Use an empty toilet paper roll to store appliance cords. It keeps them neat and you can write on the roll what appliance it belongs to. This also works for spare extension cords too!

Tags: Electrical Cord, Extension Cord, Organizing, Quick Tip, Toilet Paper Tube
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Spray your plastic kitchen-ware (Tupperware, Rubbermaid, etc.) with nonstick cooking spray before pouring in tomato-based sauces – no more stains.

Tags: Cooking & Kitchen Tips, Cooking Spray, Quick Tip, Rubbermaid, Tupperware
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Use a meat baster to “squeeze” your pancake batter onto the hot griddle – perfect shaped pancakes every time.

Tags: Cooking & Kitchen Tips, Pancakes, Quick Tip
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Dried Herbs and spices lose their potency quickly. Buy only a small amount at a time. When using fresh herbs an spices, use 3 times the amount of the dried.

Tags: Cooking & Kitchen Tips, Herbs, Quick Tip, Shopping Tips, Spices
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You can buy soda pop, DVDs, ice cream sandwiches, even cigarettes out of a vending machine.
Why not bottles of wine?

That’s what Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board officials are thinking as they prepare to place automated wine kiosks at Harrisburg-area grocery stores this fall.

“If the technology works, we hope to expand statewide with up to 100 kiosks,” PLCB Press Secretary Nick Hays said.

How soon — or even if — they’d be in northwestern Pennsylvania is not known yet.

“No other locations have yet been identified,” Hays said.

Each kiosk would be about 25 feet long, 10 feet high and can contain a couple hundred bottles of wine.

Customers would purchase wine at one of the kiosks by inserting their driver’s license into the machine. A video camera placed on the kiosk would allow PLCB employees in Harrisburg to see if the customer is, in fact, the person whose picture is on the license. The customer would also be required to blow into a device to ensure they are not intoxicated at the time of purchase.

The kiosks would have limited hours. They would only be open when PLCB employees were working to identify customers.

“We foresee these machines being placed in supermarkets,” Hays said. “We will work with the kiosk’s manufacturer, Simple Brands LLC., to identify possible locations. … Obviously, a grocery store would need to be interested in having the kiosk.”

At least one local supermarket isn’t interested in hosting a wine kiosk.

Wegmans, 6143 Peach St., already sells beer and a couple varieties of wine at its on-site cafe. A kiosk doesn’t fit in with the company’s philosophy, said Hallie Johnston, store manager.

“We stress customer service and sharing knowledge with our customers about things like pairing the right kind of beer with a meal,” Johnston said. “A wine kiosk could affect our customer service.”

A local winery owner also expressed doubts about how wine kiosks could benefit the state’s smaller wine makers.

“The bottles in the kiosk would probably be from the larger wineries, not ones like ours,” said Doug Moorhead, co-owner of Presque Isle Wine Cellars. “So, having these kiosks wouldn’t make a whole lot of difference to us.”

The kiosks and an effort to sell higher-priced wine at “boutique” stores located inside gourmet grocery stores are two ways the PLCB is trying to improve customer convenience, Hays said.

Pennsylvania is known for having some of the strictest alcohol-buying laws in the country. Wine is generally sold only in state stores.

Go Erie

Tags: Alcohol, Kiosk, Pennsylvania, Wine
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Walgreens’ foray into Alaska becomes official on July 12 with the grand opening of its new store in Wasilla. The event also marks the company’s presence in all 50 states.

The Wasilla store, along with two Anchorage locations that will open in August, includes products from local vendors, ranging from coffee and moose nuggets to ulus and fishing supplies, according to a company press release. All three Walgreens Alaska stores opening this summer will offer drive-through pharmacies, as well as heated sidewalks, heated parking spaces for people with disabilities and heated aprons around the front doors.

“With an aging population and baby boomers in their 60s, Alaska’s demand for pharmacy services is growing every year,” said Bruce Philipp, Walgreens district manager for Alaska. “We’ll help meet that need with services that aren’t currently offered in the state, such as 24-hour prescription service and drive-through pharmacies that are especially helpful to the elderly, parents of small children and people who have their pet in the car with them. We even can provide medications for your pets to make caring for them easier, too.”

Retailing Today

Tags: Alaska, Pharmacy, Walgreens
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