.

The recall affects 4.22 ounce Apple & Carrot Portable Pouch baby food with the best by date of May 21, 2010 and marked with the following Universal Product Code (UPC) #890180001221 located on the bottom of the package.

The food was sold at Toys 'R Us or Babies 'R Us. You can return the food to those stores for a full refund.

No children have become sick. Plum Organics also tested batches before and after these dates and found them to be within the quality standards.

"The product did not meet the FDA guidelines for proper acidity level," said Dr. Paul Gerhardt, a Food Science Ph.D. and member of the Plum Organics action team. "Though the risk of illness from this one batch is minimal, Plum Organics is taking the extraordinary step of recalling all Apple & Carrot Baby Food Pouches with best by date May 21, 2010."

"As a mother, the safety and satisfaction of our customers and their children is my highest concern," said Plum Organics Founder Gigi Lee Chang. Due to a mixing error during production, one batch of this product was improperly blended. As a result, it did not meet our company's standard for quality. We are taking the extra step of recalling all Apple & Carrot Portable Pouches with this date to eliminate any question in the minds of consumers about the safety of our products. Plum Organics was founded on the vision of superior quality and nutritious baby food; we are committed to these values and our consumers."

If you have any questions you can call 888-974-3555 between the hours of 8 am - 5 pm PST, or email info@plumorganics.com.