Kansas.com: Consumer

Doubt infects holiday hiring

SUZANNE PEREZ TOBIAS — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 06:24 CST

If you're looking for a job this holiday season -- for extra income or to supplement your gift-giving budget -- Wichita's job outlook is a little better than the rest of the country's.

But the rest of the country looks pretty pathetic.

"Jobs are going to be much harder to come by this year than they have in the past -- even in Wichita," said Jim Clark, associate dean of the W. Frank Barton School of Business at Wichita State University.

"If you don't have anything yet, there might not be anything left to get."

Nationally, the number of new claims for unemployment benefits hit a 16-year high last month, according to Labor Department data released Thursday.

And the hot toys are...

SUZANNE PEREZ TOBIAS — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 01:40 CST

Parents worried about layoffs, stressed about the stock market or fretting over their 401(k)s likely won't splurge on holiday toys, right? Not so fast.

Experts say that historically -- even during the Great Depression -- parents don't completely deny their children playthings. And local retailers say they're seeing the trend continue this year.

"People are still trying to have Christmas. They're still spending money on children," said Gwen Ottenberg, owner of Imagine That Toys in Wichita.

"Parents I'm seeing would rather skip the Starbucks for themselves and spend that money on the kids."

No surprise, then, that Toy Wishes magazine -- the official harbinger of hot sellers -- recently released its annual "Hot Dozen" holiday toys with just as much fanfare as ever.

Do your homework before getting home repairs done

TIM POTTER — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 10:36 CST

Vernetta Johnson says she ended up with a home-repair nightmare.

Now, the 53-year-old Wichita woman says, she wants to warn others by recounting her experience.

Local and state law enforcement agencies regularly receive complaints about home repairs. The Sedgwick County District Attorney's Office had received 128 home improvement complaints this year.

Johnson says her frustration began more than a year ago, in September 2007, when she saw an advertisement and contacted a repairman for a flooring estimate. They signed a contract for a $3,000 job, she said.

At the time, she thought it reasonable for him to ask for almost half of the money to buy materials. She gave him a check for $1,400. She learned later that his mother cashed the check the same day.

Does the IRS owe you some cash?

DEB GRUVER — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 06:36 CDT

The IRS is trying to reach about 480 Sedgwick County residents -- to give them money.

Nearly $300,000 in checks due to area residents were returned to the IRS as undeliverable.

Statewide, the IRS is looking for 2,563 taxpayers who are missing refunds and stimulus payments totaling more than $1.7 million. Nationally, the number is about $103 million.

IRS spokesman Michael Devine said 359 Sedgwick County residents are due their economic stimulus checks, which average $546. And 125 residents are due regular tax refunds, which average $774.

"Checks are often returned to the IRS because a life change -- such as a marriage or divorce -- causes an address change," Devine said in a news release.