News flash! Borders Group Inc. will be closing 200 mall stores across the country in January 2010. About 130 of the mall locations, branded as Waldenbooks and Borders Express stores, would still remain open, according to an announcement on the Borders Web site.
The company provided a Borders store closing list, and although it hasn't been finalized, there are four Maryland locations mentioned so far, including three Borders Express stores in Glen Burnie, Owings Mills and Wheaton as well as a Waldenbooks in Gaithersburg.
None of the freestanding superstore locations will be affected, according to the announcement.
Some of the approximately 1,500 employees who will lose their jobs are expected to get other positions within the chain.
This decision to "right-size" the chain (as the company described it) follows the company's pattern since fiscal 2001. They've closed a number of stores each year.
Retail reporter Andrea K. Walker thinks this decision to close so many stores might have been prompted when discounters like Walmart.com decided to sell recently released books for as low as $8.99. Even Sears.com has gotten into the book price wars.
All this makes me wonder: where do you buy your books?
Low-income Marylanders having trouble paying utility bills, or who anticipate having trouble in the near future, should check out an Energy Assistance Expo this weekend in Baltimore to apply for aid.
Come to the Mini Conference Center on Baltimore City Community College's campus at 2901 Liberty Heights Avenue from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 7 for more information about eligibility and to enroll in the program. You'll also get tips on conserving energy to keep your bills lower in the first place.
Maximum Monthly Gross Income per number of people in household
1: $1,579.37
2: $2,124.79
3: $2,670.20
4: $3,215.62
5: $3,761.04
6: $4,306.45
For every additional person, add $545.42.
Here's the documentation you need to apply:Continue reading "Need help with your energy bills, Baltimore? " »
Who couldn’t use a few extra dollars these days? How about $1,086?
That’s the average refund owed 1,619 Marylanders whose tax refunds were returned to the IRS as undeliverable because of mailing errors. And some taxpayers are owed more than one check, the IRS says.
Nationally, 107,831 refunds totaling $123.5 million have been returned to the IRS as undeliverable.
Taxpayers owed a refund can update their address online with the “Where’s My Refund?” tool at www.irs.gov. They must submit a Social Security number, filing status and the amount of refund owed.
Or, taxpayers can call the IRS to update their addresses at 800-829-1954.
OK. I was curious so thought I would share. Here's what it costs to stay overnight midweek at Maryland's AAA Four-Diamond resorts, according to hotels.com. May be more affordable at Priceline.com or even AAA.com. Not sure. But both Loews and Rocky Gap sure look like real bargains - diamonds in the rough, perhaps?
Hilton Baltimore Convention Center Hotel: $159.20
Intercontinental Harbor Court: $261
Renaissance Baltimore Harborplace: $339
Hyatt Regency Baltimore: $223.23
Hyatt Regency Chesapeake Bay (Cambridge): $155.22
Loews Annapolis: $119
Gaylord National Resort: $229
Hilton Suites Ocean City: $84 (off-season)
Rocky Gap Lodge & Golf Resort: $99
Are diamonds a hotel guest's best friend? I don't know. I care far more about how much the hotel costs than how much bling it can hang around its neck. But nonetheless, we will pause to recognize the new AAA four-diamond ratings won by Maryland hotels and announced today at the Maryland Tourism and Travel Summit in Ocean City.
New on the list: the Hilton Baltimore - the city's convention center hotel gets high marks just a little more than a year after its grand opening. Still on the list: Hyatt Regency Baltimore - 29 years and counting. Intercontinental Harbor Court - 23 years and counting. Renaissance Baltimore Harborplace - 22 years and counting.
But what I'm really counting is the overnight rate or discount on the rack rate. Stars and diamonds are nice, but not if you can't pay the price.
Are you a Bank of America cardholder? Then you qualify for free admission this weekend to the American Visionary Art Museum or the Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History & Culture.
You can take advantage of Bank of America's Museums on Us program with any Bank of America ATM, debit or credit card at participating institutions across the country --- not just these two in Maryland.
Just bring it to the museum along with a photo ID to gain free admission during the first weekend of any month, which includes Nov. 7 and 8.
Check the free museum admission site for more freebie weekends.
Then, if you need a pick-me-up after absorbing all that culture ...
Continue reading "Free museum admission, free coffee and ice cream: Cheap Trick Thursday" »
(photo: Associated Press)
Well, KFC took umbrage at one part of Boston Market CEO Lane Cardwell's take on the $1 chicken meal coupon, saying he got his facts wrong when talking about his competitor.
According to KFC spokesman Rick Maynard, all KFC restaurants serve fresh, not frozen chicken, including the chicken served during KFC's free grilled chicken giveaway last week. In fact,
KFC restaurants receive shipments of fresh chicken on the bone throughout each week, just like we did when Colonel Sanders was at the helm of the company. The free Kentucky Grilled Chicken we gave away to America on both our “UNFry Day” events was delivered fresh, not frozen, to our more than 5,000 restaurants.
according to Maynard.
Thanks for clearing that up, Rick. Now, who's ready for lunch?
Just a reminder: don't forget to take advantage of the chance to get some free financial advice from the Your Money Bus tour this week!
Eileen Ambrose already told us about the Your Money Bus events scheduled in Baltimore on Thursday, but in case you missed it, here's a recap:
From 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. today, bring your financial questions to Baltimore's City Hall to get answers from financial advisers.
But if you're already booked or can't get downtown, there's still a chance to meet with these folks Friday ...
Continue reading "Free financial advice on the Your Money Bus: Cheap Trick Thursday" »
If you're struggling financially and have been able to take advantage of government assistance such as food stamps, you may also qualify for a free cell phone and minutes through SafeLink Wireless.
We've told you about the Lifeline assistance for landline phone bills, but starting this week, low-income Marylanders can sign up for free cell service through SafeLink, an affiliate of TracFone Wireless. The company offers the free service to low-income residents in 19 states and Washington D.C. thanks to a federal subsidy, according to this story by Sun tech blogger Gus Sentementes.
You might be able to get low-cost mobile phone service through other companies, but SafeLink provides a free phone and 64 free minutes a month with no activation fees or contracts to those who qualify.
The phones will have Caller ID, call waiting and voicemail, and they charge you 0.3 minutes to send or receive a text message. Customers who run out of minutes can get more by purchasing pre-paid TracFone calling cards.
To check your eligibility or to enroll, go to the Safelink Web site.
Sometimes you just can't get too much information, particularly when you're shopping online.
I've been researching some kitchen purchases lately, and I've spent a lot of time cross-referencing equipment recommendations from Alton Brown with tests by Consumer Reports and reviews by Cook's Illustrated.
There were some roadblocks, however, when AB recommended some product that CR had not tested or if the Cook's Illustrated best bet was no longer in stores.
If you are confronted by just such a conundrum, here's another site to add to the list: Cheapism.com, our Consumer Web Site of the Week.
Continue reading "Cheapism: Consumer Web Site of the Week" »
More retailers and malls are starting to unleash their Black Friday plans and other holiday bargains.
Prime Outlets Queenstown, the outlet center just over the Bay Bridge, announced it will open at midnight on Black Friday like it did last year. It will give the first 500 people who show up to guest services wearing pajamas a goodie bag with coupons and other giveaways.
Kmart will begin "Better than Black Friday" doorbusters this Friday (Nov. 6) and each Friday until the day after Thanksgiving. On Black Friday, Kmart will have what it calls "Blue Friday" specials named after its famous blue light bargains. Kmart will also be open on Thanksgiving Day from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Walmart, which has already announced it will sell 100 toys for $10, will also sell a turkey dinner that feeds eight for $20. This Saturday (Nov. 7) it will begin a series of bargains on electronic items. The specials will run through Nov. 13 and include $298 HP notebook computers, a Panasonic 46" HDTV for $788 and Xbox 360 gaming systems for $199 with a $100 Walmart gift card.
We told you earlier about Sears Black Friday specials and will let you know about more as we hear about them.
Happy Shopping.
(Baltimore Sun file photo)
Boston Market CEO Lane Cardwell wrote in Tuesday after reading our post, Boston Market coupon promotion a success or failure?, to share details about the deal from the company's point of view: As the CEO of Boston Market I must admit right off that I am biased. Let me tell you about the $1 promotion from our perspective, since everyone is entitled to an opinion.
When KFC released their press release on Thursday, Oct. 22 that they were going to repeat their 1 piece of chicken giveaway on Monday, Oct. 26 we decided this time to not let it go unchallenged. By late Thursday we had decided on our offer: $1 for 1/4 of a white meat chicken, mashed potatoes, and corn bread. A real meal, not a piece of chicken.
Our biggest challenge was in deciding whether our stores would have enough food, since they would not have time to place an order for more food before the promotion would begin. We decided that we were safe with up to a tripling of our normal business and would not be advertising or publicizing the promotion.
We e-mailed our 400,000 VIP Club members, included a "Forward to a friend" button, and sent out the e-mails on Sunday night. We expected the promotion to be picked up on the many "deal" websites and were okay with that.
Our mistake was in thinking that we were making things better by having the promotion run for a week, instead of 2-3 days. We never would have done a 1 day promo like KFC since it makes your guests jump through too many hoops to take advantage of it.
However, by the third day it was clear that instead of making the situation better from a guest standpoint, it make it worse. It allowed the coupon to take on viral properties and spread throughout the country. It gave time for people to come back a second, third, and fourth time, which we were okay with, but it made the lines longer, not shorter.
Our biggest difficulty is that ...
Continue reading "Boston Market CEO responds about coupon promotion" »
Just in time for the holiday consumption season! Exorcise our nation's shopping demons at a free screening tonight of What Would Jesus Buy?.
The 2007 documentary follows Bill Talen, also known as the Reverend Billy of the Church of Stop Shopping.
The screening, held at 7 p.m. Tuesday at The Windup Space, 12 W. North Ave., is brought to you by the Action! Film Series.
Afterward representatives from Ten Thousand Villages, Three Stone Steps, Zeke's Coffee, Heifer International and Green America, a nonprofit consumer organization, will be available to discuss responsible consumption as you embark on holiday shopping this year.
So did you get a chance to redeem a coupon for a $1 Boston Market chicken meal deal?
Blogging buddy Andrea Walker and I found ourselves at a Boston Market location in Delaware at about 9:15 p.m. Friday night (I'll admit it: we were avoiding the Delaware tolls).
While we were in the parking lot, wondering whether the store would accept coupons on our smart phones, a kind stranger overheard our conversation and gave us some hard copies from a stack he had in his car.
We got on a long line and learned that that there would be a 20-minute wait for chicken, but staff was offering turkey, brisket and meatloaf instead. By the time we got up to the front, the brisket and meatloaf was gone.
I thought the turkey tasted just fine, though --- and they didn't restrict the sides to just the advertised mashed potatoes. Employees seemed to be working calmly and efficiently.
Food seemed to be in short supply, which doesn't come as a surprise given the demand. Some Consuming Interests readers told us they were disappointed, however ...
Continue reading "Boston Market coupon promotion a success or failure? " »
Jos. A. Bank Clothiers Inc. said Tuesday that it has upgraded its Web site just in time for the busy holiday season.
The new site has larger images and allows shoppers to zoom in on the fine details of its suits. The new site also allows customers to have their orders shipped to a store and pay through the Bill Me Later service. Shoppers can also now take advantage of sales once only offered in Jos. A. Bank stores.
(Baltimore Sun file photo)
Continue reading "Jos. A. Bank men's store unveils new Web site" »
Today at noon we'll have a live chat with Curtis Arnold, founder of CardRatings.com.
He can answer your questions about trends in the industry, why card issuers are playing tough, and what card opportunities there are out there for you.
Chat starts at noon here. Submit questions or comments then, or post them in advance here. See ya then.
Still playing catchup on our lists of disciplined doctors and other medical professionals. Here's the list of docs sanctioned (or whose licenses have been reinstated) by the Maryland Board of Physicians in May and June:
Shirley E. Brown-Ornish, M.D.
Area of Practice: Internal Medicine (Mitchellville, MD)
Reinstatement of license; Probation for 3 years subject to terms and condition. The Board has determined that it is appropriate to reinstate the physician’s license, however, subject to probation with terms and conditions. Date of Action: May 6, 2009
Michael Q. Durry, M.D.
Area of Practice: General Surgery (Randallstown, MD)
Reinstatement of license; Remaining terms and conditions of the 12/19/07 Consent Order continue in effect; Probation for 5 years subject to terms and conditions. The Board has determined that the physician’s circumstances justify a reinstatement of his medical license, however, subject to conditions that the Board believes necessary to ensure protection of the public. Date of Action: May 8, 2009
Mark H. Eig, M.D.
Area of Practice: Internal Medicine (Silver Spring, MD)
Reprimand; Probation for a minimum of 2 years subject to terms and conditions. The Board found that the physician failed to keep adequate medical records in his care and treatment of 6 patients. Date of Action: May 6, 2009
Charles O. Folashade, M.D.
Area of Practice: Internal Medic ine (Salisbury, MD)
Summary Suspension; The Board determined that the public health, safety, or welfare required emergency action based on the physician prescribing drugs for illegitimate medical purposes, his sale of drugs to patients for financial gain, dispensing prescribing medications without a permit, and failure to provide medical records to another physician
for continuity of care. Date of Action: May 15, 2009
Richard C. Habersat,, M.D.
Area of Practice: Internal Medicine (Parkton, MD)
Reprimand; Probation for a minimum of 2 years and until terms and conditions have been satisfied. The physician failed to carefully monitor and aggressively treat adverse side affects of a patient on multiple narcotics when changing the patient’s medications. Date of Action: May 28, 2009
Kevin R. Kellman, RRT
Area of Practice: Respiratory Therapy (Frederick, MD)
Suspension for 30 days; No direct patient care; if practitioner elects to resume patient care, notification to the Board in writing of the place of employment; Probation for a minimum of 2 years with terms and conditions. The practitioner engaged in unprofessional conduct and failed to meet standards of quality care for, including but not limited to, initiating a test on a patient without a physician’s order. Date of Action: May 27, 2009
David R. Leaverton, M.D.
Area of Practice: Psychiatry (Arnold, MD)
Suspension for one month; Probation for 2 years and until terms and conditions have been satisfied. The Board concluded that the physician engaged in boundary violations with a patient, prescribed medication to another patient prior to doing an initial evaluation, failed to maintain adequate documentation in regard to these patients, and in one instance billed one of the patient’s visits to the other patient. Date of Action: May 28, 2009
Kathy A. Mesbahi, M.D.
Area of Practice: OB/GYN (Rockville, MD)
Probation for 1 year subject to terms and conditions; cease and desist from the practice of laser surgery; fine of $20,000; and cease and desist from aiding unlicensed individuals in the practice of medicine. The Board determined that the physician aided 2 unauthorized individuals in the practice of medicine. Date of Action: May 11, 2009
Continue reading "Disciplined Doctors: Naughty Business of the Week" »
Not that long ago, major airlines added a $10 surcharge if you were flying near the holidays.
According to this story from Associated Press' David Koenig, it just got more expensive. He writes:
"Several of the largest U.S. airlines have increased a surcharge for travel on the busiest travel days to $20 each way, up from $10. The surcharges apply to a large number of flights within the U.S. on more than a dozen peak days around holidays including Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s. Delta, American, United, US Airways and Northwest all boosted their surcharge on some routes, said Tom Parsons, who runs the discount travel site Bestfares.com."
Buy those tickets quickly before airlines raise the fee again. Or, maybe this is the year to call home for the holidays.
Your Money Bus tour will arrive in Baltimore Thursday.
The bus - sponsored by Kiplingers, a trade group for fee-only financial adviser and others investment companies - is on its second year of traveling coast-to-coast to dispense free financial advice.
The tour arrives this week in Baltimore and will give advice to consumers at 100 N. Holiday St., from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
TD Ameritrade is part of the tour and will offer a calculator for those who want to decide whether or not to convert a 401(k) or traditional IRA into a Roth IRA next year when the rules on conversion change.
He can answer questions on your cardholder rights and trends in the credit card industry. Like, what’s up with Citibank canceling gas cards without warning or Bank of America charging "unprofitable" customers annual fees or card issuers jacking up interest rates?
The discussion starts at noon on the blog. You can also submit questions or comments in advance by posting on the blog or sending an e-mail to me at eileen.ambrose@baltsun.com.AirTran Airways said today that it will offer buy one, get one free WiFi session on its flights next month.
The airline, which is the only major airline with wireless Internet on all of its planes, will offer the deal from Nov. 1 to Dec. 31. The free session will have to be redeemed by Jan. 31, 2010.
Dunkin Donuts will give members of the military a free medium coffee every Tuesday in November.
They just have to present a military ID.
The promotion is part of its "Thanks to You" initiative to recognize local heroes. The donut chain will honor police officers in December.
If you get extra happy and drink too much during your Halloween festivities, you can get a free taxi ride through the state "Tipsy? Taxi!" campaign.
Just call 1-877-963-TAXI and Yellow Cab will provide you a free ride (worth up to $50) home. The rides will be offered from 10 p.m. Halloween night to 4 a.m. November 1. You have to be at least 21 to use the service and must have been drinking at a Baltimore City bar or restaurant.
In Fell’s Point, where many of the streets will be closed to traffic due to the anticipated crowds, bar patrons who call the Tipsy?Taxi! number can meet their cabs at Thames and Caroline streets. There will be a Tipsy?Taxi! sign and a Yellow Cab representative at the designated waiting spot.Tipsy?Taxi! is a project with The Maryland Department of Transportation's State Highway Administration, AAA-MidAtlantic and Yellow Cab begun in 2006 to combat drunk driving on holidays associated with heavy alcohol consumption. More than 150 people died in drunk-driving related activities in Maryland last year.
Kids of all ages can eat free on Halloween!
It's not what you're thinking. In addition to all the gorging on candy and other treats this weekend, several restaurant chains have stepped up to offer free meals to children with an adult meal purchase. Thanks to the ladies over at CouponDivas.com for the tip.
Uno Chicago Grill will offer a free make-your-own-pizzas for costumed kids, decorate-your-own-pumpkins and Craisin dried cranberry trick-or-treat snacks in addition to other activities. The hours for the promotion are 11 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Locations will also offer a party for adults starting at 8 p.m. with contests and other events.
Call to be sure your nearest one is participating, but up to two kids will get free meals with an adult purchase all day Halloween at Austin Grill, in addition to other fun stuff. The restaurant also offers free kids meals every Tuesday with adult purchase, as well as a movie after 6 p.m.
At Applebee's locations, the restaurants are giving trick-or-treaters coupons for a free kids meal with an adult purchase (to be redeemed at a later date). Restaurants may also have additional coupons that diners could take home and distribute themselves.
What if you're not toting small children on Oct. 31? Kids of all ages will still get free treats ...
This year Halloween falls on a weekend, which means that kids don't have to wait until school lets out to don their costumes and celebrate.
If you're still planning your Halloween itinerary, check out Charm City Mom blogger Kate's list of Halloween weekend fun.
She's collected some great destinations there, including the free 3-D showing of Coraline at the Enoch Pratt Free Library and the Fells Point Halloween Children's Event, with costume contests, face painting and pumpkin decorating.
In addition, The Charles Theatre is offering free kids' admission to a film screening of Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein.
(photo: Christopher T. Assaf/Baltimore Sun)
