Today's Consumer: News you can use

POP LINKS TOYS RECALLED

Kids II Inc., of Alpharetta, Ga., is recalling about 20,000 Pop Links toys. The tips on the links that snap together like a chain can break off, posing a choking hazard to young children.

Kids II has received 11 reports of tips on the links breaking. No injuries have been reported.

Pop Links model 883 with a date code "ND1" molded on the tips of the links are involved in this recall. The toys come in a variety of bright colors with unique shapes and various textures. There are 12 links in a package. The links snap together, creating a chain of links.

Mass merchandise and juvenile specialty stores nationwide sold the Pop Links between June 2001 through November 2001 for about $4. Consumers should immediately take the Pop Links toys away from young children and return them to Kids II for a replacement toy. For more information, they can contact Kids II toll-free at 877-325-7056 between 7:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. ET Monday through Friday or visit the company's Web site at kidsii.com.

Kids II Pop Links that do not have a date code "ND1" are not subject to this recall.

BABY BUZZ'R TOYS RECALLED

Baby Buzz'r International of Sandy, Utah, is recalling about 8,800 Baby Buzz'r toys. The red, green and blue button covers on the toy can come off, posing a choking hazard to young children.

Baby Buzz'r has received five reports of button covers coming off. No injuries have been reported. This recall is being conducted to prevent the possibility of injuries.

Baby Buzz'r is a round plastic baby toy with a face on the front, a red and blue "teethable ear" on each side, and a yellow circular mirror on the back. The toy has three colored buttons -- red, green and blue -- on the top of the product. When the buttons are depressed the toy vibrates, sounds music, or the eyes light up on the toy.

Juvenile specialty stores nationwide, catalogues and Internet sites sold the Baby Buzz'r toys from June 2001 through September 2001 for about $13. Consumers can identify the recalled toys by squeezing the button covers on the top of the toy with pliers. Button covers on toys that are part of the recall can be squeezed out of shape, while button covers on toys NOT included in the recall can not be squeezed out of shape with pliers.

Consumers should immediately take the recalled Baby Buzz'r toys away from young children and contact Baby Buzz'r International toll-free at 866-222-9289 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. MT Monday through Friday to participate in the recall. They can also visit the company's Web site at babybuzzr.com.

Baby Buzz'r toys currently being sold are not included in this recall.

GIRLS' JACKETS AND VESTS RECALLED

Kid Cool LLC of New York, N.Y., is recalling about 5,100 Baby Cool and Kid Cool girls' jackets and vests. The zipper pull and metal ring on these garments can detach, posing a choking hazard to young children.

Kid Cool LLC has received one report of a child who removed the zipper pull, placed it in her mouth and began to choke on the metal ring that attaches the zipper pull to the jacket.

The recalled garments are 100-percent polyester girls' fleece-hooded jackets and sleeveless vests. The garments are pink or violet in color and were sold in both infant sizes 9-24 months and toddler sizes 2T-4T. The garments have a zipper front with a rubber zipper pull attached by a metal ring. Two pockets on the front of the garment have flowers on them. A label sewn on the inside neck of the garments reads "Baby Cool ©," "Kid Cool Collections," and "Made in Hong Kong."

Sears department stores nationwide exclusively sold these garments from September 2001 through October 2001 for between $16 and $19. Consumers should immediately remove the zipper pull and the metal ring from these garments and dispose of them. They can return the garments to any Sears retail store to receive a replacement garment. For additional information, they can contact Kid Cool LLC at 800-315-2376, Ext. 183, between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. ET Monday through Friday, or visit the Sears web site at sears.com.

GROUND BEEF RECALLED

A Jewel-Osco store in the Chicago suburb of Mount Prospect, Ill., has recalled 280 pounds of ground beef because of possible E.coli contamination. The beef was produced Dec. 5. The ground beef was labeled as 75 percent, 80 percent, 85 percent and 95 percent lean and sold in prepackaged units. In addition, ground sirloin, 95 percent lean, was sold in bulk out of display cases. The problem was discovered through routine microbiological testing by the Agriculture Department's Food Safety and Inspection Service. FSIS said it has received no reports of illness associated with the suspect beef. For more information, consumers can call 800-539-3561.

HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS

More people will be staying home for the holidays this year.

The AAA Auto Club say travel nationwide over Christmas and New Year's is expected to be down 6 percent compared to 2000. An estimated 53.7 million people will go 50 miles or more from home during the holiday season, fewer than the 57.1 million who traveled during this time period last year. Of those traveling, 42.2 million will be in cars, with the rest using planes, buses or trains.

Airline ticket sales at AAA offices are down 30 percent from the same time last year. This reflects continuing fears over the safety of air travel in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Other factors blamed for the holiday travel decrease include rising unemployment and the general weakness of the economy.

Travel as a whole is improving from the severe downturn seen after Sept. 11, the AAA reported. Hotel reservations, which had been at 75 percent of last year the week before Sept. 11, increased by 28 percent over last year at this time, reaching the highest level in 14 weeks. This is an increase of about 53 percent since the week before the attacks.

"It's clear that people are not just thinking about travel, they are traveling," said Kevin Bakewell, vice president of public and government relations for AAA Auto Club South. "We continue to see positive signs in overall activity, and strong, consistent numbers in hotel reservation, auto travel and cruise and tour sales. Air travel and attraction ticket sales are also recovering, just not as quickly."

SAVING ENERGY, AND MONEY, TOO

At a time of year when most people spend, spend, spend, GE Lighting is introducing a new easy-to-use online tool that can save consumers significant money on one of their largest household expenses -- their energy bill.

The new GE Lighting Auditor, called GELA, calculates lighting usage, then reports out more energy-efficient options and how much the homeowner can save. Three versions of GELA -- one for homes, schools and businesses -- are now available at GELighting.com.

"People are always looking for ways to cut costs -- especially during the winter months when household bills tend to skyrocket," said Joel Hutt, GE Lighting's general manager, e-Marketing. "The GELA tool was developed as part of a national energy campaign to help consumers and businesses realize the significant savings energy efficient lighting can provide. We believe it will truly change the way America's schools, homes and businesses look at lighting energy use."

By simply entering the number of each type of light bulb in any home, school or business facility, GELA will provide three important facts related to their lighting:

1. The dollars currently being spent on energy. If the user doesn't know the cost of kilowatts per hour in their area, GELA automatically enters the local average.

2. The total dollars that could be saved by using energy-efficient products.

3. Which energy-efficient replacement light bulbs should be used.

"Many consumers are astonished when they realize that by changing just one light bulb from a standard incandescent to a compact fluorescent light bulb, they could save $26 to $86 on their energy bill over the life of that product," said Hutt.