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With great fanfare and brief comments by Bakersfield Mayor Harvey Hall, the late, great WaMu unveiled a sign bearing the Chase logo on its downtown Bakersfield bank branch, today, formalizing JP Morgan Chase & Co.'s take over of failed thrift Washington Mutual.

We could tell you about the eco-friendly remodeling Chase promises for all its newly acquired branches, or how spiffy all the staff and dignitaries looked in their black suits and blue shirts (mirroring the color of the new owner's logo), but let's cut to the chase...ha ha...get it...chase?  Nevermind.

The critical information to impart here is that all eight of Bakersfield's branches, plus one in Taft and one in Delano, will be serving cake to customers today to celebrate. Free while supplies last.

So...let them eat cake!

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Little Feet Repeats, a semi-annual children’s clothing and toy consignment event, will take place April 16-18 on the second floor of Golden State Mall, 3201 F St.

Hours are 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. April 16 and 17 and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. April 18. Merchandise is half off on the last day.

Little Feet Repeats owner Carla McCoy says gently used items will sell for up to 90 percent off of retail store prices.

For more information on selling or shopping during the 6th semi-annual Little Feet Repeats, call (661) 444-8072 or log onto www.LittleFeetRepeats.com.

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Ashley Furniture HomeStore has teamed up with radio station KUZZ  to sponsor a contest that will award one voucher worth $1,500 in furniture each month through the end of the year. That's a total of $16,500 worth of free furniture for local families.

Winners are selected in a drawing. You can enter the contest at Ashley Furniture HomeStore, 8915 Rosedale Highway, or online at kuzz.com.

The February winner was Kaleigh Halford of Bakersfield.

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Albertsons unveiled a “refund rewards” program Thursday that offers up to 10 percent additional value to shoppers who buy grocery gift cards in increments of $250 or $300.

The program runs Sunday through April 15.

Customers can purchase the cards at the stores’ customer service counters. Purchases may not exceed $1,250 per household, and the cards may not be used to buy alcohol, fuel, tobacco, lottery tickets, dairy products, prescription drugs or additional gift cards.

Not all Albertsons stores are participating in the program, but a company spokeswoman said the offer does extend to stores in Bakersfield, Ridgecrest and Tehachapi.

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Free tax assistance for qualified residents of Kern County is available from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. March 21, offering a rare opportunity to enlist the help of an Internal Revenue Service employee on a Saturday.

The “Super Saturday” event, a national undertaking that takes place locally at the IRS Taxpayer Assistance Center at 4825 Coffee Road, is available to people and households whose income is less than $42,000.

Free assistance is normally available at the center from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Various community organizations also offer tax preparation help locally. For a site near you, call the IRS at (800) 906-9887. The agency’s Web site, IRS.gov, also offers information about how to locate free tax help.

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Jamba Juice is offering customers oatmeal for just $1 through the end of the month with a coupon available online.

The promotion is to call attention to the smoothie and snack eatery’s newest menu item, oatmeal made from scratch with organic steel-cut oats and served with brown sugar crumble and a choice of three fruit toppings.

The oatmeal normally has a suggested price of $2.95. To get the discount, customers must print the coupon found online at www.oatmealforabuck.com and take it to any participating Jamba Juice location.

There are three Jamba Juice stores in Bakersfield: in the south at 5180 Stockdale Highway, at Valley Plaza Mall and at Northwest Promenade.