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?

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.

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.

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

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.

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 ... 

(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?

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 ... 

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.

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.

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)

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 ...

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.