BTW News Briefs

President Bush Again Calls for AHPs

On February 21, in Chattanooga, Tennessee, President George Bush led a panel discussion on health care initiatives at the Chattanooga Convention Center, where he once again stressed the importance of Associated Health Plans in helping small businesses buy affordable health insurance.

"We believe there needs to be association health plans," President Bush said. "I'm very worried about small businesses not being able to afford insurance, but not nearly as worried as the CEOs of small businesses. It's got to pain somebody running a small business to know they can't provide their employee with the coverage they need. And yet, small businesses aren't able to have the same advantages that big corporations get when it comes time to spreading risk across a lot of people they're insuring."

Bush continued, "I believe small businesses ought to be able to pool risk across jurisdictional boundary.... I think a restaurant in Chattanooga ought to be able to put their employees in the same risk pool as a restaurant from Houston, Texas, so you can spread risk. Those are called association health plans."

Peppertree Opens Second Location

Peppertree Bookstore in Palm Springs, California, has opened a second store in La Quinta. According to the Desert Sun, the new store is 3,000 feet, almost triple the size of the original location. The La Quinta location will offer a busy author series, including upcoming events with Kirk Douglas (Let's Face It: 90 Years of Living, Loving, and Learning, Wiley) and David Carradine (The Kill Bill Diary, Harper). The new Peppertree will also host book clubs, workshops, and story hours.

Book Rack & Children's Pages to Close

On March 11, 26-year-old Book Rack & Children's Pages in Essex Junction, Vermont, will close. In a letter sent to customers and colleagues, owner Elaine Sopchak said that there were many reasons for her decision, including the store's poor location, considerable competition from online bookstores, chains, and price clubs, and personal commitments. When negotiations with several possible buyers fell through, Sopchak decided to close the store; she will, however, remain in the book business as a publicist.

Building That Houses Stacey's Bookstore Sold

The historic building at that houses Stacey's Bookstore in San Francisco was recently sold to Redwood Real Estate Partners, LLC, a Southern California real estate investment partnership, as reported in the San Francisco Chronicle. Stacey's occupies the entire 26,127-square-foot building, for which the real estate company paid in excess of $11 million. The buyers are looking for a tenant to "to take advantage of the new retail environment," said Edward Suharski, senior vice president of Grubb & Ellis Co.'s San Francisco office, who represented the sellers, Capital and Counties USA, Inc. What the sale means for Stacey's, which has a lease that runs until 2011, is not yet known.

SCIBA to Hold Children's Books & Literacy Dinner in March

The Southern California Independent Booksellers Association will be holding a Children's Books & Literacy Dinner on Friday, March 16, at the Westin Pasadena (California). SCIBA is inviting booksellers and sales reps to the dinner and is also strongly encouraging teachers, librarians, and school administrators, noting that they "would benefit most" from the event. The keynote speaker at the dinner will be Caldecott Honor-winning illustrator and New York Times bestselling author Brian Selznick. Also speaking will be illustrator Robin Preiss Glasser and James A. Owen (author and illustrator of Here, There Be Dragons).

The focus of the event will be on children's books and services offered by SCIBA member bookstores. Exhibits during the cocktail reception will give attendees insight into how their literacy programs can be enhanced with the help of local independent booksellers. The event will kick off at 6:30 p.m. with a cocktail reception and bookstore exhibits, followed by the dinner and program at 8:00 p.m. All attendees will take home a SCIBA Children's Publishing Friends goodie bag.

For more information, contact the SCIBA office at (626) 793-8435 or via e-mail.