Website

Springfield, MO - The City of Springfield's public-facing website (springfieldmo.gov) was compromised Friday, Feb. 17 and certain functionality has been turned off to secure the site while authorities investigate. Officials are taking steps to notify approximately 2,100 individuals whose personal information may have been obtained when the site was breached. To reduce risk of harm from this incident, these individuals will receive a letter by mail offering a one-year subscription with an identity theft protection company.

The Baxter County Sheriff's Department says their website was one of more than 70 that were attacked by hackers last week. The alleged hackers have been sending press releases that aim to discredit law enforcement agencies as well as threaten to name informants. The same group of cyber-attackers is believed to be behind recent hacks at Apple, Sony, and the Arizona Department of Corrections. The Baxter County Sheriff says their website should be back online in a few days.

Some commuters in Springfield gave up their cars last week for "Bike To Work" week. Now the website of a financial company will let you see just how the dollars and cents add up when you bike to work. Kiplinger's Bike savings calculator shows the money a bike rider can save when he or she ditches the four wheels and goes with two instead. A 10-mile round trip commute, for example, would save the rider about $4.50 per day. Kiplinger.com says the number of people who use bikes as their primary mode of transporation to work is up 40% over the past decade.

BRANSON, Mo. - Branson scores a colorful Christmas ranking. Yahoo! travel editors rank the live music capital as the No. 6 best place to see holiday lights throughout the country.  It highlights Silver Dollar City and the Branson Area Festival of lights drive through as must-see attractions. Silver Dollar City's Old Time Christmas lasts through December 30. New York City tops the list.  See where else made the list.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - Show me the money! Missouri's unclaimed property office reports a record $36 million this past fiscal year.  Treasurer Clint Zweifel says it jumped by four percent compared to the record-breaking 2010 fiscal year. Companies must turn over assets to the state after failing to contact customers for five or more years.  What's owed to your family?   Just log onto the treasurer office's to search your name.    

SPRINGFIELD -- Trevor Godfrey still bares a scar on his face from a January night in 2012.     The MSU student, who was living in the central part of Springfield, had gotten up from bed to go move his car.   His neighbors were having a party and he was worried something might happen to his car.      But he never made it that far. "I went to go open my car door and I woke up in an ambulance," said Trevor.        He was left beaten and bloodied.  It's an image his mother will never forget.

A website that tracks Santa Claus with the help of the military went live on Friday night, just hours before the calendar flipped to December. NORADSanta.org went live at 6 p.m. Central time.  The website is maintained by members of the North American Aerospace Defense Command at Peterson Air Force Base, Colo., and features a holiday countdown, video messages and other activities. The website experiences hundreds of thousands of visitors on Christmas Eve, when NORAD staff members update Santa's current location across the globe using mapping technology and computer-generated imagery.

Do you have military experience, like traveling and have experience with sniper rifles? A job ad on an official government site in the United Kingdom appears to be recruiting the next James Bond, job code 007. The job, listed as Target Elimination Specialist on the Directgov website -- a government services site -- asks for someone "to remove people whose continued existence poses a risk to the effective conduct of public order. " The ad, which is of course fake, is recruiting someone who fits the credentials of the secret agent made famous by Sir Ian Fleming's novels and a series of movies.

  SPRINGFIELD, MO. - This month, Safe Kids Springfield is kicking off “Safetember” as a reminder for families to take safety precautions and prevent injuries to children.  With the re-launch of its website , parents and caregivers will have easy-to-find resources for safety proofing their home, where to find a local car seat technician, and upcoming events/programs for families.  Everyday, children are injured and killed from “accidents”...

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- The Springfield School District's computer and telephone systems experienced problems on Wednesday.  That caused administrators to postpone the scheduled start of Summer School registrations until Thursday. Here's the message posted on the district's website: "The Summer School registration website will be closed until (Thursday) due to technical difficulties. Online registrations will still be the only method available so no registrations can occur until the issues are resolved.  We are sorry for the inconvenience and appreciate your patience.

Yelp may be a website for people to review restaurants and other companies providing goods and services, but a certain group of people is using the site for another purpose. There are those who review churches, others review parks and still others let the public know their opinions about public restrooms -- but how about prison inmates reviewing the institution in which they were incarcerated? One woman writes about Riker's Island in New York : "I had a terrific getaway on this luxurious island retreat.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- The Springfield School District's computer and telephone systems experienced problems on Wednesday.  That caused administrators to postpone the scheduled start of Summer School registrations until Thursday. Here's the message posted on the district's website: "The Summer School registration website will be closed until (Thursday) due to technical difficulties. Online registrations will still be the only method available so no registrations can occur until the issues are resolved.  We are sorry for the inconvenience and appreciate your patience.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- Legendary singer Bob Dylan will take the stage at JQH Arena this spring, his website announced on Friday.  The recording career of Dylan, 72, has spanned roughly a half-century, in which he has recorded a number of songs that remain popular to this day. The concert, featuring Dawes, is April 24.  Tickets go on sale March 22 at 10 a.m.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- The Missouri Grocers Association wants to promote healthy eating habits and keep your shopping dollars in the local economy.  It launched www.eatathomemissouri.com in January as a way to reach out to consumers to promote their members, who range from small retailers to independent grocery store chains. The site shows you how to budget a shopping list , how to see the source of your food , and how to safely prepare healthy recipes .  It also allows shoppers to print coupons to use in local grocery stores.

EUREKA SPRINGS, Ark. -- The Eureka Springs School District will close on Thursday and Friday.  In a posting on the district website , officials say all schools are closed Jan. 24-25 due to illness and high absenteeism. At this time, the only announced closure dates have been confirmed for Thursday and Friday.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - The Springfield Ballet continues to entertain audiences with a yearly tradition that celebrates another year tonight. The ballet's first performance for 2012 of The Nutcracker debuts tonight at the Landers Theatre. Tonight's showing begins at 7:30 p.m. Two shows are offered Saturday, at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.; and two shows are scheduled for Sunday, at 2 and 6 p.m. Ticket information is available at Springfield Ballet's website .

LEBANON, Mo. - Some local teachers are finding creative ways to make extra cash. Stephanie McMahon and Melanie Mowery with Esther Elementary in Lebanon have signed on to Teachers Pay Teachers. It's a program that allows them to post, download, and sell their lesson plans to other teachers. Many of the lessons on the program's website meet education standards that allow them to be used at any public school in the country. "As I've been teaching through the whole year I've been taking the common core classes, tying them to what I'm doing in the classroom and them making stations that we can use in our classrooms but that other people can use as well," Mowery said.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- During this giving season, you can help Springfield teachers with special classroom projects for students.  The district set up a new website to spark a positive change. The Pick-A-Project website lets members of the community choose a Springfield School District project that they'd like to help fund. About 20 projects were listed on Monday morning.  They were submitted by teachers and faculty. When you click on them, they give you a brief synopsis of what the project is and why the teacher thinks it will be beneficial for his or her students.

A website that tracks Santa Claus with the help of the military went live on Friday night, just hours before the calendar flipped to December. NORADSanta.org went live at 6 p.m. Central time.  The website is maintained by members of the North American Aerospace Defense Command at Peterson Air Force Base, Colo., and features a holiday countdown, video messages and other activities. The website experiences hundreds of thousands of visitors on Christmas Eve, when NORAD staff members update Santa's current location across the globe using mapping technology and computer-generated imagery.

Do you have military experience, like traveling and have experience with sniper rifles? A job ad on an official government site in the United Kingdom appears to be recruiting the next James Bond, job code 007. The job, listed as Target Elimination Specialist on the Directgov website -- a government services site -- asks for someone "to remove people whose continued existence poses a risk to the effective conduct of public order. " The ad, which is of course fake, is recruiting someone who fits the credentials of the secret agent made famous by Sir Ian Fleming's novels and a series of movies.