Things To Do In SW Florida

By ANNE D’INNOCENZIO, AP Retail Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — Attention, Kmart shoppers, the end is near!

The erstwhile retail giant renowned for its Blue Light Specials — featuring a flashing blue orb affixed to a pole enticing shoppers to a flash sale — is shuttering its last full-scale store in mainland United States.

The store, located in swank Bridgehampton, New York, on Long Island, is slated to close Oct. 20, according to Denise Rivera, an employee who answered the phone at the store late Monday. The manager wasn’t available, she said.

That will leave only a small Kmart store in Miami. It has a handful of stores in Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Transformco, the company that bought the assets of Sears and Kmart out of the bankruptcy of Sears Holdings in 2019, did not immediately respond to an email requesting comment.

In its heyday, there were more than 2,000 Kmarts in the U.S.

Struggling to compete with Walmart’s low prices and Target’s trendier offerings, Kmart filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in early 2002 — becoming the largest U.S. retailer to take that step — and announced it would close more than 250 stores. read more

David Lightman | (TNS) McClatchy Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON — Donald Trump and Kamala Harris agree on this much: Groceries cost too much.

But despite promises from each presidential candidate that they’ll take bold steps to stop the price madness, experts say there’s probably little they can do.

“The rate of price growth has reverted back to normal, but prices will not go back down,” said Aaron Smith, professor of agricultural and resource economics at University of California, Berkeley.

Harris vows to curb what she called grocery price gouging. Trump says that he’ll lower energy costs and prices overall, which in turn will mean less expensive food

Analysts agree a president is largely handcuffed dealing with food prices. Any presidential initiative probably needs congressional approval. Republicans have been unenthusiastic about anti-gouging measures and Democrats are not eager to embrace Trump’s energy production ideas.

And there are questions about whether either candidate’s initiatives are targeted in the right place. read more

DEAR TRAVEL TROUBLESHOOTER: While my husband and I were on a recent Windstar cruise, we made reservations with the onboard cruise coordinator for a seven-night cruise to Costa Rica and Panama in the next year.

As an incentive to sign up for a future cruise, the coordinator promised an additional shipboard credit of $100 per person and — at no extra cost — an all-inclusive package that includes drinks, Wi-Fi and staff gratuities.

On the itinerary confirmation, the onboard cruise coordinator wrote that these extras were “pending.” She advised us to follow up when we returned home to make sure that the arrangements were reflected on our record. But I’ve been back and forth with Windstar for the past few months.

Finally, a representative informed me that the $100-per-person credit had been approved, but the all-inclusive package had been denied because it was missing a signature from the onboard cruise consultant.

I want Windstar to either honor its promises or return my $400 deposit immediately. read more

When Hurricane Ian struck two years ago, Jean Brower, 76, and her husband James, 88, slept in a hotel for over two weeks after their Kissimmee Village mobile home park flooded.

“The water was six inches from my home and that would have devastated us completely,” she said. “We had to pay for the hotels ourselves, which is why we slept in the car sometimes, and finally we snuck back in [to the home] and stayed the last five days without water or anything.”

They and other residents are back in the Good Samaritan Society’s park. But now they’re engaged in a much longer wait for relief, as 25 lawsuits move through the courts alleging negligence by the park owner for failing to protect against flood damage, and seeking $5,000 to $10,000 in compensation.

John Martino, director of litigation for Community Legal Services of Mid-Florida and the attorney for most of the cases, said that amounts sought are small compared to the trauma endured.

“These are not cases that have crazy-high dollar amounts … but we want to do everything we can to help these individuals get compensated for the personal property they lost,” Martino said. read more

By Andrew Dalton | Associated Press

LOS ANGELES — It’s a three-peat for “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.”

The Tim Burton legacy sequel to his 1988 horror comedy topped the North American box office charts for the third straight weekend with $26 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday.

It edged out the animated new release “Transformers: One,” which brought in $25 million. The Optimus Prime origin story from Paramount Pictures features the voices of Chris Hemsworth, Brian Tyree Henry and Scarlett Johansson.

“Beetlejuice Beetlejuice,” a Warner Bros. release with Michael Keaton and Winona Ryder returning as stars, has earned more than $226 million domestically in its three weeks after a monster opening of $110 million — the third best of the year — and a second weekend of $51.6 million.

Third place went to the James McAvoy horror “Speak No Evil,” which came in at $5.9 million in its second week for a total of $21.5 million.

On the whole, the box office was in a quiet phase that is expected to break when “ Joker: Folie à Deux ” dances its way onto the big screen on Oct. 4. read more