June 29, 2007
INTRODUCING LEOPOLD
A Rainforest Cafe exclusive - http://www.ty.com/Leopold_intro 

ASK TY
Q: Will you be going to the fireworks at Ty Park this year? (submitted by beaniecharge)
A: In looking at my travel schedule it is very possible that I could be at the park this year for the 4th ! http://www.ty.com/askty_home

JULY INTRODUCTIONS
http://www.ty.com/JulyIntro2007

Silently Introduced "Ice" Bears 
***TRADE*** (Jun 29, 2007, 01:22 PM) 
Message Id: 1158254 
***TRADE*** writes: 
Ty Silently Introduces: 

Berry Ice 
Cheery Ice 
Grape Ice
Lemonade Ice
Lime Ice
Orange Ice 

All 2007 Summer Show Exclusives 

Daniel http://www.ty.com/tytalk_Message_Display/1,1581,1_19-1158254-0-1,00.html

June 26, 2007
MARILYN'S PHOTOS
Thank you to Marilyn for sharing photos from the Westmont Beanie Bay 5K Run/Walk and photos of a special Cashew Buddy that was given out to victims of Hurricane Katrina. http://www.planetbeans.com/MarilynsPhotos2.htm

June 25, 2007
RETIREMENTS
Captain & Baaabsy Baaag - http://www.ty.com/CaptainBBRet

BROOKFIELD ZOO BEANIE DAYS
* Beanie Baby Days are June 30 and July 1 at Brookfield Zoo. The first 4,000 children 11 and younger who visit Brookfield Zoo on these days will take home a free Beanie Baby compliments of Ty. http://nwitimes.com/articles/2007/06/24/community/illinois/doc4e20bd5decfade4486257302007b0a4e.txt

UPCOMING RELEASES - SHOWN AT THE DALLAS SHOW
http://www.msjanie.com/2007_News/2007_Dallas_Show.html

June 21, 2007
NEW HARRODS DISPLAY
John writes: "Hi Lisa, I don't know if this is of interest but here is a little snippet for you - I have received an email from my reliable source to say that Ty UK have constructed a new display at Harrods, which will be launched at 10am tomorrow. It is going to be interactive, with lots to see and do! I am unable to get there myself...but have sent out messages to see if anyone else can get there in the next few days to take a look and report back. I'll let you know if I hear/find out anymore.

All the best, 
John
the phoenix"

The Wonder Pets! premiered on Nick Jr. in March of 2006 and has become one of the top-five series on commercial television for kids 2-5. The mini-operetta follows three singing classroom pets—Linny the Guinea Pig, Ming-Ming Duckling and Turtle Tuck—who, at the end of the school day, go into superhero mode and travel the world helping baby animals in distress. The show is created and execu produced by Josh Selig of Little Airplane Prods. and features music from Tony Award-winning and nominated Broadway composers. http://www.animationmagazine.net/article/7011

Oberle quits gambling-related posts
A nod from across the aisle

Lobbyist Mark Brunswick, who had called Monday for Oberle to step down from the gaming panel, said Oberle made the right move. Brunswick and Oberle are allies in the fight against the move to open a casino on Wilmington's Riverfront, and Brunswick had thought Oberle's credibility might be undermined by Blue Hen's financial dealings with the racetrack casinos.

"It just reflects his good character as a legislator,'' Brunswick said of Oberle's resignations. "He is responsive to the appearance and really wants to address those issues.''

Brunswick, director of education for the A. Philip Randolph Institute, which represents black union workers, said Oberle might not have realized that some would question his ethics.

"Sometimes you don't see things until somebody shines a light on them,'' Brunswick said. "Maybe that's what happened and he said, 'OK.' "

Speaker Spence, a Republican, said earlier he didn't believe Oberle has a conflict, but added, "I think he's doing the right thing."

Oberle spent five years pushing a bill to legalize slots gambling at Delaware's racetracks before succeeding in 1994, and has advocated their interests in the years since, including a measure that let them open 24 hours a day and increase the number of machines. He is currently supporting a bill to permit sports betting at the tracks.

Meanwhile, Blue Hen has done hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of business with Delaware Park, Dover Downs and Harrington Raceway since the casinos opened in 1995. This year alone, Delaware Park officials said, Blue Hen has sold the track $67,000 worth of beverage cups and $34,000 worth of "Barbaro'' Beanie Babies that were given to gamblers and sold at a gift shop. http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070620/NEWS/706200396/1006/NEWS

Nickelodeon Launches Three New Merchandising Programs at Licensing 2007 International Show Spanning Live-Action, Animated and Virtual Worlds
NEW YORK, June 19 /PRNewswire/ -- Nickelodeon & Viacom Consumer Products (NVCP), the world's leading television-based licensing organization, today announced plans to expand its respected portfolio with new merchandising programs created for tween hit The Naked Brothers Band; preschool smash, The Wonder Pets!; and the "stickiest" virtual community for tweens on the web, Neopets. The three brands will be spotlighted at Licensing 2007 International, June 19-21, at the Javits Center in New York City, joining a Nickelodeon- fueled roster of licensing success stories including SpongeBob SquarePants, Dora the Explorer, Go, Diego, Go!, Avatar, and The Backyardigans. In addition, NVCP announced a series of new domestic and international licensees and extended product lines with partners including Lego, Fisher-Price, Memcorp, Jerry Leigh, Scholastic, Skechers, and Ty, Inc.

THE WONDER PETS!

Nick Jr., master toy licensee, Fisher-Price will launch a full The Wonder Pets! toy line at mass market retail in fall 2008. The planned preschool products will combine the property's unique mix of music, animal-rescue teamwork, "super-hero" role play and vivid animation style. Partner Ty, Inc. will produce plush products including the brand's signature Beanie Babies that will hit shelves in fall 2008. Random House and Simon & Schuster will launch book programs in Spring 2008. NVCP announced that it is looking for innovative partners to develop product across categories including: home, sportswear, sleepwear, accessories and interactive. http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/news_press_release,125141.shtml

Beanie Baby 5k steps off this weekend
The idea came to them on a run, like most brilliant ideas usually do.

On a cool autumn day last year, three runners were jogging in Ty Warner Park, and thought “wouldn’t it be great to have a race in Westmont?”

When the gun sounds for the start of the Westmont Beanie Baby 5k Run/Walk at 8 a.m. Sunday, their race will become a reality.The inaugural event will take place at Ty Warner Park, at Blackhawk and Plaza drives in Westmont. The race is a combination of runners and Westmont businessmen thinking alike.

Chris Johnson, Ty Inc.’s vice president of information systems, works out with a running club meeting at the Oak Brook Racquet & Fitness Club at 6 a.m. weekdays. That is where he met a business associate at the McCrone Group and his trainer at the fitness club. All three organizations decided to sponsor the race.

“We wanted to give back to the Police Department, and thank them for everything they do in Westmont,” said Johnson.

Johnson said many Westmont police officers work security for Ty on their off-days. Wanting to give back to the community, the organizers decided to donate race profits to the Police Department. http://www.chicagosuburbannews.com/westmont/homepage/x457498152

June 20, 2007
POOLSIDE INTRODUCTION
http://www.ty.com/Poolside_intro

June 16, 2007
ASK TY
Q: Which Beanie would most likely have the fastest time in the Beanie Baby 5K Run/Walk on June 24?
(submitted by scooby20)
A: That's an easy one . . . Speedy the Turtle ! http://www.ty.com/askty_home

Champaign mother collecting toys for son to give to Iraqi kids
CHAMPAIGN – Army Pfc. Brian Jolley is making friends in Iraq, handing out Beanie Babies to the kids.

The combat engineer has been in Iraq about three months, sleeping in a tent in temperatures exceeding 100 degrees. The 21-year-old's camp, Butler Range, is still under construction. His missions include finding and destroying improvised explosive devices.

But the Centennial High School grad has found himself in the Army, his parents say, and enjoys making friends with the kids he meets.

His mother, Lori Stewart of Champaign, started sending the Beanie Babies on May 9, after he made a request for soccer balls. The kids were miming a request for them.

"I couldn't find a good way to smoosh soccer balls into a box," Stewart says.

Instead, she started sending Beanie Babies, which her son says have proved to be a big hit – not just with the children, but with the soldiers, too. The interpreter in Jolley's company said they're great for improving relations among the soldiers and the Iraqi villages. http://www.news-gazette.com/news/local/2007/06/16/mission_beanie

S.F. Zoo opens luxury lair -- Grizzly Gulch
Three summers ago, two grizzly bear orphans in Montana were trying to fend off starvation. Now they are coddled ursine superstars living in San Francisco.

On Thursday, the public got its first glimpse of the twins' opulent new home as Hearst Grizzly Gulch, a $3.7 million habitat at the San Francisco Zoo, opened for business. Kachina and Kiona, whose species adorns the California state flag, quickly demonstrated that they knew how to work the Flag Day crowd.

"They're really cool," said 14-year-old Christopher Butler of San Francisco. "I think it's great that they can hunt fish. I hope they do it every day. I've never gotten this close to a bear before."

Proximity is one of the exhibit's highlights. A thick glass window is the only thing separating humans and carnivores in one section of Grizzly Gulch, which also includes a meadow, 20,000-gallon shallow pool, heated rocks, 2-ton tree stump, dig pit, herb garden and 20-foot-high rock structure.

"It's really pretty and they spent a lot of money on it, but it's really worth it," said Jacqueline Deutsch, 11. "The bears have gone through a lot of things."

It's true. The sisters lost their mother after she was killed by Montana officials for breaking into barns. In fall 2004, the ravenous twins faced a similar fate after raiding ranches in search of food. They were about to be destroyed when zoo board member Fred Carroll, alerted to their plight by a friend, asked the San Francisco Zoo to save them.

"My initial reaction was, 'Where are we going to put them?' " recalled Manuel Mollinedo, the zoo's executive director.

The sisters, now 4 years old, moved into a concrete enclosure that's part of an old-fashioned bear grotto built in the 1930s. It will serve as night quarters and adjoins the new habitat, the result of a fundraising campaign by Carroll -- who said he envisioned an endless series of "$100,000 lunches" before Stephen Hearst, vice president and general manager of the Hearst Corp., set up a $1 million donation.

Hearst was mindful of his family's connection to grizzlies. His great-grandfather, San Francisco Examiner publisher William Randolph Hearst, arranged for the 1889 capture of a wild grizzly that he named Monarch -- his paper's slogan was "Monarch of the Dailies" -- who inspired the creation of the city's first zoo.

"It was the fastest million-dollar grant that ever went through the Hearst Foundation," said Hearst, after the speeches ended. "It took three weeks. I called the president of the gift committee, who happens to be my father."

Mollinedo said he figured it would take at least five years to build a new home for the bears.

"Never in my wildest dreams did I think it would happen so quickly," he said.

The bears' tale is poignant and marketable. Monarch Beanie Babies especially designed for the zoo were selling for $7.99 at a stand outside Grizzly Gulch that also featured gummy bears, bear hats, bear puzzles, bear purses and bear puppets. Mike Southern, general manager for visitor services, said several thousand Monarchs already have been purchased online and at zoo gift shops. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/06/15/BAG61QFV861.DTL

Beanie Baby burglar gets prison term
A 37-year-old Fruitport Township man has been sentenced to prison for breaking into a Norton Shores mobile home and stealing 145 Beanie Babies and other items.

Muskegon County Circuit Judge James M. Graves Jr. on Monday ordered Jay Albert Jager Jr. of 2743 Mill Iron to prison for between three and 30 years after Jager pleaded no contest to second-degree home invasion and guilty to being a third-time habitual offender. Jager also was ordered to pay $650 restitution plus $520 in fines and costs.

Police said Jager made off with the Beanie Babies and other items Feb. 17 after forcing entry to a home in the 1300 block of Calgary. His getaway car got stuck in the snow at Worden and Sunbury streets.

The Calgary Drive resident was returning home from work and spotted the car and some of his possessions. He called police. An officer arrived to find the suspect had returned with a borrowed pickup truck and had thrown the Beanie Babies into the truck bed.

Jager has prior convictions for cocaine possession, escape from a felony jail sentence and uttering and publishing, according to court records. The habitual offender conviction lengthened his maximum sentence. http://www.mlive.com/news/muchronicle/index.ssf?/base/news-11/1181832476233430.xml&coll=8

June 14, 2007
Announcing Bangzoom's Ty Beanies Tracker Edition 3
Licensed by Ty --- http://www.planetbeans.com/TyTracker3.htm

CHERISH AUCTION UPDATES FROM SUE
http://www.planetbeans.com/SuesCharityAuctions.htm

WEBSITE UPDATES
These past few months have proven to be very hectic. This website has taken a backseat to life lately so it's in bad need of updating. Are there certain areas that you would like to see updated? It will take me a while to update everything and right now I'm not sure how much time I will be able to devote to do it all. I will, however, make efforts to update the areas most used by my readers. Email me with suggestions and comments: Lisa@planetbeans.com (please put website comments in the subject line)