Ceiling collapse closes Children’s Orchard downtown

Last week’s storm has turned into this week’s headache for the owners of Children’s Orchard, a resale shop for children’s clothes, toys and equipment in downtown Lawrence.

The store, at 742 Mass. , has been closed since Wednesday, when the first coat of ice left little reason to open the shop because many customers were staying home, said owner Dawn Thompson, above.

That night, however, a leaky roof caused ceiling tiles to collapse, carpets to become soaked and about $500 in cribs and other equipment to become ruined.

Thompson is hoping to reopen Thursday, once the mess is cleaned up.

“It’ll be like a grand opening all over again,” said Thompson, who opened her shop Nov. 17. “We’ll have all new inventory.”

Securities: Rates mixed in Monday’s auction of Treasury bills

Interest rates on short-term Treasury securities were mixed in Monday’s auction.

The Treasury Department sold $16 billion in three-month bills at a discount rate of 1.735 percent, up from 1.715 percent last week. An additional $14 billion was sold in six-month bills at a rate of 1.830 percent, unchanged from last week.

The three-month rate was the highest since Nov. 26 when the bills sold for 1.920 percent.

The new discount rates understate the actual return to investors 1.769 percent for three-month bills with a $10,000 bill selling for $9,956.10 and 1.872 percent for a six-month bill selling for $9,907.50.

Class action: Atchison Casting settles lawsuit for $1.8 million

Atchison Casting Corp. announced Monday that it had reached an “agreement in principle” to settle a consolidated securities class action suit pending against the company.

Atchison Casting would establish a $1.8 million settlement fund, to be paid by the company’s insurance carrier. The settlement is subject to court approval.

All claims will be dismissed without any admission of liability or wrongdoing, the company said. The company and top executives were accused of issuing false and misleading financial statements that affected buyers of stock between Dec. 10, 1997, and Nov. 3, 2000.

Lawsuit: Drugstore chain accused of overcharging customers

Eckerd Corp. has been hit with a lawsuit accusing the drugstore chain of making some $100 million by deliberately shortchanging customers in 19 states on their prescription medicines.

Eckerd customer Shirley Minsky is seeking unspecified damages and is asking a Florida judge to declare the case a class-action lawsuit covering all Eckerd customers. Minsky alleges that for the past two years, Eckerd did not fill some prescription drug orders in full but still charged the full price.

The Clearwater, Fla.-based company is the nation’s fourth-largest drugstore chain, with some 2,600 stores, including some in Olathe and Overland Park.