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California’s minimum wage will increase from the current $6.75 an hour to $7.50 an hour on Jan. 1 and to $8 an hour on Jan. 1, 2008.
Worker's rights groups say the increase is needed given the state's high cost of living and will help out working families. Pro-business groups warn the...
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Comments [121] - Views [1560]
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I was at Valley Plaza today talking to day after Christmas shoppers. Do you like shopping on the day after Christmas? Do you shop that day for the sales, to return an unwanted clip on tie or to get a jump start on next year's holiday shopping? Or do you do whatever possible to...
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Comments [6] - Views [414]
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What's the worst gift you've ever given or received? Socks from grandma? Breath mints from a co-worker as a not-so-subtle tip? Did you give your wife a vacuum cleaner for your anniversary?
As a kid, I gave my aunt and uncle a tiny ugly ceramic squirrel for Christmas one...
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Comments [6] - Views [270]
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A recent study commissioned by the Kern Economic Development Corp. and compiled by local appraiser Gary Crabtree appears to give us the best picture to date of local homebuyers. The report included more than 1,000 new construction and existing home sales between January and June, comprising about...
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Comments [6] - Views [370]
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What do you think of re-gifting, or giving a second-hand gift? Have you ever done it? Have you received one? If so, what was your reaction?
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Comments [7] - Views [488]
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A gigantic $90 million, 57-acre shopping mall is planned for the southwest corner of Gosford Road and Panama Lane in the southwest. It would likely not be finished until 2009. Combined with the Gosford Village development, which includes a Kohl's and Sam's Club, it could create a big...
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Comments [10] - Views [557]
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It was still dark and some shoppers huddled near heat lamps in the Valley Plaza parking lot at midnight with a live band rocking away on the stage behind them. Just before 1 a.m. Friday the doors swung open ushering in a large crowd of hard-core shoppers and teenagers just looking for something...
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Comments [4] - Views [574]
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I spent some time talking to people in the middle of the night last night and this morning waiting in line to get their hands on the coveted PlayStation 3. If you weren't in line or about two days chances are you didn't have much of a chance of getting one.
Many I talked to planned to sell...
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Comments [2] - Views [255]
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Seeing people camped out in tents outside Circuit City waiting to buy a PlayStation 3 on my way to work today reminded me of the time I stayed up all night outside a store to get a PlayStation 2 a few years back. Here's an old blog I wrote last year thinking back on that night when the Xbox...
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Comments [12] - Views [440]
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What are your favorite old school guilty pleasures? Have you held onto an old Atari video game system? Do you search through vinyl record collections at garage sales? Do you miss the lava lamp you had in your dorm room (I do)? Do you still pull out your hair trying to...
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Comments [19] - Views [697]
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A recent survey indicates Americans are spending more time searching the internet for products and comparison shopping for prices before going into stores.
Do you check out the internet before you go shopping? Do you buy products online or shop in stores? Do you feel secure using...
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Comments [9] - Views [314]
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Last week county supervisors passed an ordinance requiring A, B or C grades be posted in the windows of local restaurants after inspections by the county's environmental health department. The new letter grades will start appearing in restaurants in January. Some other California...
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Comments [4] - Views [250]
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Depending on who you ask, downtown Bakersfield is either blighted and neglected or on its way to becoming a vibrant arts and entertainment district.
What do you think?
Are the recent renovations and openings of the Nile Theater as a bar and nightclub and Capistrano’s as a bar and...
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Comments [7] - Views [395]
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What will be the hot toys this holiday season? The T.M.X. Elmo (who has laughing fits and slaps his knee) has already sold out at many stores. Other hot toys this season are expected to include Barbie and her 12 dancing princesses (could you have any more princesses?), Bratz dolls...
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Comments [3] - Views [202]
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China Bistro opened its second location in Bakersfield on Coffee Road near the new WinCo Foods grocery store about two weeks ago and there are plans for a third location in the northeast. The Marketplace location has been perennially honored as a favorite local Chinese restaurant in...
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Comments [5] - Views [326]
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For the second year in a row Valley Plaza will open early the day after Thanksgiving this year (Nov. 24). After opening at 2 a.m. the day after Thanksgiving last year, the mall plans to open at 1 a.m. this year. Some even camped outside overnight in the parking lot waiting for the...
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Comments [2] - Views [246]
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My wife insisted we rush out after work last night to pick up the newly released T.M.X. Elmo, the new version of Tickle Me Elmo, before it sold out. After opening the packaging, which instructed us not to peak in Elmo's voice, my almost 2 year old daughter set out jumping up and down in...
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Comments [12] - Views [432]
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Since the recent completion of the new Thomas Terminal at Meadows Field, the area surrounding the airport has faced an explosion of new retail growth, much of it on Seventh Standard Road just off Highways 99 and 65. There is a new Harley Davidson dealership, two planned auto dealerships, a new...
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Comments [5] - Views [397]
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Should the city build the Bakersfield Blaze minor league baseball team a new home to replace aging Sam Lynn Ball Park? OK, so this is a bit off topic for a retail blog, but new stadiums are usually followed by retail development like new restaurants and shops. As a baseball fan and a former...
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Comments [13] - Views [805]
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The Shops at River Walk is already home to California Pizza Kitchen and Elephant Bar with P.F. Chang's China Bistro and BJ's Restaurant and Brewhouse under construction and slated to open soon. The Castle & Cooke development is located next to the Park at River Walk and the Kern River...
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Comments [33] - Views [1415]
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I am writing a story about how shoppers' experiences shape their future habits. A study earlier this year found that one third of shoppers who were upset about a problem at a store will tell an average of four people about their experience. It also said half of those questioned...
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Comments [47] - Views [1018]
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As Bakersfield grows, so do our dining and shopping options. We're still a mid-sized city, but are starting to catch up to Fresno and other larger areas. We have a Red Lobster, are getting a P.F. Chang's, don't have a Bloomingdale's or a Cheesecake Factory. What types of stores...
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Comments [17] - Views [965]
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