Good afternoon, shoppers.

My apologies for being MIA yesterday; I was out aiding in the flood coverage. If you think this isn’t relevant to shopping, it is. The flooding closed both Snoqualmie Pass and Interstate-5. Chances are your favorite items to shop for come from the west side of the state.

But it looks likes the pass is open, so the shopping crisis has been averted!

Anyway, we’ll be back in full-swing next week, but I wanted to give the usual “Maiflix of the Week,” where I pick a ret

Good afternoon shoppers.

Short entry today, but I have a good variety of quick reads.

• Shopped at TJ Maxx lately? Well buyer beware, at least if you used a credit or debit card. One of my co-workers shopped there last week and had her debit card frozen because someone made an unauthorized purchase on the card a few days later.

This is not surprising nor new. The TJX Cos., the Framingham, Mass-based parent company, has had security problems since it had breaches of its systems in 2005 and 200

Good afternoon, shoppers.

And Happy Epiphany!

Okay, you’re probably wondering why I’m giving a shoutout to the annual Christian holiday. In fact many of you may not know what Epiphany is.

Basically, it’s a celebration that marks the arrival of the Magi to visit the baby Jesus. It also marks the end of the “12 Days of Christmas.” Although for many of you, that festival is nothing more than a song you sing before Christmas.

I hope I have not offended the non-religious types out there. This is n

Good afternoon, shoppers.
Boy, have I missed you guys. I talked about shopping all during my blog hiatus, so I’m glad to be back.
I hope everyone had a great holiday.
Onward to the roundup.

• Word on the street is that Masset Winery is closing its downtown location. But wine lovers, no need to worry. It looks like Tim Cook, the former partner for the downtown location, is going to reopen it as a wine cooperative. I will get more details from Tim and get back to you.
As for the reason that Mass

Good afternoon, shoppers.

2008 was a busy year for retail and restaurants in the Yakima Valley. And with the blog launching in October, we got to follow some of these stories as they happened.

So as we end the year, it’s time for me to highlight my list of the top 10 interesting and notable retail and restaurant stories. This is a long list, so sit back, relax and recall those retail and restaurant memories.

The list, which is not in any particular order:

1. The year of the urban tasting room

Good afternoon, shoppers.
Two more days! I can’t believe it. 
First off, I will be taking a vacation from the blog for the Christmas and New Year’s holidays. So after today, you won’t see another entry until Monday, Jan. 5.
But you will still get your Shop Talk fix — I will publish the Shop Talk reporter’s notebook in the printed edition of the Yakima Herald-Republic on Friday, Dec. 26 and on Friday, Jan. 2. And along with this morning’s round up, I will have a special “Best of 2008” entry.
T

Good morning, shoppers.

•  Check out Joseph Treviño’s story on how the Valley’s Latino consumers are boosting holiday retail sales. 
There are a number of reasons for the trend such as a still-thriving agriculture industry that has employed much of the Latino community, a cultural tendency to spend money day by day and a fascination with fancier department stores such as Macy’s.

• As we inch closer to Christmas, the discounts keep on coming. Old Navy’s been broadcasting ads that say it’s sell

Good morning shoppers.

Maybe I’m just a tad bit obsessed about this — but why in the world are retailers discounting all holiday merchandise now? Borders, for example, has already offered 40 percent off on gift wrap and bags and holiday-themed movies and music. And it looks like Starbucks is extending its 20 percent holiday items sale until the end of the year.

Last I looked, there was still six more days until Christmas. I thought the discounts came after Christmas. Guess they’re desperate f

Good afternoon shoppers.

No comments so far from the previous entry. A little shy, eh? Well, it’s OK. The comments box is still open if you want to put in your two cents. And as I mentioned before, you can send comments via e-mail.

Now on to the roundup:

• There is a rumor going around about T.G.I. Fridays coming to town. The rumored spot is at the Orchards Shopping Center at 72nd and Tieton. As we mentioned in the past, the shopping center was adding on some new restaurant space, so such a t

Good morning, shoppers.
I’m all about participation. I hate to admit it, but I was one of those students who sat in the front row of the classroom and always raised my hand when a teacher wanted to start some discussion.
Yesterday, I blogged about the possibility of more retailers coming to the Yakima Valley. 
The entry prompted a long comment from Graffitibrad about what he would like to see in the Valley:

... I can think of many things that would go well in the vacant Corral West Ranchwear