Jeans face an uncertain future amid yoga wear rage

NEW YORK — Americans' obsession with jeans is beginning to wear thin.

Jeans long have been a go-to staple in closets across the country. After all, not many pieces of clothing are so comfortable they can be worn daily, yet versatile enough to be dressed up or down.

But sales of the iconic blues fell 6 percent during the past year after decades of almost steady growth. The decline is being driven by women, but men's interest in jeans also is fading. Why? People more often are sporting yoga pants, leggings, sweatpants and other athletic wear instead of traditional denim.

The shift is partly due to a lack of new designs since brightly colored skinny jeans were a hit a couple years back. It's also a reflection of changing views about what's appropriate attire for work, school and other places that used to call for more formal attire.

"Yoga pants have replaced jeans in my wardrobe," said Anita Ramaswamy, a Scottsdale, Arizona high-school senior who is buying more leggings and yoga pants than jeans. "You can make it as sexy as skinny jeans, and it's more comfortable."

To be sure, the jeans business isn't dead: Customer Growth Partners, a retail consultancy, estimates denim accounts for 20 percent of annual sales at the nation's department stores.

But sales of jeans in the U.S. fell 6 percent to $16 billion during the year that ended in June, according to market research firm NPD Group, while sales of yoga pants and other "active wear" climbed 7 percent to $33.6 billion.

And Levi Strauss, which invented the first pair of blue jeans 141 years ago, is among jean makers that acknowledge their women's business has been hurt in part by what the fashion industry dubs the "athleisure" trend. That's led them to create new versions of classic denim that are more "stretchy" and mimic the comfort of sweatpants.

BIRTH OF THE BLUES

It's one of the few times jeans haven't been at the forefront of what's "trending." Businessman Levi Strauss and tailor Jacob Davis invented jeans in 1873 after getting a patent to create cotton denim workpants with copper rivets in certain areas like the pocket corner to make them stronger. By the 1920s, Levi's original 501 jeans had become top-selling men's workpants, according to Levi's corporate website.

Over the next couple of decades, the pants went mainstream. In 1934, Levi's took advantage of the rise in Western movies and launched its first jeans aimed at affluent women who wanted to wear them on dude ranches. Then teens boosted popularity of the pants, first among the greasy-hair-and-leather-jacket set in the 1950s and then, the hippies in the 1960s.

But teens' biggest contribution to jeans' rise was the name itself: Until the 1950s, the pants were called overalls or waist overalls, but in the following decade, teens started referring to them as jeans. During that time, jeans took on a bad-boy image — popularized by actors like James Dean and Marlon Brando in such roles — which led many schools to ban kids from wearing them to class.

In 1960, Levi's began using the 'jeans' name in ads and packaging. And over the next few decades, jeans became even more of a way for people to express themselves. In the 1960s to early 1970s, hip-huggers and bell bottoms became an anti-establishment statement. Then in the 1970s and early 1980s, jeans became a status symbol when designer brands like Jordache rolled out more chic versions. More recently, names like 7 For All Mankind made $200 jeans, helping to push sales up by 10 percent to $10 billion in 2000, NPD said.

IRONING IT OUT

Jeans have faced other rough patches. One came in the mid-1970s, when denim sales fell 3 to 4 percent, while corduroy pants surged in popularity, with sales rising 10 to 12 percent, according to NPD estimates.

NPD declined to offer more historical sales data because of changes it made in its methodology recently, but the group's chief industry analyst Marshal Cohen said jean sales fell about 3 percent again with the resurgence of khakis 12 years ago. That was the last decline until now.

Fashion watchers say the latest decline could be the longest. The "athleisure" trend is the biggest threat jeans have faced because it reflects a fundamental lifestyle change, said Amanda Hallay, assistant clinical professor of fashion merchandising at LIM College in Manhattan. "Everyone wants to look like they're running to the gym, even if they're not," she said.

The trend is mostly being driven by women. U.S. sales of women's jeans fell 7 percent in that period, while the men's jeans business fell 3 percent, NPD said.

As a result of jeans' waning popularity, retailers and designers are focusing more on activewear and less on denim. For instance, J.C. Penney recently has doubled its selections in casual athletic styles for the back-to-school season and scaled back growth of its denim business.

And designers are pushing new versions of jeans. Both Levi's and VF Corp., the maker of Wrangler and Lee jeans, are rolling out jeans that they say are stretchier. And many brands are making so-called jogger pants, a loose-fitting sweatpant style that has elastic cuffs at the bottom of the leg.

"If casualization is what everyone is looking for, we can push the innovation," said James Curleigh, president of the Levi's brand.

It's too early to tell whether the new styles will help jeans regain popularity. Jennifer Romanello, for one, said she's not interested in them.

"If I want yoga pants, I will buy yoga pants," said the publishing executive from Rockville Centre, New York. "I just don't see jeans crossing the line to be yoga pants."

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Follow Anne D'Innocenzio at http://www.Twitter.com/adinnocenzio

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Starbucks debuts at Boston Star Markets

Shoppers at two Star Markets in Boston can now turn to Starbucks to fuel their trips through the supermarkets' aisles.

The Seattle coffee chain debuted its first locations inside Star Markets yesterday in the Fenway neighborhood and on Morrissey Boulevard in Dorchester. Both serve its full menu.

The openings are part of a larger relationship that Starbucks already has with 
Albertsons and Jewel Osco, two of the other grocery chains operated by AB Acquisition LLC, the parent company of the West Bridgewater-based Star Market and Shaw's Supermarkets since last year.

They're also part of an effort to restore the 99-year-old Star Market brand. Its new owners have been expanding the chain — which has grown from 14 locations to 21 after former Shaw's were rebranded — and repositioning it with expanded all-natural products and new services, such as carrying groceries out to customers' cars.

"Starbucks has a great brand, great company and story, and we wanted to be partners with them to make their products available to our customers," said Jeff Gulko, spokesman for Star Market and Shaw's. "We do have plans for additional locations and will share information … as it becomes available."

The Starbucks deal comes with no restrictions on the other brands of coffee that Star can sell, Gulko said.

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King-size Kia K900 takes on Euro sedans

The Kia K900 might be the first vehicle I have reviewed that I'd rather be chauffeured around in while comfortably ensconced in the back seat.

The cavernous rear compartment covered in supple Napa leather was downright swanky, with ventilated seats that power reclined and power lumbar support in the form of air bags that inflate to allow passengers to dial in lower-back comfort. A drop-down center armrest provided climate control, seat heater dials and a rear window sunshade switch. There was ample foot- and headroom.

While the K900 provides a good mix of standard features on its $59,500 base model, the upmarket features that were found on our tester were part of a VIP package that cost an additional $6,000. The K900 is similar in many aspects to its cousin, the Hyundai Equus. Hyundai owns a portion of Kia and both companies currently share the talents of German designer Peter Schreyer.

The king-size K900 has a 5-literV8 engine that produces 420 horsepower and needs all those horses to move the heavy luxury sedan around town. An eight-speed automatic transmission provided a smooth transfer of power to a rear-wheel drivetrain. The K900 soaked up the bumps and was livelier than expected through the turns.

The K900 was a pleasure to drive on the highway. The combination of Kia's adaptive cruise control, which maintains a predetermined distance with vehicles that are ahead, blind-spot warning, lane-departure warning and a 900-watt surround sound system with a total of 17 speakers made a 90-minute drive seem like 10 minutes. The only time I heard any road noise was with the window down.

Long, narrow headlamps that extended from the nose nearly halfway down the front fenders create a presence that garners plenty of attention, with people commonly asking with furrowed brows, "That's a Kia?"

No detail was spared on the K900's interior, which was on par with the luxury sedans from Europe. A 16-way, power adjustable driver's seat included an 
extendable seat cushion and a power adjustable 
headrest. A 9.2-inch infotainment screen provided easy-to-read navigation. Wood accents along the center console and on the steering wheel enhanced the K900's upmarket feel.

Parking the K900 in Boston proved to be a challenge despite the K900's back-up camera and a surround view monitor that stitches together images from four cameras, but parallel parking has never been one of my strengths.

At just under $67,000 and packed with comfort and advanced features, the K900 is a bargain compared to the base price of the full-size offerings from Audi, BMW, Jaguar and Mercedes-Benz. However, I doubt that sales of the K900 will make much of a dent in the luxury car market segment. The K900 is more of a concept car illuminating Kia's ambitions.

• 2015 Kia K900
• MSRP: $59,500
• As tested: $66,900
• MPG: 15 city, 23 highway

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IRS says it has lost emails from 5 more employees

WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service has lost emails from five more employees who are part of congressional probes into the treatment of conservative groups that applied for tax-exempt status, the tax service disclosed Friday.

The IRS said in June that it could not locate an untold number of emails to and from Lois Lerner, who headed the IRS division that processes applications for tax-exempt status. The revelation set off a new round of investigations and congressional hearings.

On Friday, the IRS issued a report to Congress saying the agency also lost emails from five other employees related to the probe, including two agents who worked in a Cincinnati office processing applications for tax-exempt status.

The disclosure came on the same day the Senate's subcommittee on investigations released competing reports on how the IRS handled applications from political groups during the 2010 and 2012 elections.

The Democratic report, released by Sen. Carl Levin of Michigan, said both liberal and conservative groups were mistreated, revealing no political bias by the IRS. The Republican report, issued by Sen. John McCain of Arizona, said conservative groups were clearly treated worse.

The IRS inspector general set off a firestorm last year with an audit that said IRS agents singled out tea party and other conservative groups for inappropriate scrutiny when they applied for tax-exempt status.

Lerner's lost emails prompted a new round of scrutiny by Congress, the Justice Department, the inspector general and at least two federal judges.

The IRS blamed computer crashes for all the lost emails. In a statement, the IRS said all the crashes happened well before Congress launched its investigations.

The IRS first told Congress in June that other employees involved in the probe also had computer problems. At the time, IRS Commissioner John Koskinen promised lawmakers a report on whether any had lost emails. The report was issued Friday.

"Throughout this review, the IRS has found no evidence that any IRS personnel deliberately destroyed any evidence," said the IRS statement. "To the contrary, the computer issues identified appear to be the same sorts of issues routinely experienced by employees within the IRS, in other government agencies and in the private sector."

When Congress started investigating the IRS last year, the agency identified 82 employees who might have documents related to the inquiries. The IRS said 18 of those people had computer problems between September 2009 and February 2014. Of those employees, five probably lost emails — in addition to Lerner — the agency said Friday.

Lerner, who was placed on leave and has since retired, has emerged as a central figure in congressional investigations. The other five employees appear to be more junior than she.

In addition to the Cincinnati workers, they include a technical adviser to Lerner, a tax law specialist and a group manager in the tax-exempt division.

In general, the IRS said the workers archived emails on their computer hard drives when their email accounts became too full. When those computers crashed, the emails were lost.

"By all accounts, in each instance the user contacted IT staff and attempted to recover his or her data," said the IRS statement.

The IRS has said it stored emails on backup tapes but those tapes were re-used every six months. The inspector general's office is reviewing those tapes to see if any old emails can be retrieved.

"The IRS has lost thousands of emails, but worse yet, completely lost the American people's trust," said Sarah Swinehart, a spokeswoman for House Ways and Means Republicans. "The DOJ must appoint a special prosecutor so the full truth can come out."

Attorney General Eric Holder has turned down numerous requests from congressional Republicans for a special prosecutor, citing numerous investigations already underway.

Friday's reports by the Senate subcommittee on investigations mark the conclusion of just one investigation. The Justice Department and three other congressional committees are continuing their probes.

Levin is chairman of the investigations subcommittee and McCain is the ranking Republican. Their staffs routinely work together on investigations, and while they don't always agree on the results, it is highly unusual for them to issue such diverging reports.

"The investigation found that the IRS used inappropriate selection criteria, burdensome questions and lengthy delays in processing applications for 501(c)(4) tax exempt status from both conservative and liberal groups," Levin said in a statement.

The Democratic report slams last year's audit by the IRS inspector general. It says the IG report was incomplete because it focused only on the treatment of conservative groups. The IG's report "produced distorted audit results that continue to be misinterpreted," the Democratic report said.

J. Russell George, the Treasury inspector general for tax administration, said his investigation is ongoing, with facts "still coming to light."

"I firmly stand behind the audit report that we issued last year, showing the inappropriate treatment of applicants for 501 (c)(4) status, for which the IRS apologized," George said in a statement. "It is important to remember that the IRS accepted all of the recommendations contained in our audit report."

McCain's Republican report says far more conservative groups were singled out for extra scrutiny. They were also asked more questions and were more likely to have their applications rejected or withdrawn.

"The IRS selected conservative groups out of normal processing, placed them on a separate list, stopped work on their applications completely, forced them to answer intrusive questions about their behavior and demeanor at meetings and delayed their applications for multiple years," the Republican report said. "Our investigation has uncovered no evidence that liberal groups received the same expansive inappropriate treatment that conservative groups received."

The Democratic report said investigators reviewed 800,000 pages of documents and conducted 22 interviews with current and former workers at the IRS and the inspector general's office. The investigators, however, were not allowed to see confidential taxpayer information, so many of the documents were blacked out.

Only two committees in Congress have the authority to see confidential taxpayer information: the House Ways and Means Committee and the Senate Finance Committee. Those two committees are continuing their probes.

___

Follow Stephen Ohlemacher on Twitter: http://twitter.com/stephenatap

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The Ticker

Rosengren: No rush for Fed to raise rates

Federal Reserve officials shouldn't be in a hurry to unwind monetary stimulus because elevated slack in the U.S. job market is keeping inflation below the Fed's target, said Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren.

"Significant excess capacity remains in labor markets," Rosengren said yesterday in a speech at an annual conference held by the New Hampshire and Vermont Bankers Associations in Boston. "It seems to me appropriate for monetary policy to continue to be patient in the interest of ensuring that the economy reaches full employment and the 2 percent inflation target as quickly as possible."

S&P sets another record high

U.S. stocks ended higher yesterday, lifting the S&P 500 to a fresh closing high, after a weaker-than-expected jobs report was taken as a sign that the Federal Reserve will not begin raising interest rates anytime soon. Stocks had traded lower after the government reported fewer U.S. jobs were created in August than expected. By early afternoon, however, major indexes turned positive, led by utilities. Fed officials have made it clear that they see the labor market as still struggling, which partially justifies keeping rates at rock-bottom levels.

Foes of Mass. bottle deposit expansion bill have already spent $5.4 million

Opponents of proposed expansion of the state's deposit law have already pumped more than 
$5.4 million into a campaign to defeat the question on the November ballot.

Nearly all the money — $5 million — came from the Washington-based American Beverage Association, a trade association representing the non-alcoholic beverage industry.

The ballot question would expand the current law to include bottled water and other non-carbonated beverages not included in the original law. It is Question 2 on the ballot.

Supporters of the question have raised about $293,000. The bulk of that has come from the Massachusetts Sierra Club.

The Sierra Club and other environmental groups say updating the decades-old law will reduce litter and encourage recycling.

Critics say it will hurt small businesses by forcing them to handle an increase in bottle returns.

L Rockland Trust announced that Elizabeth K. Souza, left, has joined its investment management group as vice president and financial consultant. She serves clients in the New Bedford, Dartmouth, Fairhaven, Rochester, and Wareham areas. Prior to joining Rockland Trust, Elizabeth served as a senior financial advisor at Santander Investment Services for the past 12 years.

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Family Dollar rejects Dollar General’s revised buyout offer

Family Dollar announced Friday morning that its board of directors has spurned rival Dollar General's latest buyout offer due to continued concerns over antitrust issues.

The announcement comes just three days after Dollar General increased its offer for the discount retailer and added safeguards aimed at soothing Family Dollar's concerns that the deal would run afoul of federal antitrust regulations.

Family Dollar, based in suburban, N.C., wasn't convinced.

"Our board of directors, with the assistance of outside advisers and consultants, reviewed all aspects of Dollar General's revised proposal and unanimously concluded that it is not reasonably likely to be completed on the terms proposed," CEO Howard Levine said in a statement. "There is a very real and material risk that the transaction proposed by Dollar General would fail to close, after a lengthy and disruptive review process."

The board reaffirmed its support for a deal with Virginia-based Dollar Tree, which Levine said "delivers attractive value in the form of immediate upfront cash and upside participation in a combined Dollar Tree-Family Dollar entity, as well as closing certainty."

Family Dollar, founded in Charlotte in 1959, announced in July it had reached agreement on a $74.50 per-share cash-and-stock deal with Dollar Tree. But larger Tennessee-based rival Dollar General last month offered to buy Family Dollar in a $78.50 per-share all-cash deal – $4 a share, or 5.4 percent, higher than the Dollar Tree offer.

Family Dollar rejected Tennessee-based Dollar General's offer four days after the unsolicited bid emerged. On Tuesday, Dollar General increased its offer to $80 per share and said it would be willing to divest itself of as many as 1,500 stores to avoid problems with federal antitrust regulators.

Dollar Tree and Family Dollar use different retail strategies — everything at Dollar Tree sells for $1, while Family Dollar has many price points. Dollar General, on the other hand, has a business model virtually identical to Family Dollar. Analysts have said that means more duplicate functions could be cut in a merger, likely at the headquarters.

Family Dollar contends the overlap between its model and Dollar General's makes it more likely antitrust regulators will frown on a deal with Dollar General.

Family Dollar and Dollar Tree, in press releases issued Friday morning, said they are accelerating their timeline to close their deal, expecting to do so by the end of November.

They also said Dollar Tree is willing to divest itself of as many stores as necessary to obtain approval from federal regulators. The companies said they expect the Federal Trade Commission to request more information on their deal next week, but added that they ultimately expect approval.

Their deal, as amended, "is clearly superior to Dollar General's revised proposal based on antitrust risk, deal certainty and time value of money," Dollar Tree CEO Bob Sasser said in a statement. "Unlike Dollar General, we expect to be required to divest few, if any, stores because our business model is significantly different from Family Dollar's model."

Dollar General said Friday that it is evaluating next steps and remains committed to acquiring Family Dollar. The firm has previously said if Family Dollar's board doesn't enter into discussions on its deal, it will take its offer directly to Family Dollar's shareholders.

Analysts who follow the companies have said shareholders might have a difficult time saying no to Dollar General's offer. Some have said Dollar General can afford to increase its bid to as much as $90 per share.

BB&T Capital Markets analyst Anthony Chukumba and associate Dan Cannata said in a research note to clients that they were surprised Family Dollar turned down Dollar General's revised offer.

They said Family Dollar remains a "must have" for Dollar General since Dollar General's multi-year turnaround plan has petered out and it would face stiffer competition from a combined Dollar Tree-Family Dollar firm.

"While we are hard pressed at this point to predict the next chapter in this ongoing soap opera, we think Dollar General is likely to come back to the table with a revised proposal," they wrote.

Dollar General CEO Rick Dreiling, in fattening his firm's offer earlier this week, had suggested that a federal antitrust analysis would focus not on his firm's competition with Family Dollar, but instead would center on Wal-Mart, the main driver of Dollar General's strategic and pricing decisions.

Dollar General has said it began studying the antitrust issues more than a year ago. It also hired Richard Feinstein, former director of the Federal Trade Commission's antitrust enforcement bureau, to review the company's analysis.

Dollar General said Feinstein agreed with the company's belief that the original terms of its bid would have withstood scrutiny.

Dollar General has said it was so confident in its deal that it will pay a $500 million reverse breakup fee to Family Dollar should antitrust regulators block it.

Family Dollar and Dollar Tree took pains Friday to try to bat down Dollar General's antitrust analysis. Family Dollar listed eight bullet points in its press release outlining why Dollar General's deal poses greater risk. The law firm of Cleary Gottlieb, which represents Coca-Cola and other large corporations on mergers and acquisitions, is advising Family Dollar.

Family Dollar's press release also quoted one of its board members, Ed Garden, as saying the breakup fee holds an after-tax value of less than $3 a share and "does virtually nothing to compensate the Family Dollar shareholders for assuming that risk" of antitrust troubles.

Garden is co-founder of Trian Fund Management, a major Family Dollar shareholder. The BB&T Capital Markets analysts said Family Dollar's board must be deeply concerned about the antitrust issues, since Trian would potentially leave $46 million on the table by staying with the Dollar Tree offer.

The stakes are also high for Family Dollar's 1,400 corporate employees who work in suburban Charlotte.

The proposed Dollar Tree deal envisions Dollar Tree and Family Dollar keeping many of the corporate jobs there. Levine would stay on at the combined company for at least two years, reporting to Dollar Tree's Sasser. Dollar Tree also plans to keep the Family Dollar name on many of the combined company's stores.

Dollar General hasn't said what it might do with the Matthews headquarters jobs or the Family Dollar name, or what Levine's role would be.

Levine sent employees a memo Friday updating them on the latest developments.

One employee who asked to remain anonymous said workers are worried, and turnover is increasing.

"Morale is definitely down at headquarters," said the worker, who wasn't authorized to speak publicly about the situation. "There is a lot of anxiety and trepidation. But nobody has let their foot off the gas. We want to serve the customers."

Family Dollar stock fell about 1 percent to $79.19 per share in mid-afternoon trading.

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(Charlotte Observer staff writer Rick Rothacker contributed to this report.)

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©2014 The Charlotte Observer (Charlotte, N.C.)

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Todd beginning new era at 'Meet the Press'

NEW YORK — If he's to succeed as the new moderator of "Meet the Press," Chuck Todd says viewers need to be thinking about the show more than just on Sunday mornings.

Todd begins his effort to lift the long-running public affairs program out of its doldrums this weekend with the biggest "get" possible for one of those shows — an interview with President Barack Obama. Todd replaces David Gregory, let go by NBC with "Meet the Press" sinking into third place in the Sunday morning ratings.

Todd, a fixture of NBC's political coverage since 2007, said he wants the "Meet the Press" brand at work all week with digital and online reports, and analysis provided to other NBC News shows. He's given up his "Daily Rundown" morning show on MSNBC to concentrate on the effort.

"I don't want to overpromise here," he said. "I feel that in three or four months, you're going to be able to say, 'good grief, 'Meet the Press' is turning out stuff almost hourly. It's not a weekly anymore.' If you're not feeling that in four to six months, then that's not good."

That's a long way from the slogan Tim Russert voiced during his years as moderator: "If it's Sunday, it's 'Meet the Press.'" Russert, who died in 2008, thoroughly dominated the genre, beating his closest competitor by more than a million viewers a week. This year, "Meet the Press" averages 2.71 million viewers, or about a million fewer than Russert in his last year. CBS' "Face the Nation" with Bob Schieffer is averaging 3.09 million and ABC's "This Week" with George Stephanopoulos is at 2.9 million.

Gregory's exit was ugly. After a story in April said NBC hired a "psychological consultant" to interview Gregory's wife and friends — NBC said it was a brand consultant — there was a steady drip of news reports that he would be fired until it was done last month.

"Nobody wants to start in that fashion," Todd said. "But this is a tough business. Everyone who's in it knows what you're getting into. It doesn't change how I put together the show."

He takes over at a time many people have tuned out Washington politicians and journalists, said Frank Sesno, a George Washington University professor and former Washington anchor for CNN. Yet programs like "Meet the Press" are needed more than ever to provide context, especially with fewer opportunities on TV for long-form interviews, he said.

Todd is an inspired choice with a deep knowledge of Washington dating back to when he was editor of National Journal's "The Hotline," Sesno said.

"His challenge is to take his insider knowledge and make it appealing to people outside the Beltway," he said.

Fortunately for Todd, "I view Chuck as an outsider," said Alexandra Wallace, senior vice president at NBC News in charge of the Washington programming. She's been looking at a map, figuring out places across the country where Todd will be sent to report over the next few months.

"Meet the Press" also was built for a different time, when people couldn't get news and analysis instantly and newsmakers needed the Sunday shows to get their messages across. The show needs to adjust, Wallace said. NBC never thought the brand had outlived its usefulness, she said.

A panel planned for Sunday with mayors from across the country is an example of a broader look that is being sought, Wallace said.

"It's important to point out to Washington places where politics is actually working," Todd said.

NBC announced that "Morning Joe" host Joe Scarborough will join "Meet the Press" as a regular member of a roundtable discussion. Tim Russert's son, Luke, will begin regularly reporting for the show his father led. Other changes, such as a new set, will be introduced gradually, Wallace said.

Todd is anxious to begin, his anxiety amplified by not having his MSNBC show as an outlet this week.

"I've been trying to get three hours of sleep a night," he said. "It's been difficult."

___

David Bauder can be reached at dbauder@ap.org or on Twitter@dbauder. His work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/david-bauder .

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Updates have duplex seeming brand new

This Beacon Hill duplex near the State House is newly redone, thanks to many improvements the current owners have made in the past year.

The first-floor and basement Unit 47 at 47 Mount Vernon St. is one of 14 condos in two adjoining brick buildings. The two-
bedroom, 2,286-square-foot duplex, on the market for $1,750,000, has three full bathrooms, one of which is completely new and another just renovated.

A private vestibule entrance leads from Mount Vernon Street through a French door into an oak-floored foyer with a coat closet. To the right is a spacious living/dining area with two large windows, refinished walnut-stained oak floors, a stainless steel fan and a woodburning fireplace. The dining area has a rope-suspended chandelier.

The adjacent recessed-lit galley kitchen has just been redone with 30 white cabinets, gray granite counters and glass mosaic tile backsplashes. The stainless steel Jenn Air appliances are only a few years old.

On the other side of the living/dining area is a newly carpeted bedroom with paneled wainscoting. Across the hall sits a newly redone bathroom with gray porcelain tile floors, a pedestal sink and glass mosaic tile surround for a tub/shower.

Oak stairs lead down to a large newly carpeted master bedroom suite on the basement level with recessed lighting and a stainless steel fan above. The current owners combined two closets into one large walk-in with a centerpiece built-in dresser with wardrobe spaces on either side.

A en-suite master bathroom features double green granite-topped vanities, a granite-topped raised whirlpool tub and a ceramic tiled walk-in shower.

Down a carpeted hallway are several closets, one of which holds a stacked Samsung washer/dryer.

Off the hallway is a carpeted study, currently used as a nursery, that doesn't count as a third bedroom because it lacks a window. There's a utility area off this room that holds the central heating and air-conditioning systems with enough room left over for a workshop.

At the end of the hall, the current owners have installed a new full bathroom with a gray porcelain tile floor, a white ceramic sink and porcelain-tiled tub and shower.

The unit doesn't come with an on-site parking space, and spaces at nearby garages such as Boston Common and on Cambridge Street will run around $300 a month.

Home Showcase

• Address: 47 Mount Vernon St., 
Unit 47, Beacon Hill
• Bedrooms: Two
• Bathrooms: Three full
• List price: $1,750,000
• Square feet: 2,286
• Price per square foot: $766
• Annual taxes: $13,238
• Monthly condo fee: $390
• Location: Near corner of Mount Vernon and Joy streets, about a quarter mile down Beacon Hill to retail and restaurants on Charles Street. Several blocks from offerings on Cambridge Street, including Whole Foods market.
• Built in: 1850; converted to condo 1982, updated 2012-14
• Broker: Melinda Sarkis of Hammond 
Residential at 617-587-4609

Pros:

• Spacious living dining area with fireplace
• Newly added full bathroom on lower level
• Redone kitchen and refurnished hardwood floors

Cons:

• Master bedroom on basement level without windows
• No on-site parking

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Wynn eyes way in with T land

The MBTA is "aiding and abetting" Wynn Resorts' plans to develop a casino in Everett by offering to sell a combined two-acre block of land that would give the casino giant a new way to access the proposed site, allowing it to skirt using any land in Boston, a casino opponent charged yesterday.

But T spokesman Joe Pesaturo said that while Wynn officials approached the transit agency — the company in an Aug. 26 letter to the T offered to pay 
$6 million for the three parcels surrounding the MBTA's Everett repair facility — the property will be on the market in "an open and competitive bidding process."

"The T will sell it to the highest bidder," Pesaturo told the Herald in an email, adding,"The MBTA was approached by Wynn, who is interested in acquiring the land for casino-
related purposes. The MBTA met with Wynn representatives in order to hear Wynn's plans. The MBTA informed Wynn that it would be open to a land transaction but that it must be an open and public process."

Celeste Myers, a co-founder of No Eastie Casino who is running for state representative, said the MBTA should not be selling its parcels just to help out Wynn.

"It's aiding and abetting the developer and enabling them to remove themselves from their responsibility as a host community," she said. "This is just another jab at the city of Boston."

Pesaturo described the parcels, which are on the edges of the T's 21-acre maintenance and repair yard, as "surplus property."

A Wynn spokesman yesterday declined to discuss the land sale, saying simply that its letter to the MBTA is "self-explanatory."

Kate Norton, a spokeswoman for Mayor Martin J. Walsh, also declined to comment on the T's willingness to sell its land but she pointed out that Wynn had refused to furnish the city with any documents that would show the location of its entrances and exits and whether they encroached the Boston city line.

After striking a lucrative surrounding community agreement with Wynn competitor Mohegan Sun for its $1.3 billion proposed Suffolk Downs casino in Revere, Boston withdrew from talks with Wynn, saying the developer was withholding key information, and ceded the decision on community impact fees to the state Gaming Commission.

The state Gaming Commission then yanked Boston's surrounding community status with the Wynn casino project in a controversial move last month that Walsh slammed as a snub to the city's taxpayers.

One of the parcels Wynn wants to buy — it's currently the near entrance to the T yard on Horizon Way — would be used for the casino's main four-lane entrance, and would allow the developer to avoid crossing the Boston city line. Another parcel would be used to create a service road for delivery trucks and employee vans.

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Job growth hits yearly low

The nation's job growth last month slipped to its lowest level of the year, as fewer people sought work and the food industry took a hit from the Market Basket dispute.

Employers added 142,000 jobs in August, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics — less than the 225,000 economists had expected and well below the 212,000 average of the previous 12 months. Job numbers from June and July were also revised downward by 28,000.

And while the unemployment rate fell to 6.1 percent from 6.2 percent, that was because more people without jobs stopped looking for one.

"The fact that the labor force shrank in August is not particularly good," said Doug Handler, chief U.S. economist for IHS Global Insight. "We need the labor force to grow to continue to drive growth."

Handler said it is difficult to say what is behind the decline in the labor force.

"Some of it could just be flat-out discouragement," he said.

Eric Rosengren, president of the Boston Federal Reserve, called the report "disappointing" in a speech yesterday, pointing out that while 7.3 million people are considered employed, many of them are part-timers who are unable to find full-time work.

The food and beverage industry lost 17,000 jobs last month, a decline attributed at least in part to part-timers at Market Basket whose hours were eliminated as worker protests calling for the reinstatement of CEO Arthur T. Demoulas brought the grocery chain's business to a virtual standstill.

Those jobs will show up in the employment report for September as new jobs.

Still, economists noted month-to-month volatility in job numbers is not unusual, and other indicators point to an improving economy.

"It's still one month," said Robert Murphy, a Boston College economics professor. "We need to see what might happen over the rest of the year."

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