Bomb Scares Add Urgency to Calls for More Civil Discourse

A Calling The Country Needs - Even After the Arrest

Concerns about overheated political rhetoric have risen to new levels after this week’s mail-bomb reports. ASAE and other organizations are urging a return to civility in the national conversation.

As federal law enforcement officials arrested the suspect, Cesar Sayoc Jr. for pipe bombs mailed to CNN headquarters and several high-profile figures in Democratic party circles this week, many commentators blamed increasingly virulent political rhetoric for inciting threats of violence.

Associations can provide leadership in encouraging more civil discourse, even among people who strongly disagree on issues, ASAE President and CEO John H. Graham IV, FASAE, CAE, said Thursday.

A polarized political climate has contributed to unprecedented stress levels in the U.S., according to the American Psychological Association’s annual Stress in America survey last year. Nearly six in 10 adults said they were anxious about political division and the future of the country.

A return to respectful dialogue can help reverse that trend, according to the National Institute for Civil Discourse, an affiliate of the University of Arizona. NICD’s Revive Civility initiative—which launched last year and is running through the 2018 election season—”highlights the need to change the tone of our current politics and suggests specific things that each individual can do to help make that happen,” according to the initiative’s website.

Dozens of partner organizations - including APA, AARP, the American Bar Association Section of Dispute Resolution, and a wide range of religious and civic groups—have encouraged members to hold local events to foster conversations about civility.

“Regardless of our individual political beliefs, we have a responsibility to each other to condemn violence or the threat of violence and accept that our differences do not detract from our shared purpose,” Graham said. “In fact, our differences are what makes us stronger.” associationsnow.com

Suspect arrested in connection with suspicious packages identified
White van parked outside Plantation, FL Auto Zone towed away
Law enforcement sources have identified the man arrested in connection with a series of explosive devices mailed to prominent Democrats and critics of President Donald Trump.

Cesar Sayoc, 56, of Aventura, was arrested Friday in South Florida.

"We can confirm one person is in custody," Sarah Isgur Flores, spokeswoman for the Department of Justice, said on Twitter.

A large law enforcement presence was gathered in the parking lot of an Auto Zone in Plantation. A white van with political stickers covering the windows appeared to be the focus of investigators. local10.com sun-sentinel.com

"Domestic Terrorism" - 12 Bombs Found So Far
Two More Bombs Found, Addressed to Cory Booker and CNN
Federal authorities discovered two more explosive devices, one addressed to Senator Cory Booker and the other to James R. Clapper Jr., the former director of national intelligence, law enforcement officials said on Friday. nytimes.com

What to Know About Identifying Pipe Bombs
 

Nedap’s !D Cloud software selected for largest RFID deployment in Nordic retail market
Voice Norge AS selected !D Cloud, Nedap’s leading RFID software platform, for the RFID roll-out to their 200 stores in Norway. The roll-out, which was completed within 6 months, is the largest RFID deployment in the Nordic retail market to date.

Johnny Ottesen, CEO at Voice, comments: “We realized that we needed to significantly raise our stock accuracy to improve our on-shelf product availability and enable true omnichannel. In !D Cloud, we found the best solution, because it is scalable, easy to use and easy to integrate with our Infor M3 ERP-software, which enables a fast large-scale deployment.” nedap-retail.com

CVS Rolls Out Nearly 1,700 Time Delay Safes in Stores Across the Country
to Reduce Pharmacy Robberies, Combat Opioid Epidemic

  ● Oct. 10 - California - 900 stores
  ● Oct. 16 - Maryland - 228 stores
  ● Oct. 16 - Washington D.C. - 55 stores
  ● Oct. 18 - Ohio - 160 stores
  ● Oct. 23 - Indiana - 338 stores

Retailers Seeing More 'Serial Returners' in Last 12 Months
61% would institute lifetime bans
Amazon's announcement in May that it would institute a lifetime ban for customers that habitually return merchandise is influencing retailers of all sizes to mull similar policies, in light of their own rising problem of escalating returns, according to a report from omnichannel retail management firm Brightpearl. Some 61% of U.S. retailers say they'd ban so-called "serial returners" permanently, while fewer than one-quarter are not inclined to.

Over a third of U.K. retailers and 42% of U.S. retailers say that they're seeing more serial returners in the last 12 months, especially among customers aged 18 to 34, where over a third admit to buying more items than they intend to buy, (under a third in the other age groups say that), according to the report.

One-fifth of respondents aged 18 to 24 say that they would never shop with a retailer that imposed such a penalty, Brightpearl found. But deficiencies in assessing serial returns, a lack of transparency about return policies and return tracking, and consumer expectations about e-commerce are confounding the ability of retailers to fashion effective strategies, according to the report. Some 44% of retailers say that they don't have the technology to identify serial returners and another 15% don't know if their technology could identify them. retaildive.com

Florida Retailers Name Orlando PD Officer 'Law Enforcement Officer of the Year'
The Florida Retail Federation announced a slate of awards for law enforcement officers Thursday, with an Orlando Police Department officer earning the trade group’s recognition as the top law enforcement officer of the year.

OPD Officer Rebecca Rivera earned FRF’s LEOY award, beating out runners up Tatiana Miguel, a special agent with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, and Logan Workman, a United States Secret Service Agent.

“It’s impossible to truly show how much Florida’s retail industry values and appreciates our law enforcement officers, but we hope by highlighting the impact these worthy recipients have on our member businesses, their employees and their customers, is one small way we can show our appreciation,” said FRF President and CEO R. Scott Shalley.

FRF said all three officers were recognized for their efforts to preventing retail crime and were “honored at a prestigious law enforcement awards dinner held earlier this week.”

The award was presented during FRF’s 2018 Loss Prevention Conference, where Workman delivered talks on “Headquarter Impersonation Scams” and the “Illicit Finance of Criminal Activity through Organized Fraud.” orlando-rising.com

Ex-Pilot Flying J president can open Christmas presents in prison, prosecutors say
If Mark Hazelwood wants to celebrate Christmas, he can do it from a prison cell, federal prosecutors say. Hazelwood, the former president of Pilot Flying J, wants to wait until after the holidays to begin serving a 12-and-a-half year sentence for cheating trucking customers out of millions of dollars at the diesel pump. A federal jury convicted him in February of wire fraud, witness tampering and conspiracy to commit wire fraud. knoxnews.com

L'Oréal Ex-VP Fired After Pointing Out Toxic Workplace Among Fellow Executives
A former L'Oréal USA vice president of digital marketing alleged in a complaint filed Wednesday in New York federal court that the makeup company unlawfully fired her after she spoke out against what she said was a racially toxic work environment within the company's executive levels.

Amanda Johnson, a black woman with more than 10 years of experience in digital advertising, said she thought she had "made it" when she was hired at L'Oréal as assistant vice president of digital marketing and was quickly promoted to vice president. But in spite of her success, Johnson said she faced a relentlessly sexist, racist and discriminatory work environment.

"Johnson quickly learned the ugly truth about the beauty giant, including witnessing a male executive openly watching pornography during a business meeting; sex-fueled parties at luxury European hotels during work trips; and racist hostility from the highest levels of management," the complaint says. law360.com

British retail tycoon caught up in #MeToo scandal
One of the U.K.’s most successful retailers and leading businessmen has been accused of sexual and racial harassment. Sir Philip Green, the chairman of Arcadia group whose retail portfolio includes Topshop, BHS, Burton and Miss Selfridge, was named in Parliament as the subject of abuse claims, the BBC reported. A member of the House of Lords, Peter Hain, named the businessman after the Daily Telegraph newspaper was prevented from doing so by a court order obtained by Green.

The Telegraph spent eight months investigating allegations of bullying, intimidation and sexual harassment made against Green, according to the report. He has “categorically and wholly” denied allegations of “unlawful sexual or racist behaviour”. chainstoreage.com

Google CEO admits company had a sexual harassment problem
Fired 48 employees for sexual misconduct, including 13 senior managers
Google CEO Sundar Pichai sent an email to all Google employees Thursday saying the company has fired 48 people over the last two years for sexual harassment, including 13 "senior managers and above," and none received an exit package.

The email, obtained by CNBC, was in response to a bombshell New York Times story that said Google had shielded a handful of company executives, including Android creator Andy Rubin, from sexual misconduct allegations and offered massive payouts to leave. cnbc.com

At Netflix, Radical Transparency and Blunt Firings Unsettle the Ranks
The Netflix way emphasizes “freedom and responsibility,” trusting employees to use discretion - whether it is about taking vacation, flying business class or expensing an Uber ride home. Virtually every employee can access sensitive information, from how many subscribers sign up in each country to viewership of shows to contractual terms for Netflix’s production deals. Executives at the director level and above - some 500 people - can see the salaries of every employee.

Netflix applies the “keeper test” to employees. That means managers need to evaluate employees to decide whether they would fight to keep them if they received an offer from another company. The result is that even key, longtime members of the company find themselves with severance packages even though there is little fault to find with their performance. wsj.com

Sears directors hire bank to examine former CEO Lampert's deals: sources
Two Sears Holdings Corp board directors have hired investment bank Evercore Inc to scrutinize deals that were led by former Sears Chief Executive Eddie Lampert with the U.S. retailer before it filed for bankruptcy protection, people familiar with the matter said on Friday.

The deals, including separations of Sears’ businesses and real estate, may come under examination in bankruptcy proceedings, with creditors claiming the transactions stripped the retailer of valuable assets. Billionaire Lampert is the largest shareholder and creditor of Sears through his hedge fund, ESL Investments Inc. reuters.com

Simon Property CEO: Malls don't need department stores
Simon Property Group CEO David Simon on Thursday called Sears' bankruptcy an opportunity — and possibly the end of the traditional mall anchor. He told analysts, "maybe our industry got just too carried away with having all these big department store boxes," according to a transcript from Seeking Alpha. "As we transition to the smaller, more appropriately sized group, and there'll be centers that lose in that and ... we may have one or two that [we] were nervous about, the reality is the rest of that center, and we will get a better and bigger benefit, I think we'll get healthier, and we're starting to see that." retaildive.com

Cities may benefit from losing Amazon HQ2 bid
Cities that are not selected to be the home of Amazon’s HQ2 project will get off the hook from the huge subsidies and investments required to attract the e-tail giant. They are also likely to receive investments from Amazon, albeit on a smaller scale, as it continues to expand its operations across North America. retailwire.com

Game Stop Vice President, Chief Information Security Officer job was removed from website

JC Penney Vice President, Asset Protection job was removed from website

Kriser's Natural Pet AP Manager (Corporate) job was removed from website

Chipotle Sales Miss After Food-Safety Scare But New Campaign Lifts Q4

Sears Bankruptcy Judge Approves Closing Sales at 142 Stores

Kmart manager's emotional farewell speech foreshadows what could happen to 68,000 Sears employees if the company liquidates


Quarterly Sales
Boot Barn Q2 comp's up 11.3%, net sales up 17.5%
Aaron's Q3 comp's flat, revenue up 13.6%

 

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