03/22/2017:
Tobacco Bills: Dead or Defeated
Nearly three months into 2017, a growing number of tobacco-related bills have either failed to be passed by a state legislative deadline or been defeated in committee hearings. Those bills that died or have been defeated come in four general forms:

1. To raise the legal age to purchase tobacco.
2. To increase taxes on tobacco products.
3. To adopt new taxes on e-cigarettes.
4. To impose higher penalties on retailers that sell tobacco to underage youth. 

There are still many other tobacco-related legislative bills pending in numerous state legislatures that are being debated by state lawmakers. As state legislative sessions proceed toward adjournment, more definitive action could be taken by lawmakers on these other tobacco bills. Over 15 bills in 7 states have already died or been defeated this year.
 
03/22/2017:
Gas station owner from N.J. gets prison for failing to report $41M in sales
An Edison man who owns four gas stations in Illinois was sentenced to 1 year, 9 months in prison for under-reporting his business sales by $41 million. Adnan Rashid, 35, will also have to pay a total of $1.5 million in back taxes to the IRS and to the state of Illinois, the U.S. Attorney's Office for Central Illinois said Tuesday. Rashid, who was the owner of two Marathon stations in the Peoria area and had a 50 percent stake in two others, admitted he falsified sales receipts before giving them to his accountant.  In all, Rashid had more than $41 million in unreported gross receipts for the gas stations and $1 million in unreported personal income from 2007 to 2012. Rashid is free on bond and is due to turn himself in May 30 to begin serving his sentence. He pleaded guilty to mail fraud and tax evasion in December. 
 
03/20/2017:
Target Takes Aim at Quick-Trip Convenience
Taking a page from Wal-Mart and Amazon's channel encroaching playbook, Target recently unveiled design elements for the company’s most comprehensive redesign to date -- one that creates a “store-within-a-store” convenience-like section of the building with its own entrance. Target’s Chairman and CEO Brian Cornell introduced the redesign this week at the retail e-commerce event ShopTalk in Las Vegas. Target plans to open the first fully reimagined store in the Houston suburb of Richmond in October; 40 additional stores will receive elements of Target’s next-generation redesign when they are updated in October. “With our next generation of store design, we’re investing to take the Target shopping experience to the next level by offering more elevated product presentations and a number of time-saving features,” said Cornell. “The new design for this Houston store will provide the vision for the 500 reimagined stores planned for 2018 and 2019, with the goal of taking a customized approach to creating an enhanced shopping experience.” Click above for more details of the store-within-a-store redesign.
 
03/17/2017:
Wawa Springs into Hiring Spree
Wawa Inc. is preparing to boost its employee count with a goal to hire more than 5,000 new associates during the next three months. The retailer's spring hiring campaign will bring new talent to all 750 stores across its six-store footprint, according to Wawa. With the initiative, Wawa is looking to fill customer service and management level positions. "We’re excited to launch our spring hiring campaign to recruit new Wawa associates. Part of fulfilling lives means adding jobs for new associates, while also providing advancement opportunities for the more than 30,000 Wawa associates who are part of our team," said Dave Filano, manager of talent acquisition at Wawa. "As we continue to expand and grow, we're excited to fill these 5,000-plus positions with people who will quickly become part of the Wawa Way. We're specifically looking for individuals who enjoy serving others, who want to join our team for the busy summer season and as well those who might be interested in the start of a fulfilling career at Wawa," Filano added.
 
03/15/2017:
Bills Would Ban Sale of Flavored Electronic Smoking Products
Mike Guarino is pulling out his favorite flavored vaping liquids. The Hoboken Ultimate Smoke and Vapor Shop general manager says selling juices, as they’re called, that taste like doughnuts, bananas or mixed berries account for more than half his business. “I get customers that come in and buy five, six, seven bottles at a time. Some people walk out with a shopping bag full of liquids. They’re going on vacation, they want to stock up. They’ll buy six, seven bottles, you know, that’s a pretty consistent thing,” he said. But he’s worried legislation moving through Trenton will put those days to an end. A pair of bills sponsored by Assemblyman and physician Herb Conaway will ban the sale of flavored electronic smoking products in an effort to prevent young people from being targeted. “We’ve seen this triple increase in youth using electronic smoking devices in just one year. That’s according to the federal government and the students say it’s because they're attracted to the flavors,” said NJGASP Executive Director Karen Blumenfeld. According to federal data, 90 percent of people start smoking before the age of 21, and preventing it before then would save a quarter of a million lives.