What? No sparklers?

So it’s New Year’s Eve, and time to stock up on fireworks for the big pow-wow tonight. For the 6-year-old, ya gotta get sparklers, especially the ones that are 2-feet long.

Alas, no luck. Sure, plenty of other stuff that goes bang and lights up pretty, but the big sparklers nobody has apparently.

I thought the stand I was shopping at was kidding so I visited a couple more. No luck. I did get some boxes of the old school sparklers that are about six  inches long, but it’s not the same.

I still bought $75 worth of fireworks, but how do I explain that the big sparklers are unavailable to my kid? Oh well. Better luck for the Fourth of July.

And Happy New Year!

Be careful and don’t drink and drive.

Or get hit by stray roman candles which will burn through you clothes. A long story that  I might share one day.

Grocery store to give away meds

From the Washington Post (full story) :

Giant Food stores will give free generic antibiotics to customers with a prescription for the next three months in what retail experts called an aggressive move in supermarkets’ heated battle for shoppers.

The company said the program, which will begin Friday and last through March 21, covers several popular antibiotics such as amoxicillin, penicillin and ciprofloxacin. This is the first time that Giant has offered free prescription drugs and it did not estimate the cost or potential popularity of the program.

“Times are tough,” said Robin Michel, executive vice president for Giant Food, which is based in Landover. “If this is the way that we can help most people, why not?”

…

Paul said that the free prescription drug program is likely to breed additional goodwill among its shoppers, particularly at a time when many corporations are filing for bankruptcy and seeking government bailouts.

“Anything you can do to suggest that we do care about more than just, quote, making money is probably good citizenship,” he said.

Giant’s sister chain, Stop & Shop, will do the same promotion. The company doesn’t operate any stores in the NeMiss region, but maybe it will spur other grocery stores to follow suit.

The Journal’s 2008 newsmaker is …

… the NeMiss worker.

For Northeast Mississippi workers, 2008 has been an unforgettable year.

In 2007, they had celebrated landing the most sought-after economic development prize, a Toyota assembly plant. The Japanese automaker had announced in February 2007 that it would build a $1.3 billion assembly plant in Blue Springs.

Toyota said the main reason it chose the rural site was the strong work ethic of the region’s workers. In fact, about a third of that work force is tied to manufacturing, which the automaker acknowledged as a strength.

But the region’s strength also took hits in 2008. Read the full story from today’s paper.

Consumer Reports buys Consumerist.com

Not sure how many of you are Consumer Reports and Consumerist.com fans besides the Biz, but interesting news out of both camps this morning:

CONSUMER REPORTS’ PUBLISHER ACQUIRES GAWKER MEDIA’S CONSUMERIST.COM

America’s most trusted consumer advocate bolsters new media offerings; Purchase comes during period of organization’s continued growth

Yonkers, NY—Consumers Union (CU), the highly trusted, independent publisher of Consumer Reports magazine and ConsumerReports.org, has purchased Consumerist.com from Gawker Media. The popular consumer watchdog blog will operate independently of Consumer Reports publications and be the first property housed under a new non-profit entity called Consumer Media LLC. The change in ownership will be in effect as of January 1, 2009.

“We’re delighted to add this vibrant site to our portfolio of information products,” said Jim Guest, President and CEO of Consumers Union. “The Consumerist community is passionate about fair retail practices, truth in advertising, product safety, and other topics that Consumer Reports has championed for more than 70 years. The site is a perfect fit for advancing our mission of creating a fair, safe, and just marketplace.”

Gawker Media launched Consumerist.com three years ago. Its monthly traffic of more than 10 million page views exceeds the web sites operated by many daily newspapers. “We are thrilled to join the Consumers Union family, where Consumerist.com will benefit from an incredibly powerful and iconic brand, while maintaining autonomy housed under a separate division. Consumerist.com is now assured of a strong, healthy future,” said Ben Popken, Editor of Consumerist.com.

Biz Buzz’s Top 10 of 2008

Today’s Journal highlights several top news stories from 2008. This year has been packed with business stories. On Sunday, we ran the list (full story) of the top ones nationally.

But in the end, you – the reader – tell us what the top stories are. Here is what you picked – the 10 most popular Biz Buzz posts of 2008 as determined by the number of reader clicks:

1. IRS has answers about your stimulus checks
2. Issues at Barnhill’s Buffet?
3. Your thoughts on airport runway plans
4. CEO speaks out about Barnhills
5. A sneak peek inside Kyoto
6. Black & Decker outlet grand opening
7. Just in time – stimulus checks begin arriving
8. Circuit City to close in Tupelo
9. Two new food vendors in Tupelo
10. Report: Toyota considers MS plant delay (the post with the confirmation was No. 12)

Many topics came close to the top 10 list but didn’t make the cut, including storm damage coverage in May, Cooper Tire coverage and many posts about the furniture industry. What do you think was a big story in 2008 but didn’t make the list?

How can we improve the Buzz?

We’re making plans at the Journal for 2009 and want your input. How can we improve Biz Buzz? Some of you have mentioned you want more videos and pictures. What business-related videos and pictures would be interesting to you? Store tours, manager interviews, new construction updates, Dennis’ thoughts about the economy, yada yada. Tell us and we’ll see what we can do.

What type of business-related content do you want? More retail? More Toyota and auto news? More furniture, restaurant, agriculture, tourism or oil/gas news? Are you interested more in Tupelo or in other areas of the region?

Now’s your chance. Tell us what you want from Biz Buzz. We’re listening/reading.

Major furniture industry news Tuesday

The CDF has announced that a “major” furniture industry announcement will be made tomorrow (Tuesday) morning at 10 a.m. at Lane’s plant in Belden.

No details on the news, however.

11 a.m. Tuesday update:

Dennis just called in with the news …

U.S. Foreign-Trade Zones Board approved FTZ manufacturing authority for Lane, H.M. Richards and Bauhaus USA. This approval will not only enable these companies to maintain their in-house cut-and-sew operations saving an estimated 950 jobs in Lee County, but will also reduce the raw goods cost of each company by over $1 million dollars annually.

He’ll be back to explain this in greater detail soon. Good news for Northeast Mississippi and Lee County.

Todd Vinyard
Online Editor

Wednesday update: Here’s the story from today’s paper.

Christmas – The day(s) after

So who didn’t want to come to work today? Uh, count me. Especially with the Wii sitting at the house. Oh, well, gotta pay the bills right?

A couple of questions for you Biz Buzz readers, all of whom we hope had a very Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukah, etc…

First, we wonder what you spent this year?

Second, what was your favorite  gift?

——

I’ll have to confess our household spent more (way more)  this year than last, doing our part to stimulate the economy.

The favorite gift goes without saying. It was the joy and delight of our 6-year-old son when he woke up yesterday to see what Santa brought.

However, I’ll have to admit the Wii came in second place.

Wheeee! with the new Wii

Santa Claus paid a generous visit to at least one-half of the Biz Buzz team, bringing loads of presents to Dennis’ family yesterday.

The most favorite gift of all, which prevented us from watching the “Christmas Story” marathon on TV, was the wii, complete with several games, including Wii Sports, Clone Wars, Lego Star Wars, Kung Fu Panda, and Medal of Honor II.

The 6-year-old (along with the 39-year-0ld and 35-year old in the family) has had a grand time!

Hope Santa was good to y’all.

Any other Wii games or suggestions out there?

Get your iPhones at Walmart

Yep, it’s true, Wallyworld will begin selling iPhones, starting on Sunday.

Just doesn’t sound right. Must they get their hands on EVERYTHING? Anyway, here’s the official news, from the AP:

Walmart will start selling Apple’s popular iPhone on Sunday, the chain said, confirming earlier reports by employees.

Bentonville, Ark.-based Walmart Stores Inc. will become the second independent retail chain after Best Buy Inc. to sell the phone. It is also sold at Apple Inc. and AT&T Inc. stores.

Walmart will sell the phones for $2 less than the regular price with a two-year contract: $197 for the 8-gigabyte model, or $297 for the 16-gigabyte model. Best Buy is discounting the phone by $9.

Reports that Walmart would sell the phone, but not the exact launch date or the terms, surfaced early this month through store employees who had been briefed.