“Throttling is this idea if you consume too much of my bandwidth I’m going to intentionally slow down how much bandwidth you can consume, so you might see web pages loading slower than they normally would,” Carnegie Mellon University Professor Michael Smith told KDKA Money Editor Jon Delano.

Making it slower to download data, pictures and video is now AT&T’s policy for its iPhone customers who have an unlimited data plan and are heavy users, says Smith, who teaches internet marketing.

“They want to charge you based on the amount of data you use, as opposed to giving you an unlimited, all you can eat buffet.”

Unlimited fixed price data plans are gone to new customers at AT&T, Verizon, or T-Mobile — but those already on them could get throttled and pushed into higher priced plans with limited gigabyte downloads.

Sprint is now marketing its unlimited plan directly to AT&T customers.

“This is the beautiful thing about a competitive market place,” notes Smith.

But out on the street some have given up on costly smart phones.

User 1: “Nowadays they are just charging more and more, so I don’t even have one. It’s not worth it.”

User 2: “My plan is like 90 a month. It’s just too much. My plan is now 30 a month, and I can use the internet in other places.”

Others don’t complain.

User 3: “It’s one of those things that I’m willing to shell out the green just so I don’t have to worry about it.”

And while AT&T is the bad guy today, all smart phones will be affected eventually.

Smith: “When you have a limited resource and a lot of people get access to it, something’s gotta give.”

Delano: “Prices go up?”

Smith: “Prices go up.”

What really irks people about AT&T’s throttling is that it occurs all the time — even at 2 a.m. when there’s plenty of bandwidth.

Verizon throttles, too, but only when their local cell tower is so congested that it cannot accommodate all the downloads.

T-Mobile starts throttling when a user hits five gigabytes.

For now, Sprint says it’s not throttling at all.

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(TM and © Copyright 2011 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2011 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

Grossman has covered and investigated the nuclear industry for years.

You can listen to the interview to see concerns from an insider and hear his views on the industry and where he thinks it will go.

Click the link below to listen to the full interview:

You can also listen to Chris Moore every Sunday from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m.

“It’s an extension of our family at this point,” says owner J. W. McKittrick. “And being third generation, I couldn’t imagine life without it.”

The second generation is represented by his mother, Twila McKittrick. “We live here,” she says. “This is where we go to church. This is where we raised our family. So we are part of the community, as well.”

Customers fear that Mac’s may go the way of family businesses across the nation. Dunkin’ Donuts recently opened a store, just a block away.

But loyal customers and friends have come to the rescue, supporting an old time business with new technology. The “Mac’s Donuts” Facebook page has lured more than 2,000 friends in just two days.

Their biggest problem now: Will they have enough doughnuts to meet demand this weekend? Their Facebook friends have called on followers to turn out in a massive show of support.

“We have so much gratitude to them for this,” J. W, says. “It really means a lot.”

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They are digging and pushing dirt for the Echo Cranberry development on the north side of Route 228 in the fastest growing area of western Pennsylvania.

Cranberry Township Chief Strategy Officer John Trant says the development will include, “Dick’s Sporting Goods, as well as some retail office space, and potentially some residential development in that area as well.”

Trant says there is quite a bit of land behind the area currently under construction that will eventually be included in the residential portion of the plan.

Meanwhile, across Route 228 and just to the east, the Hilton Garden Inn is approaching completion. It is the first parcel of the Summit at Cranberry Woods and is joined by several areas cleared for restaurants.

Creative Real Estate Development President Donald Rodgers says the original plan included, “a mix of office, retail, apartments, movie theaters, and restaurants but the environment just isn’t there to finance a project like that today.”

So Rodgers says they evolved the plan to meet a ballooning demand for office space in Cranberry Township.

“The office market is so strong in Cranberry Township, it may be the strongest market in the country, so we’re going where the demand is,” Rodgers says.

Under the new plan, The Summit at Cranberry Woods will have about 400,000 square feet of new office space available within the next four years, plus two additional hotels.

To deal with the increased traffic, all this development will bring PennDOT has plans for the intersection of I-79 and Rt. 228.

Construction will begin next year on ramps onto the interstate from westbound 288 which will eliminate the need for left turns onto the current ramps. Both ramps should be open by the fall of 2014.

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That’s a far cry from the business district these days where stores are vacant and the streets almost deserted.

“It’s nothing like it used to be,” Melvin Morrisette said.

Morrisette, who worked in the mill for 31 years, is one of the few who can still remember.

But today there’s new hope. As a slag reclamation operation picks over the carcass of the old mill site, a phoenix could soon rise from the ashes.

The state is trying to turn the site into a multi-billion dollar petro-chemical refinery called a cracker which can turn the bi-products of Marcellus shale gas drilling into plastics.

Shell Oil intends to build one in the region and that has officials in Pennsylvania and neighboring Ohio and West Virginia tripping over themselves trying to offer the sweetest enticements.

And if Pennsylvania wins that bidding war, thE site will be transformed into that multi-billion dollar cracker facility, which experts say will spawn a whole new industry in southwestern Pennsylvania.

“The economic impact could certainly be huge,” said Goetz Veser of the University of Pittsburgh.

Ten-thousand construction workers would be hired to build the cracker and 1,000 permanent workers would be needed to operate it. Shell says there could be as many as eight spin-off jobs for each one of those in new related industries.

“If things go well it could be thousands of jobs,” Veser said.

With stakes so high, all three states are playing their best hand. A bill making its way through our state legislature could turn the site into an enterprise zone with 20 years in tax abatements to add to its natural advantages.

The site has access to both the river and the railroads for the delivery of supplies and the transport of products. But not everyone is on board.

“This is going to be a big pollution source,” Myron Arnowitt said.

Bringing heavy industry back to the Ohio Valley doesn’t sit well with some environmentalists like Arnowitt of Clean Water Action who warn about the impacts on the water and the air.

“It will smell,” he said. “There will be significant chemical emissions. We’re talking about a million pounds a year of hazardous compounds.”

Shell, which is tight-lipped about where it will be putting the cracker, says only that it will be operated responsibly.

“We will do everything we can to minimize our footprint on air and water quality,” said Bill Langin of Shell.

But Morrisette doesn’t share the environmentalist’s concerns.

“It would be wonderful. It’s hope. That’s what it is. It would be really great.”

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The gas drilling company wanted to test the drinking water the couple uses from their own well. Why? Because Range hopes to start drilling nearby and wants to know ahead of time how good the water really is.

From her home in Chartiers Township, Dorothy Sickles told KDKA Political Editor Jon Delano the letter raised concerns.

“I don’t want nothing happening to that water, I sure don’t,” she said. “And that does have me somewhat concerned, it does.”

Range Resources will pay for the water test and share the results, but the letter comes on a bit strong, says attorney Jake Polochak who represents landowners.

“This highlights a broader problem of the way gas companies correspond with landowners. This would give a sense of urgency to a landowner,” said Polochak.

Polochak says property owners should never be rushed into signing anything.

For property owners who receive a letter in the mail, they have two choices: either sign the letter and get a state-certified test of your drinking water, which might contain some bad news; or refuse the letter in which case the presumption that the drilling company causes future damage to your drinking water is gone.

State law presumes that drilling companies are the cause of new pollution in drinking water. However, if a homeowner refuses a water quality test offered by a drilling company the presumption of guilt is removed.

The language of the letter can scare property owners, but its goal is simple.

“It was drafted so you would grant the request,” said Attorney Polochak.

Range Resources’ Matt Pitzarella says those who sign or refuse the form are not signing away a right.

“It does not waive liability. It only waives the presumption, and that’s because they are eliminating the potential to test for it,” Pitzarella said.

Attorney Polochak says it’s always good to have well water tested.

Dorothy Sickles agrees, “Well I guess we’ll have to have it tested, yes.”

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In a Wednesday conference call, the CEO of U.S. Airways Group confirmed his company is investigating a possible merger with American Airlines.

Dick Wright, of Bethel Park, has logged many miles on flights out of Pittsburgh, and while American and U.S. Air serve many of the cities where he needs to go, he has reservations about a merger.

“It’s bad in a way that I hate to see monopolies, but it’s good if they give us better service because right now it’s rather chaotic,” said Wright, “but I hate to see too many mergers because we’ll be down to just one, like British Air, one airline.”

There was a time, not too long ago at Pittsburgh International Airport, when the entire board would have been filled, and probably 90 percent of them would have been flights on U.S. Air.

“Sometimes, I have noticed that that window has narrowed up somewhat,” said Kathy Arnoto, of Canfield, Ohio. “It’s a shame that they are not like it used to be.”

If the merger happens, it would be further consolidation of two major domestic carriers, but many passengers say that means little to unless the ticket price is right.

“Basically, it’s the price rates,” said MycKenzie Russell, of Orlando, Fla. “We just go online and look at the cheapest ones we can find honestly. Some of the ones we haven’t heard of, we don’t pick, but the ones that we have been on before.”

Rumblings of a merger heated up after the parent company of American Airlines filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection back in November. Whether it happens is still up in the air.

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“This building represents Range’s commitment to the Marcellus Shale and to the region,” said John Applegath, Range vice president at the ribbon-cutting. “We’re here in a nice building that gives us a lot of growth room for the future.”

Last winter, there was nothing on this spot. Built in less than one year, the new office building symbolizes Range Resource’s fast expansion.

“One person office in 2007 — we’ve now got over 400 employees,” said Applegath. “We got a lot of growth ahead of us.”

Washington County officials hailed the Marcellus Shale drilling company’s local commitment.

“They didn’t just talk the talk, they walked the talk. They got involved, they went out created jobs, created wealth, and that was good for Washington County,” noted County Commissioner Larry Maggi.

“We are the envy of the state,” added PA Sen. Tim Solobay. “We are the envy of the country as far as things going on here.”

Range’s new five-story, 180,000 square foot building has plenty of room for expansion.

“We may be one of the only, if the only, natural gas company that has all of its technical people under one roof and that is critical,” said Range spokesman Matt Pitzarella.

And Range officials say what happens inside is as important as what happens outside.

“While most people think of the drilling rigs that you may or may not see, it’s really the high tech work that takes place behind the scenes that brings all this gas to market,” added Pitzarella.

While there are certainly plenty of critics of the Marcellus Shale industry, this event was all positive — and a clear sign that, like it or not, Marcellus Shale drilling is here to stay.

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Mike discussed with Dr. Haulk the Port Authority and their decision to layoff workers and raise prices to use the transit services.

Dr. Haulk thinks that the best solution to the Port Authority’s trouble is to reorganize under the bankruptcy laws.

You can hear more on Dr. Haulk’s solution and thoughts by clicking the link below:

Also, you can listen to Mike Pintek weekdays noon to 3 p.m.

This new venue, named Jergel’s Rhythm Grille, is located off Warrendale Road and will be the only entertainment facility of its kind in the area. It promises live performances seven nights a week on a 35-foot stage and boasts a restaurant with outside dining, bars, VIP party rooms and a cigar bar.

The owners, Rick Jergel and Ron Sofranko, have been in the restaurant business for decades. They are hoping Jergel’s will attract people from all over the region and are confident that it will thrive in this area.

“Between Marshall Township and Cranberry Township, attracting the North Hills area, as well as the regional markets of Butler, Beaver County, Westmoreland County and the whole Cranberry market,” Sofranko said.

Big regional acts are promised, from Joe Grushecki to The Clarks, as well as local bands, country acts, blues, comedians, and a handful of national acts as well.

“You don’t sleep,” Jergel said. “It’s full of excitement – it really is.”

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“We have a large number of retirements coming up,” Dave Pidgeon, a spokesman for Norfolk Southern, said. “Across the industry, about 30 percent of our workforce – that’s about 67,000 people are going to need to be replaced because of retirements. That’s between now and five years from now.”

These are good paying jobs with a starting salary of at least $40,000, but you better be ready to work outside and do some heavy lifting too.

“A conductor is going to be outside in wind and rain and blizzards in all manner of weather and all manner of time, so if you have some outdoor work experience like on a farm, that’s a big plus for you,” Pidgeon said.

“Also you are going to be lifting these big knuckles to put these trains together and they are about 80 pounds so there’s some lifting involved.”

Norfolk Southern projects it will hire 2,600 new employees by the end of 2012. There has been an increase in freight rail and a large number of railroad employees will be retiring.

“My dad worked for the railroad. He worked for Penn Central and my brother worked for the B&O Railroad,” Tim Bradburn, an applicant, said.

“I currently have an antique shop down in Charleroi and the guy behind me, the train tracks are right behind the building. He’s an engineer for Norfolk Southern. I talked to him. He comes into my shop all the time and he started turning me on to the railroad life,” he continued.

More than 100 people applied for about two dozen jobs. The conductor trainees will report to the Shire Oaks terminal in Washington County and must live within 90 minutes of the rail yard, knowing that when the phone rings, they are out the door and headed down the tracks.

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“The commercial properties in particular are grossly over-assessed, and we think there’s no rhyme or reason for the new numbers that have been placed on them,” says Jonathan Kamin, a real estate attorney.

While residential property values grew by nearly 47 percent, according to county assessors, commercial property skyrocketed 71 percent.

The numbers are so out-of-whack, says Kamin, that he’s taken in 350 new cases in the last 72 hours.

“I get the feeling nobody had any real oversight in checking these numbers,” Kamin told KDKA Money Editor Jon Delano, “and I think it was a computer-generated reassessment and the implementation has been poor at best.”

The Regional Enterprise Tower is the classic example of a miss-assessment. Sold at a sheriff’s sale last year, it practically has no tenants left.

And yet its assessment has nearly quadrupled from $10 million to over $38 million.

“That building would sell somewhere in the $6 to $10 million range,” says Gregg Broujos, a real estate broker.

Broujos sells and manages commercial real estate, and he says the wrong numbers really hurt downtown Pittsburgh.

“It hurts it tremendously just because it’s obviously the epicenter of western PA.”

There lots of examples — like the Oliver Building — just sold last fall for $10 million, now reassessed at nearly $48 million.

Or take PPG Place, recently sold for $179 million, now reassessed at $237 million.

Commercial real estate experts say the solution is simple.

“They have to start over,” says Broujos.

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He’s taking criticism for the move.

Onorato spent an hour on NewsRadio 1020 KDKA answering tough questions.

Marty Griffin: “Aren’t you hired to use your name to influence people?”

Onorato: “No, I’m not going to be a lobbyist. That’s not my role here.”

Griffin: “But you will be using your name to influence people?”

Onorato: “I will be using all of my talents and everything I’ve learned up until 50-years old to help the company that I’m working for just like every other employee. Yes. And I don’t apologize for that.”

He answered tough questions about his salary, reported to be several hundred thousand dollars.

Griffin: “You go from $90,000 a year to several hundred thousand dollars to suggest folks who say, ‘This guy sold out for money.’ “

Onorato: “Well first, obviously I haven’t talked about my salary and I’m not going to. I do make more than I was making, but I can’t help what people might think. All I know is I’ve spent 20 years in public service. I tried to stay in it longer as you know a year ago – that didn’t work out. It’s now time to take a different path.”

As a representative for Highmark, UPMC sources tell KDKA’s Marty Griffin there is concern Onorato will lobby to hurt UPMC. Onorato says no way.

Griffin: “Is it hard for you to take a side now? You have to take Highmark’s side.”

Onorato: “Well, first of all, these are two big companies, two good companies, two great companies in western Pennsylvania. I’m not here to bad mouth any company right now. There’s a current conflict. Hopefully that’s gonna get resolved. These assets are going to be available to everybody and it’s going to work for the region. They’re both big employers and they’re both here.”

Onorato is an accountant as well as an attorney. He starts his new job with Highmark January 3.

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The news comes after a dismal holiday shopping season for the company that owns both stores.

“Sad,” one shopper said. “I feel bad for the people that work there.”

The sales numbers for the chains are off by more than 5 percent from the fourth quarter of last year.

“Given our performance and the difficult economic environment, especially for big ticket items, we intend to implement a series of actions to reduce ongoing expenses, adjust our asset base and accelerate the transformation of our business model,” Lou D’Ambrosio, chief executive officer of Sears Holdings Corp., said in a statement.

In other words, they’re closing stores.

“Sears has been around as long as I can remember,” another shopper said. “You know, it’s kind of hard to accept, but I hope we don’t lose a lot in this area.”

The store closures will generate $140 million to $170 million, reduce fix costs by $100 million to $200 million and inventory costs by $300 million.

Pittsburgh and Allegheny County have five full-line Sears stores and 10 full-line Kmarts.

The company has not yet released the list of stores that will close.

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According to the National Retail Federation, an estimated $46 billion worth of merchandise will be returned this year.

At local stores, it was the unwanted gifts that were already being sent back to the shelves. Shoppers started to crowd the Mall at Robinson to get rid of rejected presents.

“I’m returning a sweatsuit because it’s the wrong size and I plan on doing some more shopping today. And also sneakers that are also the wrong size,” Karen Mansueti said.

On top of all the returning, others were back at stores for the deals.

Sissy Jochmann was one of many shoppers taking advantage of deep discounts, incentives and coupons.

“I saw some needs when I was home over Christmas and I didn’t get that. So, I figured I would use those coupons to come and get the after-Christmas sale,” Jochmann said.

But it wasn’t just sales and returns bringing people back to the mall. Some went shopping for themselves.

“The gift card for Game Stop was the main reason we came,” Heath Zwigart said.

The National Retail Federation estimated that over $27 billion would be spent on gift cards this holiday shopping season.

For Heath and Zach Zwigart, that meant a nice gift the day after Christmas.

“They were both $50 each and I got three games,” Zwigart said.

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“The state is not going to stand idly by and allow the health care system to be dismantled, to disenfranchise millions of people from their doctors and their hospitals and their health care,” State Rep. Dan Frankel, D-Squirrel Hill, said. “We will not allow it to happen.”

The legislature is considering different bills that would mandate a resolution. Thursday, UPMC and Highmark bought more time by voluntarily extending their contract through June of 2013.

The extension is good news for Highmark subscribers at the Hillman Center. It’s a UPMC facility and many of those patients feared they would go without this treatment after June.

Hillman patient Larry Grumet has become an activist on behalf of his follow cancer sufferers who have been living under a cloud of worry not related to their disease.

“At Hillman Cancer Center where patients used to talk about their families, their prognosis, their loved ones, now all they talk about is, ‘Will I have access? Will I have coverage?’”

Grumet says he welcomes the extension but wants a long-term agreement.

“I’d like to see an agreement between the parties,” he said. “They did it once, they can do it again.”

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Best Buy shoppers across the country are not getting the products they ordered.

Some of those orders were placed on Black Friday, and now, they’ve been canceled.

Just days before Christmas, Best Buy is telling some customers that it is cancelling orders made online weeks ago.

Point Park University business professor Paige Beal has been following the controversy.

“Many of these people are saying they actually received notice that their order went through, confirmation of shipment,” Beal told KDKA Money Editor Jon Delano.

But now an about-face by Best Buy which issued this statement to KDKA-TV:

“Due to overwhelming demand of hot product offerings on BestBuy.com during the November and December time period, we have encountered a situation that has affected redemption of some of our customers’ online orders. We are very sorry for the inconvenience this has caused and we have notified the affected customers.”

“What I find amazing about this is that Best Buy has really made no attempt to reimburse these people for the time spent, emotional investment they had,” notes Beal.

The Federal Trade Commission would not comment on whether Best Buy has engaged in unfair or deceptive trade practices, but did tell KDKA-TV:

“While the FTC does not resolve individual complaints, the agency encourages consumers to file complaints about any concerns they have. These complaints can help us detect patterns of wrong-doing, and lead to investigations and prosecutions.”

“To simply just say, we’re sorry, we don’t have it, is inexcusable,” adds Beal.

Beal says that it may be in the fine print of their online contract that Best Buy can refuse to honor its own sales agreements, but it is hardly a good business practice.

And if anyone wants to file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission, click here.

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“I am unveiling the specifics of a $20.3 million plan that addresses a number of Braddock’s needs,” Allegheny County executive Dan Onorato announced Wednesday.
Onorato said he was fulfilling a pledge to Braddock.

“I thought it was important that the people of Braddock and the Mon Valley knew that just because I was leaving office that this wasn’t being forgotten.”

On the old hospital parking lot, Trek Development will start construction this summer of a flex-office building.

“This is the building — three stories — that will have commercial, retail, and other activities,” says Onorato.

Those other activities could include some health care facilities — but the project includes much more.

On one side of Holland Street, 24 one-, two-, and three-bedroom townhouses will be constructed and available for rent.

On the other side of the street, some 11 brand new single family homes will be available for sale in 2013.

Funding comes from state tax credits, $3 million in state capital dollars matched by UPMC, federal and county funds, and some private dollars.

Local Braddock officials hailed the announcement.

“It is impossible to overstate how profound an impact this will have on Braddock,” notes Braddock Mayor John Fetterman.

“We have some good citizens in Braddock, good people, and it’s going to work,” adds Matthew Thomas, vice president of Braddock’s council.

The development will occur on a site that was once the scene of major protests when UPMC abruptly announced its closure.

The makeover couldn’t come soon enough.

“It’s been extremely tough,” says Jim Thompson, owner of the Comet News in Braddock. “Once the hospital left, it totally devastated the community again.”

On an empty hospital parking lot, Trek Development hopes to begin construction of a 26,000 square foot, $6 million flex office and retail building that could house some medical facilities.

Thompson just reopened his store across the street, and he’s optimistic.

“It would mean a tremendous amount of business coming into my store hopefully, and in addition, it’s something the community needs.”

“We’re very happy and very excited for what’s being proposed for that site there,” says Jesse Brown, Braddock council president.

And Trek insists it won’t pull a UPMC and leave Braddock.

“We are absolutely committed to the long haul,” says Bill Gatti, Trek’s president. “We’ve developed over 55 residential communities and commercial communities — and we continue to own and operate all of them. We’ve never sold any of them.”

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Roland is a practicing psychotherapist, author and lecturer who loves to give his opinion on political and social issues.

His most recent article is a headlining story on Veterans Today.

You can visit Roland’s website AllenRoland.com or listen to him on Truthtalk, a national radio show that airs monthly.

You can listen to Chris’s interview with Roland by clicking the link below:

The project includes a new hotel right off of Market Square.

The ongoing development of the Market Square/Forbes Avenue corridor got a boost with word from developer Lucas Piatt and Mayor Luke Ravenstahl of a $76 million project.

While one corner of Market Square is nearly completed, it’s the opposite corner right that is going to have a remarkable transformation.

Just above Moe’s Southwest Grill, a new office building of parking, retail space and offices will be put in place.

Anchoring it all will be a new 175-room hotel to be run by Hilton Spring Garden.

Coupled with other downtown projects, Mayor Ravenstahl considers this part of what he calls the city’s third renaissance.

“Already looks wonderful with the progress we’ve made, but it’s really exciting for all of us to think about what downtown’s going to be five years from now, 10 years from now,” Ravenstahl said.

A new 17-story hotel, a 325-space parking garage, stores, and offices will demolish George Aiken’s, a 44-year old restaurant and fixture near Market Square.

“Corporations are coming in. They want new establishments. Mom and pops are dying out,” Tony Baverso said.

Aiken’s could relocate, but it may close its doors forever.

Up the street at the Smithfield Outlet, owner John Stetor hopes to find space nearby.

“There’s a need in town for some of these smaller moms and pops, discount type stores, so I hope we can stay in town,” Stetor said.

City officials said they are helping to relocate the displaced businesses, the excitement is aimed at new construction.

“Obviously the architecture is beautiful,” Piatt told the mayor. ”It steps up away from the Square, so it’s not just a huge high-rise right on the Square.”

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Besides allowing local distributors to sell six-packs of beer and taverns to sell cases, the biggest change could affect wine sales.

The Liquor Control Committee reported out a bill that will privatize wine sales without selling off the 620 state liquor stores.

“It’s been an awful long time since a bill of this magnitude has gotten out of the Liquor Committee in the state of Pennsylvania,” Rep. Mark Mustio, a member of the committee, said.

Mustio said the compromise doesn’t go as far as he’d like, but will benefit consumers by allowing wine to be sold by beer distributors.

Under the proposed state law, beer distributors — some 1,200 in Pennsylvania — will be able now to buy a wine license for $50,000, allowing them to compete with the State Store system in selling you a bottle of wine.

Reno Virgili and his daughter Mary Lou have been in the beer business for years.

“We have many people who come into the store and ask, where can I get a bottle of wine. And this goes on quite often,” Virgili said.

Not every beer distributor is likely to sell wine.

“I know I’m an old wine maker myself. Beer is a staple that has been around for years and years and years,” Virgili said. “Wine just now is becoming very, very popular. Different brands of wine, different types of wine. People have lots of choices today, so it is a different type of operation.”

Distributors could sell their licenses on the open market to supermarkets that want to sell beer and wine, although those operations would have to be housed in separate buildings.

Distributors like Mary Lou Virgili see wine as a growth business because of reports of “wine being more beneficial health-wise.”

Family is a common theme of many small businesses, including Henne’s Jewelry.

“It’s a family-run business,” owner John Henne told KDKA Money Editor Jon Delano. “It was founded by my great-grandfather in 1887.”

Although tougher than ever to compete with big chain stores, America’s 28 million small businesses want a piece of the Christmas holiday action.

“I and every other independent business need your shopping dollars now, this season. This is it,” says Jean Haller, owner of Journeys of Life.

So between Black Friday and Cyber Monday, have you heard of Small Business Saturday?

Person 1: “I haven’t. What’s that?”

Person 2: “Is it a support of small businesses and things like that because if it is, I’m all for it.”

That’s exactly what it is, and some shop-owners hope Americans will spend some bucks at local establishments.

If you need a reason why you should shop at a small business, here’s one. Most Americans are employed by small businesses. In fact, 65 percent of all new jobs are with small companies.

Here’s another reason. For every $100 you spend at a local small business, $68 of that stays right in the local community.

“This next month will make or break probably 50 percent of the independent businesses in this country,” says Haller.

Haller is counting on those dollars.

Her store — Journeys of Life — suffered a major fire two weeks ago and is reopening in a temporary location on Small Business Saturday.

“Now more than ever, Small Business Saturday is about community,” says Haller.

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Shoppers at the Best Buy in Ross Township are lined up down the strip to Kuhn’s Market.

At the Toys ‘R Us, people came early and prepared.

“We have a book with about 20 items in it we need,” Holli Gerst said. “Yeah, we’ve been planning for a while.”

At Target, one shopper even brought a U-Haul.

For those seeking a bargain, the key is to have a plan.

“Pretty much going to map out our whole plan,” Kristen Gogal, a Target shopper, said. “We’re pretty much going to split up. I’m going to go for Kinect – he’s going to go for the TV.”

At Best Buy, Jennifer Zimmerman has been camped out since 11 p.m. Wednesday. It’s her fourth Black Friday being first in line.

“Because I need TVs and laptops and Christmas gifts that are going to remain unmentioned for children watching TV,” she said.

Best Buy even set up a big screen so shoppers could watch Harry Potter while they wait.

Stores this year are opening earlier than ever.

“This is horrible Best Buy,” Deanna Eifler said. “We want to be home with our families for Thanksgiving instead of coming out here and sitting through the daytime.”

But dedicated Black Friday shoppers will do what they must for a deal.

“I wouldn’t do it if I didn’t save a lot of money,” Zimmerman said.

RELATED LINKS
More Local News
Black Friday ’11: Plan Your Shopping Strategy

“Online retailers, they’re no longer content to accept whatever consumer dollars are left over on Cyber Monday,” Prof. Tim Sweet of Grove City College told KDKA money editor Jon Delano. “They want a bigger piece of the Black Friday action as well.”

So, online stores like Amazon, HSN and Gilt.com will offer special sale prices on Black Friday, but only to those who access them through a mobile smartphone while they are out shopping.

“It decentralizes Black Friday and levels the playing field for any tech-savvy e-tailer,” notes Sweet.

One popular online store hoping to capture Black Friday dollars is Gilt.com.

“Every three hours our entire inventory selection will be refreshed, and you can access these sales on your mobile device,” says Alexandra Wilkes Wilson, founder and CEO of The Gilt Groupe.

Especially if you’re stuck in long lines at the store.

“This is actually great for those Black Friday shoppers who are waiting in line furiously to get into stores,” says Wilson. “So, while you’re waiting in line you can get some great holiday shopping.”

Don’t try to cheat, say web designers.

“The server would detect what kind of a browser it was. It would say ‘This is a mobile browser and we want to send them to this page,” says Krista Trovato of Peerless Design, Inc. “It would send them to that page and present them with that special, right there.”

The use of these smartphones is growing.

About 43 percent of those who use cell phones now have a smart phone, and nearly 10 percent of eCommerce purchases last month were made on mobile phones.

With Cyber Monday poaching on Black Friday, that number will only grow.

RELATED LINKS:
Black Friday ’11: Plan Your Shopping Strategy
Black Friday: Strategies For Shopping Success

Lutz, a Brown University department chair, talked with Moore about the costs that go into war and if financially they are a good idea.  You can listen to the interview here and also visit Lutz’s website costsofwar.org.