Print

Email story

Comment

Email editor

Talk of the bay: Publix's colors are new, bow ties are gone

By Times Staff Writers
Published March 20, 2007

Publix stores are going green - and Tuscan shades of red, orange and gold. Almost two decades after first decking its stores out in pastels of turquoise and coral, the Lakeland-based chain this year will re-do wall treatments in 100 of the 226 stores along the west coast of Florida. It's a prelim to outfitting the whole chain in a different palette. "We decided it was time to freshen the look with more vibrant, contrasting colors," said Shannon Patten, Publix spokeswoman. The dominant shade is hunter green, a throwback akin to the original color scheme when pundits called Publix "The Green Giant." Another part of the new look is nostalgic murals depicting old ads and art deco stores. Employee uniforms also will change. In a test at 50 stores, uniforms are all shades of green. Cashiers lost their bow-ties.

The Mouse roars, Orlando flinches

When the Mouse gets stingy, Orlando feels the pain. That's the conclusion of a report released Monday which tracked the impact of a change in pay practices at Walt Disney World in late 1998. By giving lower pay raises to unionized workers hired after that date, Disney had reduced its annual $1-billion payroll by $19.39-million by 2006, according to a study by Florida International University's Research Institute on Social and Economic Policy. The report is part of a labor PR campaign as negotiations get serious with Disney World's union workers whose contract expires April 28. Meanwhile Disney's $6.96 starting pay, which once led the big theme-parks by 5 percent, slipped to third place. Universal Orlando, pays $7.25, the report said. At Sea World the pay's pays $7.

Correction

The last few lines of a story that appeared on Page 3D on Sunday were omitted. Here's the complete last paragraph:

Your neighbor or friend may have the confidence, financial reserves and mental fortitude to bet on interest rates with adjustable-rate loans. They tell you that fixed-rate loans are for suckers. But there's no shame in sacrificing square footage or incremental stock-market gains in order to avoid mortgage risk.

. tampabay.com

Want to comment?

Have something to say about a business story? Send your letter to tampabay.com/letters.

[Last modified March 19, 2007, 23:37:35]