Radioshack

At The Mall in Columbia, I head straight for that wonderful new historic landmark, RadioShack, located picturesquely above that other treasured American landmark, the shopping center food court, to purchase what is now known in the trade as the Linda Tripp National Yenta Telephone Recording Device.Is this a great country, or what?Here at the Columbia Mall RadioShack, any citizen, young or old, Democrat or Republican, concerned friend or back-stabbing slimeball, can purchase an innocent-looking electronic device officially called a Telephone Recording Control, which allows the purchaser to secretly tape record phone conversations, whether they're the stuff of national security or Nobody's Damned Business but Bill and Hillary's.

I had gone to RadioShack to get the batteries in my cordless phones replaced when I noticed the displays for various cell phone providers, including one for AT&T. As the salesman was digging for my replacement batteries, I half-jokingly asked him when the store would be getting the iPhone. To my surprise, he answered seriously. "They told us we were getting them in January," he replied, "But we haven't seen any yet." He suggested he still expects to see iPhones in his RadioShack at some point.

DALLAS -- David Edmondson leaves RadioShack Corp. with a black eye for enhancing his resume. His reputation also took a blow from the 25 percent plunge in the retailer's share price during his nine-month tenure as chief executive. But a payout of about $1.5 million in cash and stock could help ease the pain. That kind of money grates on people unaccustomed to the golden handshakes, golden handcuffs, golden parachutes and multimillion-dollar compensation packages that are commonplace in executive suites.

The e-mail message to RadioShack Corp. employees said: "The work force reduction notification is currently in progress. Unfortunately your position is one that has been eliminated." Get a pink slip at work, and you know you're being laid off. But in a technology-dependent workplace, is e-mail or text messaging the newest management tactic to deliver the same old news: You're fired? RadioShack became water cooler talk in recent weeks when it notified about 400 workers at its headquarters in Fort Worth, Texas, by e-mail that they were being let go as part of planned job cuts.

I had gone to RadioShack to get the batteries in my cordless phones replaced when I noticed the displays for various cell phone providers, including one for AT&T. As the salesman was digging for my replacement batteries, I half-jokingly asked him when the store would be getting the iPhone. To my surprise, he answered seriously. "They told us we were getting them in January," he replied, "But we haven't seen any yet." He suggested he still expects to see iPhones in his RadioShack at some point.

DALLAS -- RadioShack Corp.'s troubles deepened yesterday, as the electronics retailer announced it would close up to 10 percent of its 7,000 stores after a report of weak fourth-quarter earnings. At an investment conference at RadioShack's Fort Worth, Texas, headquarters, where the news was released, president and chief executive David Edmondson apologized to investors over "misstatements" on his resume. Edmondson vowed to reverse the company's fortunes with an 18-month turnaround plan to slash costs and replace slow-moving goods with hot sellers.

DALLAS -- RadioShack Corp. chief executive David J. Edmondson resigned yesterday, after a tumultuous week in which he admitted to "misstatements" on his resume, announced sharply lower earnings and said the embattled chain may be forced to close up to 700 stores. Claire H. Babrowski, a former McDonald's Corp. executive who joined RadioShack last year as chief operating officer, was promoted to acting chief executive, the electronics retail chain said. She will oversee the troubled company's turnaround plan, which Edmondson unveiled last week.

Walgreen Co.'s first-quarter earnings rose 25 percent as the largest U.S. drugstore chain added stores and increased sales of prescription drugs. Net income of $231.6 million, or 22 cents a share, compared with $185.9 million, or 18 cents, a year earlier, the company said. Sales in the quarter that ended Nov. 30 increased 14 percent to $7.48 billion from $6.56 billion. Walgreen boosted spending on promotions to keep customers from switching to rivals such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc., supermarket chain Safeway Inc. and drugstore chains offering discounts.

Linda R. Tripp, a key figure in the investigation of President Clinton, was told a year ago that taping phone conversations without consent in Maryland was illegal, according to those familiar with testimony before a grand jury.A RadioShack clerk who sold a recording device to Tripp and the manager of the store in the Mall in Columbia have testified before the Howard County grand jury, which is considering wiretapping charges against Tripp. Grand jurors also have reviewed records relating to the purchase of the device, RadioShack officials acknowledged yesterday.

The e-mail message to RadioShack Corp. employees said: "The work force reduction notification is currently in progress. Unfortunately your position is one that has been eliminated." Get a pink slip at work, and you know you're being laid off. But in a technology-dependent workplace, is e-mail or text messaging the newest management tactic to deliver the same old news: You're fired? RadioShack became water cooler talk in recent weeks when it notified about 400 workers at its headquarters in Fort Worth, Texas, by e-mail that they were being let go as part of planned job cuts.

DALLAS -- David Edmondson leaves RadioShack Corp. with a black eye for enhancing his resume. His reputation also took a blow from the 25 percent plunge in the retailer's share price during his nine-month tenure as chief executive. But a payout of about $1.5 million in cash and stock could help ease the pain. That kind of money grates on people unaccustomed to the golden handshakes, golden handcuffs, golden parachutes and multimillion-dollar compensation packages that are commonplace in executive suites.

DALLAS -- RadioShack Corp. chief executive David J. Edmondson resigned yesterday, after a tumultuous week in which he admitted to "misstatements" on his resume, announced sharply lower earnings and said the embattled chain may be forced to close up to 700 stores. Claire H. Babrowski, a former McDonald's Corp. executive who joined RadioShack last year as chief operating officer, was promoted to acting chief executive, the electronics retail chain said. She will oversee the troubled company's turnaround plan, which Edmondson unveiled last week.

DALLAS -- RadioShack Corp.'s troubles deepened yesterday, as the electronics retailer announced it would close up to 10 percent of its 7,000 stores after a report of weak fourth-quarter earnings. At an investment conference at RadioShack's Fort Worth, Texas, headquarters, where the news was released, president and chief executive David Edmondson apologized to investors over "misstatements" on his resume. Edmondson vowed to reverse the company's fortunes with an 18-month turnaround plan to slash costs and replace slow-moving goods with hot sellers.

A real home-theater pro would never consider putting a plasma or LCD or any other kind of wide-screen HDTV set in his luxurious screening room. No, true gearheads use a projector and an oversize, drop-down screen. It's the closest they can get to a real movie theater. Not long ago, these projectors cost $8,000 and upward. With improvements in Texas Instruments' Digital Light Processing technology - which uses a spinning color wheel and thousands of micromirrors to create a picture - a high-definition projector now costs half that.

Walgreen Co.'s first-quarter earnings rose 25 percent as the largest U.S. drugstore chain added stores and increased sales of prescription drugs. Net income of $231.6 million, or 22 cents a share, compared with $185.9 million, or 18 cents, a year earlier, the company said. Sales in the quarter that ended Nov. 30 increased 14 percent to $7.48 billion from $6.56 billion. Walgreen boosted spending on promotions to keep customers from switching to rivals such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc., supermarket chain Safeway Inc. and drugstore chains offering discounts.

Americans are increasingly unplugged, using on average five cordless electronic products every day. In just three years, says Ralph Mallard, executive vice president of the Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corp., America's reliance on cordless electronics has increased nearly 75 percent. Everything from cell phones, camcorders and laptop computers to razors, toothbrushes and remote-controlled toys are powered by rechargeable batteries. That means a heap of toxic material, including cadmium and lead, to dispose of once the batteries are spent.

Americans are increasingly unplugged, using on average five cordless electronic products every day. In just three years, says Ralph Mallard, executive vice president of the Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corp., America's reliance on cordless electronics has increased nearly 75 percent. Everything from cell phones, camcorders and laptop computers to razors, toothbrushes and remote-controlled toys are powered by rechargeable batteries. That means a heap of toxic material, including cadmium and lead, to dispose of once the batteries are spent.

A real home-theater pro would never consider putting a plasma or LCD or any other kind of wide-screen HDTV set in his luxurious screening room. No, true gearheads use a projector and an oversize, drop-down screen. It's the closest they can get to a real movie theater. Not long ago, these projectors cost $8,000 and upward. With improvements in Texas Instruments' Digital Light Processing technology - which uses a spinning color wheel and thousands of micromirrors to create a picture - a high-definition projector now costs half that.

Outside the Treat Shop in Westminster's Cranberry Mall is a talking, whirling, flashing gumball machine that tries to catch the attention of passing shoppers. "Is there anybody out theeere?" the dispenser wails. More often than not, the answer in Carroll County's largest mall is "no." The mall's merchants now have to place their hopes on the tentative sale of the 525,000-square-foot complex at Route 140 and Route 27, a transaction negotiated in such secrecy that merchants have not yet been formally notified and the mall's New York-based owners won't disclose the closing date of the sale.

At The Mall in Columbia, I head straight for that wonderful new historic landmark, RadioShack, located picturesquely above that other treasured American landmark, the shopping center food court, to purchase what is now known in the trade as the Linda Tripp National Yenta Telephone Recording Device.Is this a great country, or what?Here at the Columbia Mall RadioShack, any citizen, young or old, Democrat or Republican, concerned friend or back-stabbing slimeball, can purchase an innocent-looking electronic device officially called a Telephone Recording Control, which allows the purchaser to secretly tape record phone conversations, whether they're the stuff of national security or Nobody's Damned Business but Bill and Hillary's.