MIDDAY REPORT: Congratulations to Paterno; gas prices still dropping

Congratulations to Penn State football Coach Joe Paterno, who was inducted Saturday evening into the College Football Hall of Fame.

"I've tried to be good for college football," Paterno told reporters Saturday. "I'm not saying I've been the best coach. But I've worked hard to be good because I really lovew college football."

Whether you think he's the best coach in college football or not, there's no arguing he's devoted his heart and his life to the game and to the Nittany Lions. The only surprising thing about him being enshrined into the College Football Hall of Fame is that it didn't happen sooner.

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It looks like the Starbucks stores in State College will continue to dole out lattes.

The chain had announced plans to close up to 600 stores. While 20 of the stores that are closing are in Pennsylvania, it's looking as if none of those are in State College, although coffee-lovers in Altoona are not so fortunate. Check the latest update at business reporter Jennifer Thomas's Bits of Business blog at http://blogs.centredaily.com/bits.

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Some of you may remember reading columnist Julie Brink's reminiscences a few weeks ago on all the things her mother, a child of the Great Depression, to save a few pennies, and make everything - from plastic bags to bacon grease - last a little longer.

Some readers suggested that in these tough economic times, it might help our readers to hear other tipes for stretching a dollar a little farther. So we're asking for your help.

We’re issuing a call for people to send us their tips for saving money. Whether it’s an idea for how to stick to a budget, for building your savings, or for ways spend less, we want to hear it. And we’ll compile a list of money-saving ideas to share with our readers in an upcoming edition of Centre Life.

Just e-mail send your ideas to cdtnewstips@centredaily.com by the end of July.

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Speaking of saving a few pennies, it looks like the cost of a gallon of gasoline is continuing to drop as the cost of a barrell of crude oil declines from historic highs. The prices have hit $3.89 a gallon.

How low will they go? Probably not as low as we'd hope, but every little bit helps.

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It's still pretty hot and humid out, but it's slowly cooling. Today and tomorrow's we're looking at high temperatures of 86 or 87 degrees, according to AccuWeather.com, with thunderstorms possible both days. In fact, AccuWeather is advising that heavy rain is likely, accumulating to 1.22 inches between now and Wednesday.

By Wednesday, the high temperature is expected to drop into the 70s, AccuWeather says.

In the meantime, stay cool.