River of Lights, Bugg Lights will brighten up your holidays

Since it looks like we're not going to get snow for Christmas, maybe taking in some holiday lights will get you in the mood.

Bundle up and view hundreds of thousands of twinkling lights and dazzling holiday displays at New Mexico's largest walk-through light show! The River of Lighs is going on each evening until the first of the year.

River of Lights tickets are $7 for adults 13 and older; $3 for children 3 to 12 (babies 2 and younger free). Gates open at 6:00pm and close at 9:00pm. There are no ticket discounts for senior citizens or NM BioPark Society members. More info here.

There's also Albuquerque tradition, the Bugg Lights, now at Menaul School.

The Bugg lights were a Christmas favorite in Albuquerque for over 30 years. Norman and Joyce Bugg always decorated their house with the most extravagant Christmas lights in the entire city. Thousands of people would stop by the Bugg house just to see their annual display. Traffic concerns in their neighborhood forced them to stop displaying the lights.  Menaul school picked up this "Buggs lights," chosen from more than 30 applicants.

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New iPhone app reports graffiti and potholes in Albuquerque and elsewhere

311 Universal for the iPhone allows users to report crime, graffiti and other types of non-emergency issues to the city's 311 center. The application generates a formatted message describing the problem and can include a photo attachment. The message also includes GPS coordiantes and a web link to the location.

311 Universal includes formats for nine possible scenarios:

 -Animal Control
-Illegal Dumping
-Abandoned Vehicle
-Illegal Activity
-Graffiti
-Health/Safety Hazard
-Pothole
-Broken Street Light

A lis of more than 40 cities, including Albuquerque, is in version 1.0.  More information is available from the developer's web site. The app costs $0.99

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Whataburger to giveaway free Whataburgers to customers with orange spirit

 Whataburger will host "Orange Night Out" at the company's nearly 700 restaurants on Tuesday from 5 to 8 p.m., including locations in the Albuquerque area.

Customers dressed in Whataburger's signature vibrant orange will receive a free Whataburger for dine-in service that evening. (Customers must wear an orange piece of clothing to receive a free Whataburger. Only wearing an orange accessory (hat, scarf) does not qualify.)

To find a Whataburger in the Albuquerque area, please visit the company's web site.

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Take advantage of relative warmth and shop Nob Hill at night

The First Thursday of every month in Nob Hill is "Nob Hill Nights." That's tonight, people. This event is a sepcial  car-free night where Central Avenue is closed to traffic from Girard to Carlisle!

Go to this website for more info (and some of the specials shops are running)

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If you're looking for trick-or-treating with a twist, there are a couple of options in the Duke City.

First is the annual Zoo Boo at the Rio Grande Zoo.  Zoo Boo features Haunted Habitats, a costume parade, sweets, and more. Proceeds benefit the Zoo Boo Education Scholarship Fund.

The fun happens from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Oct. 31 at the Rio Grande Zoo.

Up to four children dressed in costume enjoy free admission with each admission-paying adult.

Cottonwood Mall is hosting Mall-O-Ween event on Halloween to provide a safe and secure trick-or-treating experience for Albuquerque and surrounding area families.

The Mall-O-Ween event will kick off at 2 p.m. and feature activities including a pumpkin carving contest, games, crafts, giveaways, face painting and special character photography. Attendees can also bring canned goods to donate to Roadrunner Food Bank.

Trick-or-Treating will be held mall-wide from 6 - 8 p.m. with all of the mall retailers. Children are invited to dress up in costume to scour the mall and its retailers for sweet, delicious candy.

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This last blast of snow has us thinking skiing. What better way to get ready for ski season than to pay a visit to the annual Ski Swap? Click to Comment

Keep those pumpkins fresher, longer

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APD is encouraging drivers to avoid eastbound I-40 near Carlisle during rush hour. Click to Comment