Home Depot shoppers overcharged on tax
Anyone who bought anything at Home Depot stores in Idaho on Saturday is being asked to return to the store with their receipt for a refund of 1 percent. The store started charging 6 percent in sales tax a day before the state’s tax actually went up from 5 percent.
“Home Depot said that due to a programming error their computers were programmed a day early,” said Kriss Bivens-Cloyd, spokeswoman for the Idaho attorney general’s office. “They’ve told the state Tax Commission that they’re making contact with as many of their customers as they possibly can to get them refunds. If they don’t hear from Home Depot, they should call them and go in and get a refund.”
Liz Rodosovich, spokeswoman for the Idaho State Tax Commission, said all Idaho Home Depot stores were affected by the error, which came on the very day that many Idahoans were stocking up on big-ticket items – such as construction materials – to save before the tax went up Sunday.
– Betsy Z. Russell
Sandpoint
Coldwater Creek gives to breast cancer fight
Nancy Brinker, the founder of the Susan G. Komen Foundation, was at the Bonner County Fairgrounds on Wednesday to accept a $100,000 donation to the foundation from Coldwater Creek Inc.
In addition, Coldwater Creek also gave $10,000 each to Komen affiliates in Spokane and Coeur d’Alene.
Brinker praised the company’s “abiding sense of social responsibility.” The Sandpoint-based retailer is a national sponsor of Komen Race for the Cure events.
More than 700 Coldwater Creek employees, wearing pink T-shirts with the Komen logo, attended the event. Four employees spoke about how breast cancer touched their lives. Among them was Ann Johnson, who was recently diagnosed with breast cancer.
Johnson said she detected the cancer early, which increases her chances of survival. She thanked the foundation for its efforts to educate women about breast cancer.
– Becky Kramer
Post Falls
KMC sponsoring free car seat safety check
Kootenai Medical Center will sponsor a free car seat safety inspection today from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. The checkup event will be at the KMC Post Falls Health Park, 1300 E. Mullan Ave, Post Falls.
The checkup is an opportunity for parents to consult with certified car seat technicians. Parents are encouraged to make sure they are transporting their children safely.
The Spokane County Child Passenger Safety team is assisting KMC and local agencies to develop their own child passenger safety teams.
For more information, call (208) 666-2030.
– From staff reports