As of June 12, 2009, all of Raleigh-Durham's TV stations had made the switch from analog to digital broadcasting. This change was a welcome one for those of us who rely on broadcast TV (as opposed to cable or satellite TV) because the new digital channels offer crystal clear pictures and more programming.

However, there have been a few glitches during the switch. For example, many viewers in the Raleigh-Durham area are having trouble tuning in WUNC-TV (Channel 4, our local PBS affiliate) because the station's digital antenna, which is located in Chatham County, is too weak to transmit its signal throughout the Triangle.

Viewers have also had complaints about Raleigh's ABC-11, which is broadcasting on the VHF frequency, meaning that viewers with UHF antennas aren’t able to tune in to their favorite ABC programming.

If you're having problems tuning into your favorite channels now that they've gone digital, you can contact the stations directly or can get advice from the National Broadcasters Association at 1-888-388-2009.

Click here to see a list of Raleigh-Durham's digital TV stations.

This weekend, the Town of Hillsborough is hosting its 27th annual Hillsborough Hog Day Festival, which features live music, hog calling competitions, and (literally) tons upon tons of fresh-cooked barbecue. Hog Day is the biggest annual festival in Orange County, attracting over 30,000 people most years. This year's festival will open its doors at 6:00 p.m. on Friday, June 19, and will run through 6:00 p.m. on Saturday evening.

The festival is held throughout downtown Hillsborough, but its headquarters are at the Cameron Park Elementary School grounds at 240 St. Mary's Road.

On Friday night, admission to the festival is free, provided you bring a donation of canned food for the Orange Congregations in Mission. Friday night festival goers will get a chance to enjoy performances by local musicians Vintage Blue and the Wells Family Band and get to watch the barbecue cook-off participants get down to business.

Admission to Saturday's Hog Day events is $5.00 for folks ages 12 and older. Children under 12 get in for free. Saturday's activities include live music, a classic car cruise-in and kid-friendly games and rides.

And though it's Hog Day, festival goers aren't allowed to be pigs: this year's Hog Day is going to be "trash free". All utensils, plates and other items used to prepare or serve food at the festival will be biodegradable (no plastic allowed!) and will be composted. The festival's food waste will be composted as well.

The disaster at ConAgra's Slim Jim plant in Garner has had a devastating impact on the community. In addition to the three workers who lost their lives when the plant exploded last Tuesday, there were also over 40 people who were injured in the blast, and some are still hospitalized with severe burns.

In the aftermath of the explosion, representatives from the ATF and other government agencies have been working diligently to determine the cause of the disaster and ConAgra has pledged to continue paying the plant's workers for an unspecified amount of time. The company has also set up a hotline (1-866-484-9599) that the Slim Jim factory's employees and their relatives can call to learn about the assistance programs that are available to them as well as to get updates concerning the investigation of the explosion.

Fundraisers and prayer vigils for the victims have been taking place throughout Wake County this weekend, and efforts to raise money for the victims of this tragedy are still in full force.

If you're interested in making a donation to those affected by this disaster, consider contributing to the United Way ConAgra Foods Garner Plant Fund, a fund that the United Way of the Triangle established in partnership with ConAgra.

In a press release, United Way of the Triangle stated that 100% of the contributions made to this fund will go directly to the victims and their families. Donations to the fund can be made online, over the phone by calling (919)463-1367 or through the mail at

ConAgra Foods Garner Plant Partners Fund
c/o United Way of the Greater Triangle
P.O. Box 110387
Research Triangle Park, NC 27709

The 2009 Komen Triangle Race for the Cure is going to be held this Saturday, June 13 at Meredith College, in Raleigh. The race benefits the Susan G. Komen Foundation, an organization dedicated to finding a cure for breast cancer. Race day activities, which include several different races as well as shopping and children's activities, begin at 6:00 a.m. and end around noon.

If you would like to become one of the thousands of Triangle Race for the Cure participants, there's still time to register to run or become a race volunteer . If you'd like to further the cause without having to get out of bed so early on a Saturday morning, you can register to "Sleep-in for the Cure" (yes, this really is an option; you get a t-shirt and everything!).

Online registration for the race is available through this evening, and you can also register in person on race day (for the fun-run and non-competitive divisions only), or register the day before the race at one of the Race for the Cure's packet pick-up and one-stop registration locations . Participation fees range from $15-35, depending on which participation option you select.

Finally, if you don't feel like volunteering, sleeping-in or running, but still want to be part of the action, go ahead and be a spectator! There will be plenty going on at Meredith College all morning long: the Race Day Expo will feature educational exhibits as well as vendors giving out lots of free samples, Shop For the Cure will offer shopping for a good cause, the race's KidZone will keep the younger set occupied, and the Survivor Recognition Ceremony will serve as a touching reminder that the Race For the Cure is just that.

Treat yourself to a free lunch this Thursday: the Raleigh Farmers Market and Panera Bread bakery cafes in the Raleigh-Durham area are both going to be having product tastings at lunchtime on June 11. By making stops at both places (Panera has eleven locations in the Triangle, including three within five miles of the State Farmers Market), you'll be able to score yourself a pretty decent lunch.

At Panera, free samples of salads, smoothies, frozen mochas and other frozen drinks will be available throughout the day. And, from 11:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m., the State Farmers Market will be hosting its annual Blueberry Day celebration, complete with lots of free samples of blueberries and blueberry desserts.

So, stop in at a Panera to taste their Cobb salad and get "caffed up" with some frozen mocha, then make your way over to Blueberry Day and nosh until you're blue in the face.

What a great lunch break!

There was mixed news this week for those of us who have grown used to patting ourselves on the back when the Triangle makes a "top 10" list of any kind. Over the years, Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill have received kudos for everything from having a top ten "creative class" to being a top 10 place for young singles to live.

For various reasons, not the least of which is our area's relatively high unemployment numbers (North Carolina currently makes the top 10 list of states with the highest unemployment rates), it seems that we may not be able to take our region's survey topping dominance for granted anymore.

A recent study by the Milken Institute, a California-based think tank, dealt Raleigh and Durham a blow when they both got disappointingly low rankings in the institute's list of top metro areas for high tech industry. Durham beat out Raleigh in the study, ranking 26th out of 393 cities in the US and Canada. Raleigh earned itself the number 38 slot, coming in right behind Ottowa, Canada, and edging out Albuquerque, New Mexico.

However, before we got a chance to start a pity party in Raleigh-Durhamland, Kiplinger's Personal Finance Magazine gave us something to celebrate. Kiplinger's announced that Raleigh is number ten on their 2009 Best Cities list, a list of cities which " have the right stuff in these tough times".

Eating free ice cream on a Sunday afternoon. Doesn't sound half bad, does it? Enjoy a free cone today, courtesy of Raleigh's Cameron Village Shopping Center, which is running a "Scoop Sunday" promotion from 1:00-5:00 p.m. this afternoon.

To get your free ice cream, just stop by the Cameron Village Baskin-Robbins ice cream shop (2018 Cameron Street) and bring a Scoop Sunday coupon. You'll be rewarded with a free sample-sized scoop of vanilla, Oreo, mint chocolate chip or strawberry ice cream.

And if you're not going to be anywhere near downtown Raleigh this afternoon, but are still looking for a place to get a great frozen treat in the Triangle, check out my list of the coolest ice cream places in Raleigh-Durham to find a source of frozen bliss near you.

Tens of thousands of Triangle-area residents live within a stone's throw of the Shearon Harris Nuclear Plant, but few of them ever learn very much about the plant. Tonight, residents of Apex, Cary, Holly Springs, Pittsboro and other communities in Raleigh-Durhamland have a chance to meet with officials from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and discuss the safety of our local nuclear power plant.

The meeting, which is officially known as the "Annual Assessment of Shearon Harris Nuclear Plant" will take place on Tuesday, June 2 at the Holly Springs Cultural Center from 5:00 p.m. until sometime after 8:00 p.m., depending on how long the meeting's question and answer session runs.

The Shearon Harris "meet and greet" is open to the public, and its agenda includes an open house and poster session from 5:00 p.m.-6:45 p.m., and a presentation given by Nuclear Regulatory Commission personnel from 7:00-8:00 p.m. After the presentation, the floor will be open to public questions and comments.

For more information about the meeting, contact Randall Musser at (404) 562-4603.

The Got to Be NC Festival is in full swing at the NC State Fairgrounds through Sunday night. The festival is designed to have an old-timey state fair feel to it, and it does: the small midway, antique tractor show, classic car show, and live entertainment give the Got to Be NC Festival a much more relaxed feel than most of us have come to expect from a fair at the NC State Fairgrounds.

Admission to the Got to Be NC Festival is free, and so is parking. This event is definitely the best entertainment value in the Triangle this weekend, especially because the Got to Be NC Agriculture Food Expo features almost a dozen local wineries that are holding free wine tastings all day long. The Food Expo also has all kinds of other exhibitors, selling and giving out free samples of everything from peanut brittle to sausage. Such a deal!

The festival runs until midnight tonight and opens again at 9:00 a.m. tomorrow.

This weekend, take a break from playing fetch with your dog, and take him out to the ball game instead! The Durham Bulls, in cooperation with the SPCA of Wake County, are holding a Bark at the Ballpark game this Sunday, May 31 at 5:05 p.m.

If spending an afternoon with your dog while watching the Durham Bulls take on the Buffalo Bisons at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park sounds appealing, go ahead and join the dozens of dogs (and their owners) who have already reserved seats for the game.

In order to show Fido an afternoon on the town, all you'll need is a $20 ticket for yourself and a $5 Pooch Pass for your pooch. Your ticket includes admission to a special dog-friendly section of the DBAP as well as a catered picnic buffet.

Here's where it gets a little complicated: all Pooch Passes need to be requested by the end of the day today. So, if you're interested in taking Fido out to the ballgame, you'll need to fax your Bark at the Ballpark ticket order form to the Durham Bulls box office (Fax to (919) 687-6560) by the end of the day today. No order forms will be accepted after May 28, so if you wait until game day, Fido's dreams of making it to the pros won't come true and that would just be a howling shame!