Good Day Alabama for April 6, 2011

Here is what you saw on Good Day Alabama for April 6, 2011:

INDY RACE - The 2011 Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama gets underway this weekend at the Barber's Motorsports Park! Stars like Helio Castroneves, Danika Patrick, and Patrick Dempsey will be on the track! Catch practice and qualifying all day on Friday. There will be practice, qualifying, and autograph session on Saturday plus the Continental Tire Sports Car Series Race at 11:30am and the PORSCHE 250 Race at 3pm. And on Sunday the Star Mazda race begins at 10:45am and opening ceremonies for the big race - the IZOD IndyCar Series Race begins at 2pm.  Tickets are still available. You can purchase them by calling (877) 332-7804. For more information visit http://www.barbermotorsports.com.
 
CONSUMER REPORTS - Epsilon is a  marketing company that maintains "mailing lists" for some of the country's biggest businesses such as Best Buy, Chase, Capital One, and Marriott.  Warning letters are being sent to consumers to say no crucial data was stolen... but we should all be on the look out for phishing emails. Fox reporter Steve Noviello warns us to be "aware."  He says many people will see a spike in spam in their email and it could look very authentic because it could have your name and email address. The emails will be asking for your personal information. Steve says a company will not ask you for any personal information related to your account like your account number or password. If the intent of the email is to try and harvest *more* data- don't answer it. Hackers are fishing for vulnerable consumers- you can even expect spam which looks like email from the company apologizing for the security breach... and asking you to verify your information so that they can better serve you. If it looks fishy-- call the company and verify the request for information is really coming from them.

So how can you protect yourself?  Steve says, ideally, start running your finances like a cash based business. You don't have to worry about who has your personal information if you only use cash.  But since that is not realistic for most people, try some spring cleaning. Weed out any coupons and reward point programs that you know longer use. And while Epsilon reports that this was email and names only, you shouldn't worry too much about your credit but do check your report at least once a year just to be on the safe side. There is a free government service- annualcreditreport.com - you get a free report each year from each of the big three reporting agencies.

ZOO CREW - Mickey talks with Wes Sims, Curator of the "Trails of Africa" at the Birmingham Zoo to learn more about the Hippo. For more information, visit birminghamzoo.com

RENEW OUR RIVERS - Renew Our Rivers kicked off the season a few weeks ago! And the first clean-up in our area in this week! Lay Lake, near Columbiana, is a popular destination for many in the Birmingham and Montgomery areas. Standardized lake levels, excellent fishing opportunities and easy boat access make this a popular choice for recreation seekers. And now you have two chances on April 9 to help this beautiful lake stay pristine.
     The first cleanup is sponsored by the Lay Lake Home and Boat Owners Association. Volunteers will meet at Beeswax Public Boat Launch at 8 a.m. The cleanup will end at noon followed by a picnic lunch. Volunteers are asked to contact Judy Jones or the Lay Lake Home and Boat Owners Association for more details: 205-669-4865. An alternative clean-up is sponsored by employees at E.C. Gaston Steam Plant. Volunteers will meet at Richey's Resort located at the plant at 7:00 a.m. The cleanup will end at noon followed by a picnic lunch. The cleanup is also in cooperation with the Lay Lake HOBO and targets areas near the plant. Please contact Byron Corina for more details: 205-669-8301 .

The Lay Lake Home Owners & Boat Owners (HOBO) Association was formed in 1997 to preserve and improve the Beauty, Safety, Water Quality and Quantity of our shoreline and this wonderful body of water called Lay Lake. To that end, our membership families and Board of Directors are involved in interesting and fulfilling activities that enhance our Mission Statement. For more information, visit http://renewourrivers.com or http://www.laylakehobo.org/index.html

JEH JEH LIVE - The Junior Achievement Leadership Council of Young Professionals presents a brand new event, Hot Biz in the City:  Look to the East,  Thursday, April 7, from 5:30 - 8:30pm at Woodrow Hall.   HBIC 2011 will feature fabulous businesses and entrepreneurs east of downtown including:  the beautifully renovated Woodrow Hall (woodrowhall.com) in Woodlawn, art by Avondale artists Tres Taylor and the Ticking Family (trestaylor.com) , jewelry art by Naked Art Gallery artist, Victoria Puckett (nakedartusa.com), vintage fashions by Zoe's in Forest Park (zoeshop.com), and delicious samples from restaurants like Silvertron (silvertroncafe.us) and Great Birmingham restaurants, Jim N Nick's Bar B Q (jimnnicks.com), and the J.Clyde (jclyde.com), who serve east of downtown through the Pepper Place Farmer's Market.  Music will be provided by Birmingham Mountain Radio (bhammountainradio.com) - the new home of Reg's Coffee House.

Tickets are $20 in advance and $25 at the door.  Tickets include food and beverage.  Information available at Birmingham.ja.org.   All proceeds benefit Junior Achievement of Greater Birmingham and the Young Business Leaders Scholarship Program. Hot Biz in the City celebrates these important entrepreneurs while supporting a great program, Junior Achievement, which helps young people realize their potential as business leaders of the future.  Buy tickets at http://hotbizinthecity.eventbrite.com or visit http://birmingham.ja.org or www.ja.org for more information.

HOLE IN ONE - The Do Dah Day One Million Dollar Hole-in-One Contest runs tomorrow through Sunday, April 10 from 12 noon to 6 p.m. each day at the Highland Park Golf Course. Show up at the court to hit the range at Highland Park. You can buy a bucket of balls for $15. The closest to the pin each day qualifies to return on Sunday at 6 p.m for a chance to win one million dollars. The four daily qualifiers from Thursday through Sunday return on Sunday evening for a chance to take one swing on the par-3 #11 to win $1 million. A hole-in one will make any of these golfers a millionaire. Rules do apply.  There are great prizes available for everyone who buys a bucket: There will be random drawings daily for every registrant and even better prizes for daily qualifiers. All the prizes are provided from Nike, Highland Park Golf Course, Innisfree Irish Pub, Coca-Cola, Budweiser, and Black & White. Win golf equipment, apparel, rounds of golf, range passes, and dining certificates to the best restaurants in town. Also take advantage of burger and bucket specials on Thursday through Sunday! Watch the Masters all week! It's the perfect golf weekend! Tell your friends, bring the gang, and compete to get closest to the pin each day! Return on Sunday to witness a small slice of Birmingham history. For more information, call (205) 322-1902! All proceeds benefit Do Dah Day, Inc., a 501[c]3 corporation benefiting local animal charities. For more information about Do Dah Day, visit dodahday.org.

EYEGLASSES - Empower is the first ever line of electronic eyewear. It has a special way of focusing! Right now it is only being launched in only a few cities and Birmingham is one of them! The official launch isn't until May but there's a big event today to kick it off! As the developer of the world's first and only electronic focusing eyewear, emPower!, PixelOptics is committed to redefining the way people see by improving the current standard of vision correction. PixelOptics is focused on "transformational innovation" in vision care.  Our technology represents the single most significant advancement in prescription eyewear in the last 50 years. emPower! combines sophisticated optical design technology with the latest in consumer electronics innovations, bringing vision care into the 21st century.
     PixelOptics is inventing and commercializing the first dynamic electronic spectacle lens, emPower!™  If you wear bifocals or progressive lenses, this technology will revolutionize the way you see and use your eyeglasses. emPower!™ will:
• Focus as fast as you can blink your eye
• Provide an invisible electronic near focus zone when desired

• Offer three modes of operation: automatic, manual on, manual off

• Provide wider fields of view compared to a progressive addition lens

• Allow for less distortion than a progressive addition lens

• Vision correction for all ranges of sight: far, near, and in between
• Allow you to turn near reading power off when desired

• Rechargeable hidden battery
For more information, visit http://www.pixeloptics.com/index.html

ASK THE DOCTOR - William A. Lemons, MD is an OB/GYN at Trinity Medical Center. He took viewer questions about Women's Health.

GARDENING - Jon Culver with Sweat Peas Garden Center joined us to discuss perennials with color that you might want to consider for your yard! For more information or gardening advice from Jon Culver, visit Sweet Peas Garden Shop at 2829 Linden Ave, Homewood... The phone number is (205) 879-3839. Or you can email him at jonculver6@gmail.com.

 Tomorrow on Good Day Alabama, Jeh Jeh heads out to Barber Motorsports Park to gear up for this weekend's Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama! And Arielle takes us out to the Birmingham Humane Society for the latest in fashions and pets... She explains live! Christian author, spokesman, and preacher Rob Bell releases his new book - LOVE WINS:  Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived! The Bargainomics Lady joins us with a look at some great deals for you! Plus our pet of the week joins us from the Shelby County Humane Society! That and more tomorrow on Good Day Alabama!