Sports and outdoor retailer "G.I. Joe’s" will cut the “G” and “I” from its name.

The new name matches up with the common abbreviation used by customers, the company said today.

"People have been referring to us as simply ‘Joe’s’ for decades now," said Norm Daniels, President & CEO. "In fact, ‘Go to Joe’s, Grab the Gear, Seize the Weekend’ was our slogan for many years. The official change to ‘Joe’s’ is long overdue."

Joe’s has stores in Lakewood, Puyallup and Federal Way.

A bit of history:

The original name

Read more »

I was at the Tacoma Mall yesterday and noticed that the span between Macy’s and what used to be Mervyn’s looks different. The biggest change, of course, is that Mervyn’s is closed. The store is scheduled to be demolished in the coming weeks. The teen store next to Mervyn’s – called Alley Kat – also is closed. The NASCAR store moved to a spot across from Macy’s. A photo studio will open soon near The Body Shop.

One other tip for bargain shoppers: Old Navy is going through a denim change and all of its jeans will hit the

Read more »

Your now-almost-daily 787 Dreamliner order news:

Boeing today announced 787 orders from two aviation companies, Columbian airline Avianca and Mideast aircraft leasing firm LCAL.

Avianca ordered 10 787s becoming the first South American carrier to sign up for the Dreamliner. The order is worth about $1.5 billion at list prices.

Dubai-based LCAL, which was founded just to lease 787s, added one 787 to its existing orders. LCAL now has 15 Dreamliners on order. LCAL was the first aircraft leasing company to order the 787, committing to six of the new-technology planes in May 2005.

Read more »

Melanie Dressel, president and CEO of Tacoma’s Columbia Banking System, announced late this afternoon that Columbia had acquired Mountain Bank Holding Co. of Enumclaw and Town Center Bancorp of Portland. The deals, valued at $60 million for Mountain and $45.1 million for Town Center, will put Columbia’s total assets at $2.9 billion when approved by shareholders and regulators.

Following approvals, expected in the third quarter, Mt. Rainier National Bank will become Mount Rainier Bank, while Town Center will be rebranded as Columbia. Oregon’s Bank of Astoria, acquired by Columbia in 2004, has retained its name.

Based in Enumclaw,

Read more »

Yesterday’s announcement that Restaurants Unlimited had been sold to a Florida capital management firm will have no adverse affect on Tacoma’s Stanley & Seafort’s steak house, the general manager said today.

"It will give us more opportunity to grow. Not one thing will change here," said Scott Leffel.

Steve Liff, managing director of the $3.5 billion Sun Capital Partners, of Boca Raton, said today that his firm plans to expand the brands of Restaurants Unlimited "organically through the store base as well as through new stores. The company hadn’t grown in recent years." Liff did not release financial

Read more »

The Better Business Bureau is alerting businesses and consumers about numerous e-mail scams using the BBB name and fake BBB e-mail addresses. The e-mails contain hyperlinks that can lead to downloads of a computer virus.

Thousands of counterfeit e-mail messages to businesses and consumers, purporting to be a complaint filed with the BBB, have been received all over the United States and Canada, the BBB reports.

Read more »

Horizon Financial Corp., Bellingham-based parent of Horizon Bank, today announced a quarterly cash dividend of $0.125 per share. The dividend will be paid on May 3 to shareholders of record on April 6.

Horizon also announced that fourth-quarter and fiscal-year earnings will be released before the market opens on April 26. The $1.3 billion hank holding company operates 26 offices and loan centers in Western Washington, including a branch in Lakewood.

Today the News Tribune’s business team is introducing a new e-mail newsletter called Business Extra. It’s a daily update of business news from the Sound Sound.

It comes right to your e-mail inbox each afternoon.

As a subscriber, you’ll be the first know the local business news of the day. You’ll get sneak previews of stories for tomorrow’s paper and bits of South Sound news you won’t find anywhere else.

And it’s free.

For instructions on how to sign up, click here.