The team name for the new Portland hockey franchise is…. UP TO YOU! Comcast Spectacor has announced that the hockey team that will start playing in Portland next year will have their name decided by a contest. Fans can submit suggestions for the name at PortlandMaineHockey.com, the team’s website, by Aug. 14. Five finalists will be announced Aug. 17, followed by a popular vote.

“The team name will not be Hockey McHockface or anything like that,” said Adam Goldberg, vice president of business operations for the ECHL franchise that’s scheduled to begin play at Cross Insurance Arena in October 2018. “We have some liberty in making sure the name is appropriate to the region and something we can take pride in.”

From almost 90,000 submissions, Crayola selected the following finalists for the new blue hue: Dreams Come Blue, Bluetiful, Blue Moon Bliss, Reach for the Stars and Star Spangled Blue.

From now until Thursday, Aug. 31, people in the United States and Canada can vote on these five names at Crayola.com/NewColor. The champion will be announced in early September, and the freshly christened crayon is expected to first show up in boxes later this year or early 2018. The new color is replacing Dandelion, the color that Crayola retired earlier this year. Unveiled to the public in May, the replacement is based on a based on a pigment discovered in 2009 by a chemistry team at Oregon State University, believed to be the first new blue pigment discovered in 200 years. Crayola apparently didn’t want to stick with the pigment’s name of YInMn Blue, after its chemical makeup of yttrium, indium, and manganese oxides. Cast your vote now!

Last year, the Toronto High Park Zoo become the unwitting center of a crime scene when Zoo officials reported that not one but two of its residents had escaped. The furry fugitives known to officials as “Bonnie” and Clyde” were members of the South American rodent clan known as Capybara.  For those who have never come across this group name before, Capybara are BIG in the world of rodentia and have been known to reach 200 pounds! (Think GINORMOUS guinea pig.  And yes, before you ask, “ginormous” IS in the dictionary…along with humongous.) Given their conspicuous appearance, it probably comes as no surprise that the two love-struck runaways were eventually captured and returned to the zoo in the late Spring of 2016.  However, nearly a year later, the dynamic duo is making headlines again.  It seems that Bonnie and Clyde are now the proud parents of three baby capybara. Zoo officials have taken suggestions from the public for names for these rodent triplets and will announce the winners very soon!

When a new blue pigment called YInMn (yin-min) was discovered in 2009 by Mas Subramanian, a chemistry professor at Oregon State University, the Crayola company was very excited. This discovery is the first new blue pigment in 200 years and is the inspiration for the new blue crayon color. Now, they need your help. The new blue crayon needs a name, so submit your Name Ideas and be entered for a chance to win a prize!

Marlane Kennedy, children’s book author of such classics as Lucky Dog, Me and the Pumpkin Queen, and The Dog Days of Charlotte Hayes, recently joined forces in a novel contest with Storyworks, an educational resource for teachers, parents, administrators, and librarians.  The competition asked teachers and their students to “create a character” for the award-winning author’s upcoming publication.  Winners of the contest would receive a two-year class subscription to Storyworks and a signed class set of Ms. Kennedy’s book, Disaster Strikes: Earthquake Shock. The name of the contest-winning character will be published in the May/June 2017 issue of Storyworks.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) are calling all dog lovers and underage name enthusiasts to send in their favorite name for the 13 pups that will soon be joining this year’s RCMP Police Dog Service Training Center. The deadline for name suggestions is the 11th of April 2017. All name suggestions must begin with the letter “K”, and have no more than two syllables. Contestants in the contest must be Canadian residents and 14 years or older. For those of you who still qualify (or have someone in your family who does), a video of the puppy police cadets can be found here (and embedded below). WARNING: These cuties just might steal your heart!