Gannett Sells ‘The Farmington Daily Times’ To Ballantine (mediapost.com)

The nearly 50-year-old kitchenware retailer, which filed for bankruptcy in July and said it would close over 50 of its 121 stores, has been sold for nearly $89 million to a joint venture between e-commerce investment firm CSC Generation and Marquee Brands LLC. The sale, which is still subject to bankruptcy court approval, was first reported by The Wall Street Journal. According to court documents, the joint venture plans to keep at least 50 Sur La Table stores open.

With all major categories posting huge gains, unit sales of print books jumped 22.7% for the week ended Jan. 16, 2021, over the comparable week in 2020, at outlets that report to NPD BookScan. The biggest gains came in the YA categories, with fiction up 47.6% and nonfiction rising 46.9%. The release of Concrete Rose by Angie Thomas, which sold nearly 18,000 copies, helped to lift YA fiction. In YA nonfiction, Stamped by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi was the top title, selling more than 4,100 copies. Juvenile fiction sales rose 30.7% over the week ended Jan. 18, 2020, led by Little Blue Truck’s Valentine by Alice Schertle, which sold just over 28,000 copies, and Dav Pilkey’s Cat Kid Comic Club, which sold nearly 22,000 copies. Juvenile nonfiction sales rose 28.8% over 2020. Two educational titles led the way: Crystal Radke’s My First Learn-to-Write Workbook sold more than 7,000 copies, and Big Preschool Workbook sold 6,400 copies. Adult fiction unit sales rose almost 30% over 2020.

A bill that would limit states’ ability to enforce sales tax collection laws on online retailers that do not have a physical presence in those states had its first hearing on Capitol Hill today. H.R. 2887, introduced by Rep. James Sensenbrenner (R-WI) and titled the “No Regulation Without Representation Act,” went before the House Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Regulatory Reform, Commercial, and Antitrust Law this morning. The bill would prohibit states from forcing businesses that do not have a physical presence in the state to collect sales tax from in-state shoppers that buy from them. Click Read More below for more of the story.