Has your bank notified you of new fees for using your debit card?

Bank of American just announced that they will begin charging customers $5 a month if they use their debit cards for purchases. The fee won’t be charged to customers who only use their debit cards at ATMs. The fee begins early next year.

SunTrust has also announced they’ll charge customers who use debit cards for purchases. A colleague who banks there said she received a letter notifying her of a $5 per month service charge. She said she’s dumping them and going with Charles Schwab online banking.

Wells Fargo will begin testing a $3 monthly “activity fee” for debit cards in several states in October (Virginia is not one of them).

The fees are the result of the Federal Reserve’s ruling to cap debit card swipe fees collected by banks. The 21-cent cap goes into effect Saturday.

The banking industry has said the cap will cut into revenues and doesn’t cover the cost of providing checking accounts, hence the fees that we’re starting to see.

According to a Wall Street Journal story, Bank of America said the cap will result in a $2 billion loss in revenue. Indsutrywide, the cap is expected to result in a $6.6 billion loss of revenue, according to the story.

If your bank is charging a $5 monthly fee will you still use your debit card for store purchases?

Kroger employees will hold a moment of silence Sunday at 8:46 a.m., the time that the first plane struck the World Trade Center’s north tower ten years ago.

Here’s the news release from the grocery company:

CINCINNATI, OH — On the tenth anniversary of the tragic attacks of September 11, 2001, The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) will hold a moment of silence in all 2,449 supermarket stores nationwide.

Kroger associates in each of the company’s 18 operating divisions will also thank the heroes in our local communities through a variety of in-store and community activities in September.

“To commemorate the tenth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, we will invite our customers and associates to join together in a moment of silent reflection in all of our supermarkets,” said Dave Dillon, chairman and CEO of Kroger. “We also heard from many associates that they wanted to recognize the heroes in their communities during this time of national remembrance. Many of our stores will also say ‘thank you’ to our everyday heroes – the men and women who keep our families, communities and stores safe – through a variety of activities this September.”

On Sunday, September 11, 2011, Kroger stores located in the Eastern Time zone will pause for a moment of silence to remember the victims and honor the heroes of the 9/11 tragedy at 8:46 a.m., the time when American Airlines Flight 11 struck the World Trade Center’s north tower ten years ago. Because of the time difference, Kroger’s family of stores in Central, Mountain and Western Time zones will pause for a moment of quiet remembrance at a locally-designated time on Sunday morning.

Many stores throughout the country will also express Kroger’s gratitude to our everyday heroes through activities such as:

Preparing and delivering lunches, food trays, sheet cakes or gift baskets to local first responders, such as fire departments, police departments and paramedics.

• Inviting customers to write personal messages on oversized cards or posters displayed in stores thanking military and emergency services personnel for their service.
• Encouraging associate donations to the USO.
• Inviting customers to thank their everyday heroes on Kroger and banner Facebook pages.
• Hosting commemorative events and “Honoring Our Heroes” celebrations for emergency services personnel and members of the active military.

The Valley View J.C. Penney store is taking donations for “Pennies from Heaven,” a fundraiser to benefit an after-school program run by the YMCA of Roanoke Valley.

The after-school program, Magic Place, provides activities, tutoring and a healthy snack for about 700 children in Botetourt County, Roanoke and Salem schools, said Kim Bratic, a Y spokeswoman. Money from the fundraiser will go towards providing childcare for families who couldn’t otherwise afford it.

Here’s the news release from J.C. Penney and the YMCA of Roanoke Valley:

To support afterschool programs across the country, jcpenney launched a nationwide philanthropic campaign that invites customers to turn small change into “pennies from heaven” by rounding up their purchases and donating the difference to local organizations, including the YMCA of Roanoke Valley. Donations made through pennies from heaven will provide children in need with access to life-enriching afterschool programs at the YMCA’s Magic Place.

“With budget cuts in education, there’s never been a more important time to support afterschool programs as a valuable community resource that helps to bridge the education gap,” said YMCA of Roanoke Valley Vice President of Operations, Jackie Grant. “As local families prepare for the back-to-school season, we hope they will keep our mission in mind so that the social and academic learning opportunities we provide after school will continue to be available to Roanoke Valley students.”

National research shows that one out of four students in the U.S. is on their own between the hours of 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. each day.*  The YMCA of Roanoke Valley serves more than 700 students each year by providing children and teens with a safe and nurturing environment around caring adult role models. Combining play with academics, the Y’s Magic Place afterschool program promotes creativity, a love for learning, social and emotional development and character building. The nation’s Ys are a leading resource for parents looking for educational, meaningful and fun activities outside the classroom.

The YMCA of Roanoke Valley is one of 1,100 afterschool organizations matched with a local jcpenney store that will benefit from the proceeds raised during the pennies from heaven campaign. As the leading corporate advocate for the afterschool issue, jcpenney is leveraging a cause marketing campaign to bolster national support through broadcast, print and online advertising as well as an engaging digital experience on jcp.com/pennies. The first pennies from heaven event will run through Aug. 27.

“For more than a decade, jcpenney has been deeply committed to helping kids spread their wings by making it possible for more students to participate in life-enriching afterschool programs,” said jcpenney. “When we leverage the power of a penny to create opportunities for learning, we can make a positive difference in the lives of our future leaders.”

For more information related to the pennies from heaven initiative, visit http://jcpenneyafterschool.org.

Each week day, I aim to keep all of you informed of changes, updates and other noteworthy news in the exhilarating world of local and national retail. Now, I want to share an update of my own.

I will be leaving The Roanoke Times later this month for a job at my alma mater, Roanoke College.

I truly have enjoyed our conversations about retail and other business news here at the Storefront. I started the Storefront blog in 2007, and it has been such a fun adventure. Your loyalty reading the blog and offering your thoughts and opinions have made it a true success.

Also, many of you have shared helpful retail news tips with me over the years. You have helped me to do my job better.

I really will miss hearing and reading your lively and passionate thoughts about retail in the Roanoke Valley.

But here’s good news: There are plans to continue the Storefront blog at Roanoke.com, and those details should be clearer at a later date.

In the meantime, I’m still blogging for at least another week and a half, so keep checking back in with me here!

Photo by Jeanna Duerscherl

Residents of the small South Roanoke community soon will lose a fixture on Crystal Spring Avenue. Lipes Pharmacy, an independent drugstore that is more than a half century old, will close its doors later this month. Here’s my story with the details.

Lipes’ fate is similar to that of many independent pharmacies nationwide. Few still exist in the Roanoke Valley. Many struggle to compete with low prices for drugs at national chains.

Several remaining independent pharmacies in the Roanoke Valley include Crouch’s Pharmacy on Williamson Road in Roanoke and Brooks-Byrd Pharmacy in Salem.

Do any of you regularly visit an independent drugstore, including Lipes?

Ever heard of a gold party?  Guests are invited to a host’s house and encouraged to bring with them old jewelry to sell for cash on the spot.

Representatives from national gold-buying companies test the jewelry and other items to determine how much it is worth.

I decided to report on the rise of these gold-buying gatherings nationwide after I received invitations to two local gold parties.  And in the process, I learned that these parties do not match Virginia’s law about precious metals dealers, according to some local law enforcement officials.

Check out my weekend story about gold parties here.

Have any of you attended a gold party? If so, tell me about your experience with it.

Happy start to the work week everyone!

The past weekend brought several big events. Spring began and March Madness is underway.

Each year, job outplacement firm, Challenger Gray & Christmas, offers interesting findings about the latter. The Chicago company estimates that some work-day productivity will be lost as a result of people peeking or stealing long glances at the March Madness three-week-long NCAA basketball tournament.

Challenger reports this year that consumers will watch at least 8.4 million hours of the tournament online during work hours. The financial impact likely will rise to more than $192 million, based on average hourly earnings of $22.87 for private-sector workers, according to the report.

More games and wider access to coverage through smartphones and tablets also is expected to drive workplace distractions, Challenger said. This year CBS Sports is offering free mobile apps for tournament viewing. With these offerings, Challenger estimates that time streaming basketball games will jump by at least 20 percent, to approximately 14 million total hours.

Overall, the actual economic impact is minimal. It is more important for employers to decide how or if they will regulate tournament watching, the Challenger report says.

For example, some employers block access to streaming of all kinds. Others may embrace this annual competition by placing televisions in break rooms and organizing company-wide pools, states the report.

What are your work day March Madness game watching habits?

Courtesy of Roanoke Regional Partnership

The next time you travel through the Roanoke Regional Airport, be on the lookout for this kiosk to the left, which stands near the airport gates after you pass through security.

It is an interactive billboard for the Roanoke area’s outdoor amenities. The touch-screen kiosk allows people to search outdoor recreation options in the area, from ideas about camping spots and road biking areas to the best canoeing and fishing spots.

The kiosk links to www.roanokeoutside.com, a website created by the Roanoke Regional Partnership to showcase Roanoke’s recreational adventures. But the kiosk does not allow people to view everything on the website, including links to local outdoors retailers and events listings.

Apparently, that kind of advertising is not allowed in the airport, said Pete Eshelman, who directs outdoor branding for the partnership.

Instead, the purpose of the kiosk is to educate residents and visitors about the region’s outdoor offerings. The airport gate area was the best place for the kiosk, Eshelman told me, because most people will wait at least a half hour to board a flight once they pass through security.

Still, the kiosk is situated in an area where travelers mostly will browse outdoors options as they are leaving Roanoke. Eshelman said he hopes that the highlighted offerings will encourage travelers to return to Roanoke to check them out.

The partnership eventually would like to place these kiosks in area hotels and other popular local spots for visitors.

The regional group that includes outdoors businesses, from outfitters to recreational employees, climbed by 8.3 percent year over year, reported the partnership last month.

Check out this February story about the region’s outdoor branding by business reporter Brian Kelley.

How do you file your taxes? On your own online or with computer software? Or do you get help from a tax service or an accountant?

Filing taxes online apparently is the popular vote. The number of U.S. taxpayers who file their taxes online continues to rise, according to a recent survey by the National Retail Federation.

The NRF found that 57.6 percent of Americans plan to file taxes online this year, while 35.2 percent will use a computer software program.

Meanwhile, 21.5 percent will take their taxes to an accountant and 19.3 percent will use a tax preparation service.

If you file your taxes yourself, what are some of the headaches that you have experienced? And what tips would you offer to others?

Many of us look forward to some kind of tax refund when tax time rolls around. This year, the majority of Americans plan to save the money from their tax refunds, according to the NRF. But surprisingly, more people said they would use their refunds to splurge on big-ticket items, compared with last year’s survey results.

Whatever your plans with your tax refund, check out this story about a mobile IRS app that allows you to track when your refund will arrive and offers tax tips, too.

Buying green may be a little easier come this spring.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture today unveiled a new label to help consumers identify biobased products, including skin-care products and household cleaners.

This label, set to appear on products this spring, indicates which items meet USDA standards for containing either whole or partial amounts of renewable resources, such as plant, animal, marine or forestry materials, according to this USDA news release.

Click here to see the label, which displays a picture of the sun, sea and fields.

But apparently, the USDA lowered its threshold to require that only 25 percent of certifying products, such as lip balm, derive from renewable materials, according to this story. Initially, it considered a 51 percent requirement.

You’ll find these labels attached to products in the government’s biopreferrred program. They include hand sanitizers, plant and flower pots, lip care, soap and medical supplies. Click here to see all the categories and items.

This new seal reveals the percentage of a product that is made from corn, soy or other renewable sources. It’s similar to the Energy Star seal that flags energy efficient appliances.