Nearly eight in 10 surveyed employers (79 percent) have designated both Thanksgiving Day (Nov. 26) and the day after as paid holidays in 2009, up from the 73 percent that did so in 2008. This represents the highest percentage of employers granting two-day paid Thanksgiving leave since BNA began keeping records in 1980.

Almost all surveyed employers (98 percent) have scheduled Thanksgiving Day itself as a paid day off for employees, and employer requirements for work that day are at unprecedented lows. While three in 10 employers (28 percent) will require some employees to work on Thanksgiving Day, this year marks a 16-year low in employer-required Thanksgiving work. Security/public safety and service/maintenance staff are the most likely employee groups to be required to work on the holiday.

Among other survey findings are:

-- Workers in the manufacturing sector and unionized workers are the most
likely to enjoy a four-day holiday weekend. More than nine out of 10
manufacturers (95 percent) will treat both Thanksgiving Day and the
following Friday as paid holidays. This compares with three out of
four employers (75 percent) in nonbusiness concerns (e.g., hospitals,
educational facilities, and government organizations), and 71 percent
of employers in nonmanufacturing organizations

-- Smaller organizations -- those with fewer than 1,000 employees -- are
more likely to enjoy a four-day holiday weekend (83 percent) than are
larger concerns (64 percent of companies with more than 1,000
employees). The proportion that will offer a four-day weekend does not
differ significantly between unionized and nonunionized establishments
(82 percent and 78 percent, respectively).

-- Thanksgiving holiday gift giving is at historically low levels. Eleven
percent of employers plan to give their workers some kind of holiday
gift, nearly the same percentage as in 2006 through 2008. However, the
percentage of employers giving gifts is down sharply from the 23
percent observed in 2004, and the 15 to 18 percent range seen from
1995 to 2003. This year marks the lowest level of Thanksgiving holiday
gift giving since the "jobless recovery" in 1993 that followed the
1990-1991 recession.

-- Manufacturing organizations (25 percent) are most generous in their
gift giving, with nonmanufacturing (8 percent) and nonbusiness
concerns (4 percent) trailing far behind. None of the surveyed
employers in unionized workplaces reported that they would give
employees gifts this year, compared with 14 percent in nonunion
establishments. Gift giving this year does not differ significantly
between large and small organizations.

-- Gift certificates are the holiday gift of choice for employers. For
seven of the past nine years, gift certificates have been the most
frequently proffered employer offering for Thanksgiving and 2009
continues this pattern. Five percent of surveyed employers will give
gift certificates this Thanksgiving, with the venerable turkey,
offered by 4 percent of employers, coming in a close second.

Source: http://www.bna.com/

Same preservative used in H1N1 Shots Puts Children at Risk for Brainstem Injury

A new study in the leading scientific journal NeuroToxicology lends further credence to parents and scientists concerned about an increasingly aggressive childhood vaccine schedule and toxic vaccine components. A team led by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh found that infant macaque monkeys receiving a single Hepatitis B vaccine containing the mercury-based preservative thimerosal underwent significant delays in developing critical reflexes controlled by the brainstem. The infant macaques that did not receive vaccines developed normally.

Government vaccine guidelines were expanded in 1991 to include a Hepatitis B vaccine for infants within the first few days of life, even though the disease is primarily transmitted sexually or spread through the use of dirty needles. The introduction of the shot was part of a greatly accelerated vaccine schedule that coincides with the drastic increase in autism, which now affects one in 100 American children. Thimerosal was removed from U.S. Hepatitis B vaccines in 2000 but was not recalled from the market and was administered for approximately two more years. It still remains in other vaccines including all multi-dose shots for both the seasonal flu and H1N1.

Current government recommendations for seasonal flu and H1N1 call for pregnant women to receive both vaccines, and children as young as six months to receive as many as four separate flu shots. "This also doesn't take into account that nursing infants may be exposed to additional mercury through breastmilk should both mother and baby be vaccinated," says National Autism Association (NAA) board chair Lori McIlwain. "This study's outcome confirms that such an over-the-top toxic vaccine schedule is an assault on the developing brains of our children."

Specifically, the study found:

-- Thirteen newborn rhesus macaques were given a Hepatitis B vaccine
containing a standardized dose of thimerosal adjusted for their
weight, four received a saline placebo, and three were not given any
shots.
-- Vaccinated animals experienced a significant delay in the acquisition
of three survival reflexes compared to unvaccinated animals. Root,
snout, and suck reflexes, critical to animal survival in the wild,
were delayed in the vaccinated macaques.
-- These reflexes are controlled by the brainstem, a vital part of the
brain that regulates automatic functions such as breathing, heart
rate, and intestinal activity.
-- Neonatal responses in unvaccinated control animals were not delayed.

-- The delay in acquisition of three of the four survival reflexes was
not contingent on birth weight or gestational age.

For years, parents of children with autism have lobbied government health agencies to conduct research comparing the health of vaccinated children to that of unvaccinated children, and to remove thimerosal from all vaccines. Neither request has been met.

"This study underscores the lack of appropriate government action to ensure the safety of vaccines. Had our government agencies conducted the most basic research on the implications to children's health from the vaccines they rigorously promote, they could have spared thousands of children the neurological injuries they endure today," said Ms. McIlwain. "It's shameful."

For more information about autism, please visit www.nationalautism.org.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090226/CENSUSLOGO)

The nation's official poverty rate in 2008 was 13.2 percent, up from 12.5 percent in 2007. There were 39.8 million people in poverty in 2008, up from 37.3 million in 2007.

Meanwhile, the number of people without health insurance coverage rose from 45.7 million in 2007 to 46.3 million in 2008, while the percentage remained unchanged at 15.4 percent.

These findings are contained in the report Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2008. The following results for the nation were compiled from information collected in the 2009 Current Population Survey (CPS) Annual Social and Economic Supplement (ASEC):

Income

Race and Hispanic Origin (Race data refer to people reporting a single race only. Hispanics can be of any race.)

* Between 2007 and 2008, the real median income of non-Hispanic white households declined 2.6 percent (to $55,530); for blacks, it declined 2.8 percent (to $34,218); for Asians, it declined 4.4 percent (to $65,637); and for Hispanics, it declined 5.6 percent (to $37,913). Except for the difference between the declines for non-Hispanic white and Hispanic households, all other differences between the declines were not statistically significant.

Regions

* Between 2007 and 2008, real median household income declined in the South by 4.9 percent (to $45,590), declined in the Midwest by 4.0 percent (to $50,112) and declined in the West by 2.0 percent (to $55,085). Income in the Northeast was statistically unchanged ($54,346). The apparent differences in the declines in median household income between the South and Midwest, and the Midwest and West were not statistically significant. The apparent difference between the median household incomes for the West and Northeast was not statistically significant.

Nativity

* Native- and foreign-born households, including those maintained by a naturalized citizen, had declines in real median income between 2007 and 2008. Income was statistically unchanged for households maintained by a noncitizen. The decline for native-born households was 3.5 percent; the decline for foreign-born households was 5.3 percent; and the decline for those maintained by a naturalized citizen was 4.8 percent. The apparent differences among the declines in median income for native-born, foreign-born and naturalized citizen households were not statistically significant.

Earnings

* In 2008, the earnings of women who worked full time, year-round was 77 percent of that for corresponding men, not statistically different from the 2007 ratio.

* The real median earnings of men who worked full time, year-round declined by 1.0 percent between 2007 and 2008, from $46,846 to $46,367. For women, the corresponding drop was 1.9 percent, from $36,451 to $35,745.

Income Inequality

* Income inequality was statistically unchanged between 2007 and 2008, as measured by shares of aggregate household income by quintiles and the Gini index. The Gini index was 0.466 in 2008. (The Gini index is a measure of household income inequality; 0 represents perfect income equality and 1 perfect inequality.)

  Poverty

  Overview

* The increase in the poverty rate between 2007 and 2008 was the first statistically significant annual increase since 2004. The 2008 poverty rate (13.2 percent) was the highest since 1997.

* In 2008, the family poverty rate and the number of families in poverty were 10.3 percent and 8.1 million, respectively, up from 9.8 percent and 7.6 million in 2007.

* For married-couple families, both the poverty rate and the number in poverty increased -- 5.5 percent (3.3 million) in 2008, up from 4.9 percent (2.8 million) in 2007. Both measures, however, showed no statistical change in 2008 for female-householder-with-no-husband-present families (28.7 percent and 4.2 million) and for male-householder-no wife-present families (13.8 percent and 723,000).

Thresholds

* As defined by the Office of Management and Budget and updated for inflation using the Consumer Price Index, the weighted average poverty threshold for a family of four in 2008 was $22,025; for a family of three, $17,163; for a family of two, $14,051; and for unrelated individuals, $10,991.

Race and Hispanic Origin (Race data refer to people reporting a single race only. Hispanics can be of any race.)

* In 2008, the poverty rate increased for non-Hispanic whites (8.6 percent in 2008, up from 8.2 percent in 2007), Asians (11.8 percent in 2008, up from 10.2 percent in 2007) and Hispanics (23.2 percent in 2008, up from 21.5 percent in 2007). The poverty rate in 2008 was statistically unchanged for blacks (24.7 percent).

Age

* The poverty rate increased for children younger than 18 (19.0 percent in 2008, up from 18.0 percent in 2007) and people 18 to 64 (11.7 percent in 2008, up from 10.9 percent in 2007), while it remained statistically unchanged for people 65 and older (9.7 percent).

* Similar to the patterns observed for the poverty rate in 2008, the number of people in poverty increased for children younger than 18 (14.1 million in 2008, up from 13.3 million in 2007) and people 18 to 64 (22.1 million in 2008, up from 20.4 million in 2007) but remained statistically unchanged for seniors 65 and older (3.7 million).

Nativity

* Among the native-born population, 12.6 percent (33.3 million) were in poverty in 2008, up from 11.9 percent (31.1 million) in 2007.

* Among the foreign-born population, the poverty rate and the number in poverty increased to 17.8 percent and 6.5 million in 2008, up from 16.5 percent and 6.2 million, respectively, in 2007. The poverty rate in 2008 for naturalized citizens, 10.2 percent, was statistically unchanged from 2007, while the poverty rate for those who were not U.S. citizens rose to 23.3 percent in 2008, up from 21.3 percent in 2007.

Regions

* The Midwest and West experienced increases in both their poverty rate and the number in poverty. The Midwest poverty rate increased to 12.4 percent (8.1 million) in 2008, up from 11.1 percent (7.2 million) in 2007, and the West poverty rate increased to 13.5 percent (9.6 million) in 2008, up from 12.0 percent (8.4 million) in 2007. The poverty rates for the Northeast (11.6 percent) and the South (14.3 percent) were both statistically unchanged.

  Health Insurance Coverage

  Overview

* The number of people with health insurance increased from 253.4 million in 2007 to 255.1 million in 2008.

* The number of people without health insurance coverage rose from 45.7 million in 2007 to 46.3 million in 2008.

* Between 2007 and 2008, the number of people covered by private health insurance decreased from 202.0 million to 201.0 million, while the number covered by government health insurance climbed from 83.0 million to 87.4 million. The number covered by employment-based health insurance declined from 177.4 million to 176.3 million.

* The number of uninsured children declined from 8.1 million (11.0 percent) in 2007 to 7.3 million (9.9 percent) in 2008. Both the uninsured rate and number of uninsured children are the lowest since 1987, the first year that comparable health insurance data were collected.

* Although the uninsured rate for children in poverty declined from 17.6 percent in 2007 to 15.7 percent in 2008, children in poverty were more likely to be uninsured than all children.

Race and Hispanic Origin (Race data refer to those reporting a single race only. Hispanics can be of any race.)

* The uninsured rate and number of uninsured for non-Hispanic whites increased in 2008 to 10.8 percent and 21.3 million, from 10.4 percent and 20.5 million in 2007. The uninsured rate and number of uninsured for blacks in 2008, meanwhile, were not statistically different from 2007, at 19.1 percent and 7.3 million. The uninsured rate for Asians in 2008 rose to 17.6 percent, up from 16.8 percent.

* The percentage of uninsured Hispanics decreased to 30.7 percent in 2008, from 32.1 percent in 2007. The number of uninsured Hispanics was not statistically different in 2008, at 14.6 million.

* Based on a three-year average (2006-2008), 31.7 percent of people who reported American Indian and Alaska Native as their race were without coverage. The three-year average uninsured rate for Native Hawaiians and Other Pacific Islanders was 18.5 percent.

Nativity

* The uninsured rates for the native-born and foreign-born populations were statistically unchanged at 12.9 percent and 33.5 percent, respectively, in 2008. Among the foreign-born population, the uninsured rates for both naturalized citizens (18.0 percent) and noncitizens (44.7 percent) were statistically unchanged.

Regions

* At 11.6 percent, the Northeast and the Midwest had lower uninsured rates in 2008 than the West (17.4 percent) and the South (18.2 percent). The 2008 rates for the Northeast, Midwest and South were not statistically different from their respective 2007 rates. The uninsured rate for the West increased to 17.4 percent in 2008, up from 16.9 percent in 2007.

The CPS ASEC is subject to sampling and nonsampling errors. All comparisons made in the report have been tested and found to be statistically significant at the 90 percent confidence level, unless otherwise noted.

For additional information on the source of the data and accuracy of the estimates for the CPS, visit <http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/p60_236sa.pdf>.

Impulsive boys with inadequate supervision, poor families and deviant friends are more likely to commit criminal acts that land them in juvenile court, according to a new study published in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry. The most surprising finding from the 20-year study, conducted by researchers from the Université de Montréal and University of Genoa, was how help provided by the juvenile justice system substantially increased the risk of the boys engaging in criminal activities during early adulthood.

“For boys who had been through the juvenile justice system, compared to boys with similar histories without judicial involvement, the odds of adult judicial interventions increased almost seven-fold,” says study co-author Richard E. Tremblay, a professor of psychology, pediatrics and psychiatry at the Université de Montréal and a researcher at the Sainte-Justine University Hospital Research Center.

The research team sought out boys from kindergarten who were at risk for delinquent behavior and who were enrolled at 53 schools from the poorest neighbourhoods in Montreal. Some 779 participants were interviewed annually from the age of 10 until 17 years. By their mid-20s, some 17.6 percent of participants ended up with adult criminal records for infractions that included homicide (17.9 percent); arson (31.2 percent); prostitution (25.5 percent); drug possession (16.4 percent) and impaired driving (8.8 percent).

“The more intense the help given by the juvenile justice system, the greater was its negative impact,” Dr. Tremblay stresses. “Our findings take on even greater importance given that the juvenile justice system in the province of Quebec has the reputation of being among the best. Most countries spend considerable financial resources to fund programs and institutions that group deviant youths together in order to help them. The problem is that delinquent behavior is contagious, especially among adolescents. Putting deviant adolescents together creates a culture of deviance, which increases the likelihood of continued criminal behavior.”

“Two solutions exist for this problem,” adds Dr Tremblay. “The first is to implement prevention programs before adolescence when problem children are more responsive. The second is to minimize the concentration of problem youths in juvenile justice programs, thereby reducing the risk of peer contagion.”

About the Study

The article, “Iatrogenic effect of juvenile justice,” published in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, was authored by Uberto Gatti of the University of Genoa, (Italy) and Richard E. Tremblay and Frank Vitaro of the Université de Montréal / Sainte-Justine University Hospital Research Center (Canada).

Partners in Research

This study was funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Fonds de la recherche en santé du Québec, the Fonds de recherche sur la société et la culture, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council.

On the Web:

About Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry

About the Université de Montréal

About the Sainte-Justine University Hospital Research Center

During the school year, more than half of the 31 million children who participate in the National School Lunch Program are low-income. Last year, the Department of Agriculture's Summer Food Service Program for Children (SFSP) provided nearly 130 million meals to 2.1 million children across the country. The program reimburses organizations for meals served, but often does not cover the infrastructure or programming costs organizations incur when operating a summer program for children.

"The Summer Food Service Program is a vital nutrition resource during the months students are not in school," said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. "We know that there are many children who need nutritious food but don't have access to a program in their area. We need more organizations to sponsor sites and sponsors need additional resources from the community in order to succeed in reaching children who need meals. Ongoing partnerships like this one are key to making sure our children have healthy meals during the school year, during the summer months, and all year long."

Boys & Girls Clubs of America, through its summer programs and network of more than 4,300 community-based Clubs, will distribute meals to hungry children.

"We are extremely grateful to the Morgan Stanley Foundation for their generous support that will ensure the young people we serve this summer will not go hungry," said Roxanne Spillett, president and CEO, Boys & Girls Clubs of America. "The economic downturn that has impacted the entire country has been deeply felt by our Clubs, and many summer food programs have been placed in jeopardy. Hopefully others will follow Morgan Stanley's lead."

Theft, armed robbery, gang warfare and school shootings continue to permeate our society, and young people are paying the price with incarceration. With a timely message on today's critical topics, such as parenting and religious values, Robby Dixon takes the literary world by storm and with shock value in his first book - Reclaiming Our Children: Exposing the Nets That Snare Them - http://www.reclaimingourchildren.com.

He gives a universal call for an immediate "transformation in our nation's consciousness" to restore understanding of our youth before it's too late. Through a discussion of the spiritual and mental influences on self-image, the author presents the path to physical imprisonment as beginning with higher forms of imprisonment being spiritual and mental resulting in physical incarceration. Dixon argues that not only is this behavior preventable, but through the power of positive imagery, understanding self-perception and re-focusing the powers of desire and will even the recidivism rate may be reduced.

Reclaiming Our Children offers a fascinating look into what comprises good households verses conscious households and how the later serves as a transformative power for the lives of our children. Also learn how impoverished neighborhoods are linked to impoverished mindsets and sustained through the process of mind conditioning which breeds thoughts of self acceptance. Reclaiming Our Children also discusses how to unlock the transformative power that will rescind the power of negative thoughts and produce positive, productive fruit in the lives of our children far into adulthood breaking cycles that have plagued far too many generations of our youth.

Asking crucial questions, Reclaiming Our Children reveals the socio-psychological-
spiritual dynamics, which expose, influence and consequently guide our youth to deviant
behavior. "My first-hand research dissects societal reasons for this rampant distressed
conduct and the certain path to imprisonment if left unrecognized," says Dixon.

Texas author Robby Dixon has spent half a lifetime writing and essentially living his
book to help curtail the tangible cause of this effect; the growing epidemic of senseless
criminal conduct and physical incarceration. Citing extensive research based on
counseling families and prison inmates, Dixon gives startling evidence that prison serves
as a 'sinister profit-generator', which conditions inmates into revolving doors, returning
them to prisons over and over. "I have personally witnessed those who have left prison
and have returned, astonishingly, some within as little as two weeks' time. My research has revealed that some leave and then return two, three and four times, all within the same year," says Dixon.

As an activist for the well being of children and young adults using a Judeo-Christian perspective, his educational blogs appear on his Reader's Community Weblog - http://robbydixon.wordpress.com .

About the author:

Robby Dixon lectures and holds workshops at schools, churches, prisons, libraries and
other organizations in Dallas and Houston, and throughout Northern California. In 2009,
topics of Reclaiming Our Children will be used as the basis for curriculum for a high
school age workshop at the Center for Pre-College Programs (CPCP) at Missouri
University of Science & Technology. Robby Dixon resides in Corinth, Texas with his
wife and son.

Earth Day Channel on PBSKIDSGO.org Allows Kids to Grow with Their Favorite Characters Whenever They Want

"Green" Web Activities on PBS Parents and PBS Teachers Inspire Families and Educators to "Share the Earth"

PBS KIDS and PBS KIDS GO! celebrate Earth Day on Wednesday, April 22, with the fourth annual "PBS KIDS Share the Earth Day" and a new Web-based Earth Day Channel on pbskidsgo.org. The celebration features premiering episodes from CURIOUS GEORGE, ARTHUR and CYBERCHASE; themed favorites from SUPER WHY!, SID THE SCIENCE KID and more; and eco-focused Web content on pbskidsgo.org, pbskids.org, PBS Parents (pbsparents.org) and PBS Teachers (pbsteachers.org).

"As the future leaders of our world, children need to understand the importance of cultivating a healthy environment for themselves and generations to come," said Lesli Rotenberg, SVP, Children's Media, PBS. "With our online, in-home and in-classroom resources and content, we're encouraging kids, parents and educators to explore the role they can play in helping sustain the Earth's resources."

Whether it's the importance of dirt on SID THE SCIENCE KID, water conservation on SUPER WHY!, planting a garden on MAYA & MIGUEL or the effects of pollution on CYBERCHASE, no seed of knowledge is left unsown. The on-air event also will feature a music video from the award-winning kids' rock band Milkshake, as well as Earth-friendly tips from PBS KIDS hosts Mr. Steve, Miss Rosa and Miss Lori.

The new PBS KIDS GO! video player (http://www.pbskids.org/go/video) will host an Earth Day channel with themed content from ARTHUR, DESIGN SQUAD, THE GREENS and MAYA & MIGUEL. This new online channel invites kids to learn about how their favorite character role models share the Earth, whenever they want. In addition to Web content from PBS KIDS GO! TV series, Web-exclusive sites such as EEKOWORLD -- an environment where kids create their own creatures and monitor them in the wild -- and THE GREENS -- a pbskidsgo.org series about the Green family and their exploration of sustainability, ecology and environmental care -- will further explore what it means to be green.

On pbskids.org, younger children and their parents can create an original Earth Day-centered tale at "Dot's Story Factory" and enjoy games and activities with environmental themes. Additionally, pbskids.org/video will feature themed videos from CURIOUS GEORGE, SID THE SCIENCE KID, IT'S A BIG BIG WORLD and more.

For parents and caregivers, PBS Parents features two new guests as part of its popular "Expert Q&A" series. Dr. Alan Fortescue of the Earthwatch Institute and advisor to THE GREENS, will take questions from April 1-15 on how to raise environmentally conscious children. Halle Stanford, Executive Vice President of Children's Entertainment for The Jim Henson Company and an Executive Producer on SID THE SCIENCE KID and the upcoming PBS KIDS series DINOSAUR TRAIN, will take questions from April 16-30. Ms. Stanford's discussion will focus on relating the character experiences on SID THE SCIENCE KID to children's everyday world and the collaborative process of creating the series, including the careful balance and integration of curriculum and entertainment.

PBS Parents also will feature ideas on creating crafts from recyclable materials as well as links to activities at pbskids.org, related book recommendations, an article on "How to Grow Green Kids," ideas for how to throw an eco-friendly birthday party and more.

To help bring the "green" theme into classrooms nationwide, PBS Teachers offers a new Earth Day Activity Pack for educators to use in the classroom or to post on their classroom, school or favorite social networking Web sites. The Activity Pack is designed for multiple grade levels and contains links to Earth Day-themed education resources and activities from PBS to support environmental awareness.

Episodes for April 22 include:

PBS KIDS (check local listings for air times)

CURIOUS GEORGE - NEW!
Night of the Weiner Dog

Poor Hundley! It's the first time he's been apart from the Doorman in over three years and George's room isn't exactly this dapper daschund's idea of "neat and orderly." Being a good host, George follows the Doorman's detailed instructions. George accurately measures Hundley's food, graciously lets him watch his favorite TV show, "Poodle Groomers," and even rearranges his living room to make Hundley feel more at home. Though Hundley's strict demands are not George's idea of a fun sleepover, George comes through for his friend by rescuing Hundley's squeaky mouse from the balcony. Now, at last, Hundley can fall asleep! Later that night, when George is having a nightmare, how can Hundley return the favor and help his friend?

Animal Trackers

It's Nature Week and George is taking pictures of wild animals and their tracks for the big exhibit. Bullfrogs, squirrels, raccoons and hawks are all nice, but George wants a picture of something really exciting and unusual. While George searches for the fawn Bill spotted, he finds an unusual set of tracks that look like a cross between a gigantic duck and a colossal snake. George decides there must be a duckbilled dinosaur on the loose, which would make for a perfect photo for Nature Week! George leaves a trail of fruits and vegetables to lure the dinosaur, but then he remembers that not all dinosaurs are friendly! George frantically rushes to warn everyone, when he bumps into the real culprit behind those tracks -- and it's very different than a dinosaur!

SID THE SCIENCE KID
The Dirt on Dirt

In an Earth Day-themed episode, Sid wants to know what makes dirt so dirty? At school, Sid and his friends discover that dirt is really important to the Earth because it helps things grow, and it's also filled with tiny rocks, pieces of leaves, and even living things like bugs and worms!

SUPER WHY!
Tiddalick the Frog

Whyatt's mom tells him that he's wasting water. This is a really big problem and he's not sure how to fix it. So the Super Readers dash into the Australian folk tale of Tiddalick the Frog and make the acquaintance of a funny amphibian whose puddle jumping is using up all the water and leaving his neighbors in the dust -- literally! As the Super Readers help Tiddalick and his dry friends, they learn how important water is to the planet along with a valuable lesson about conservation.

CLIFFORD THE BIG RED DOG
Doggie Garden

It is Keep Birdwell Beautiful month and the kids are doing their part by planting a flower garden. Seeing this, the dogs decide to create a doggie flower garden of their own. But when Cleo hears that almost anything grows in Birdwell Island soil, she decides she'd much rather grow a garden full of dog toys! She soon learns, however, that working alone for a selfish end is not nearly as rewarding as working together for the whole community.

Captain Birdwell's Treasure

Clifford and his dog friends find the long-lost trunk of Captain Birdwell, filled with wonderful items brought to the Island by the explorer long ago. But through a misunderstanding, Jetta is given credit for the discovery. She knows that telling the truth is the right thing to do, but she can't resist the promise of a gold medal award. It doesn't take long for her to realize, however, that awards don't give much pleasure when they're not deserved.

IT'S A BIG BIG WORLD
World Tree Day

It is World Tree Day and Snook has made badges to give to all of the residents who do something nice for the tree. While everyone finds their own ways to care for the tree, Bob is worried because he can't think of anything to do. After a talk with Snook and Oko, Bob writes a song to celebrate the tree and earns a badge from Snook.

World Tree Cuisine

It is time to celebrate the World Tree's birthday and Madge and Snook are planning a surprise party for the tree's residents. But when Burdette and Wartz overhear them say they are baking a cake, all of the animals start dropping hints to ensure that foods they eat are included in the cake. When everyone gathers for the celebration, they are excited to find individually flavored cupcakes!

BARNEY & FRIENDS
Rabbits

BJ is pretending to be a great detective, but all great detectives need a mystery to solve! A case quickly comes his way when something nibbles on one of Baby Bop's healthy snacks. BJ, Barney, and Baby Bop uncover several clues along the way and soon realize the animal is someone's pet rabbit. Educational objective: To learn about rabbits.

Ducks and Fish

Barney sees Riff protecting a nest full of duck eggs. Together, they leave the eggs to look for food for when the ducklings hatch. When they return, Riff is pleasantly surprised to find the eggs have cracked open and the baby ducklings have hatched! Educational objective: To learn about ducks and fish. Music curriculum: musical instruments (guitar).

PBS KIDS GO! (check local listings for air times)

ARTHUR - NEW!
The Blackout

It's the hottest day in Elwood City, when a total blackout leaves its residents without any electricity. Will Arthur and DW survive without AC and TV? Luckily, the Molina family steps in to teach the Reads a lesson on how to keep cool and have fun as a community even under the toughest of weather conditions!

Mei Lin Takes a Stand

Binky's baby sister Mei Lin isn't keen on learning to walk and would rather stick to crawling. But then Baby Kate and Pal's flea friends, brothers Sale and Pepe, return to Elwood City and share a tale of a little princess in the land of "Hanzan-Niis" who learns to walk in order to save her beloved court jester. Will Mei Lin be inspired to take a stand or continue to stumble?

CYBERCHASE - NEW!
The X-Factor

All is not well in Perfectamundo, a dome-enclosed cybersite, when orange spots are discovered building up on the dome's interior surface, blocking the site's precious sunlight. What source could be responsible for the spots multiplying so fast? Is it Hacker's new factory that pours out orange clouds through smoky stacks? It can't be that new Digifizz toy, with its tiny burst of colorful sparkles shooting into the air each time it gets used. With time running out, the CyberSquad must come to grips with the power of multiplication and use it to undo the site's pollution problem.

MAYA & MIGUEL
Every Day is Earth Day

For a school Earth Day project, the kids decide to clean up an old lot and plant a community garden. But as the deadline approaches, a rainstorm hits, turning the patch of dirt into a muddy mess. How will Maya get her friends out of the muck this time?

About PBS KIDS and PBS KIDS GO!

PBS KIDS, for preschoolers, and PBS KIDS GO!, for early elementary school kids, offer all children -- from every walk of life -- the opportunity to explore new ideas and new worlds through television, online and outreach programs. With positive character role models and content designed to nurture a child's total well-being, PBS's online and community resources -- including PBS KIDS online (pbskids.org), PBS KIDS GO! online (pbskidsgo.org), PBS Parents (pbsparents.org), PBS Teachers (pbsteachers.org), PBS KIDS Raising Readers and literacy events across the country -- leverage the full spectrum of media, technology and community to build knowledge, critical thinking, imagination and curiosity. Empowering children for success in school and in life, only PBS KIDS and PBS KIDS GO! have earned the unanimous endorsement of parents, children, industry leaders and teachers. PBS is a nonprofit media enterprise owned and operated by the nation's 356 public television stations, serving more than 115 million people on-air and online each month.

Source: PBS KIDS

The Recovery Act temporarily reverses a provision in the Deficit
Reduction Act of 2005 that ended the practice of providing federal
matching funds for the state expenditure of incentive payments.

The new Recovery Act provision is effective Oct. 1, 2008 through Sept.
30, 2010. States will receive the additional match funding based on any
incentive funds used during FY 2009 and FY 2010, including incentives
earned and not spent in prior years. States will access the additional
funds as they currently do, through grant awards based on quarterly
expenditures.
The activities described in this release are being funded through the
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). To track the progress of
HHS activities funded through the ARRA, visit www.hhs.gov/recovery. To
track all federal funds provided through the ARRA, visit
www.recovery.gov.