Latest news with #McCollam
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Spokane County GOP to advance nominees to replace Larry Haskell, lead Spokane County prosecution
Aug. 14—By Monday, the Spokane County Commission will know what nominees they'll choose from to lead the prosecutor's office. The resignation of longtime Spokane County Prosecutor Larry Haskell last month means the office is now in need of someone to fulfill the remainder of his term through the end of 2026. First elected in 2014, Haskell, 71, spent a decade as the county's top legal representative before resigning due to a desire to "slow down" while he "still has his health," he told The Spokesman-Review in June. State law puts the onus of finding a replacement for a partisan office like a county prosecutor on the party of the outgoing elected official, which in Haskell's case is the Spokane County Republican Party. GOP precinct committee officers will gather Saturday to decide who will round out the list of nominees that will be forwarded to the Spokane County Board of Commissioners to choose from. In a written response, Spokane County GOP Chair Rob Linebarger said the meeting where precinct committee officers vote on the nominees will be closed to the public, but that the party expects to release the list of candidates advancing by Saturday evening. While the GOP can advance up to three candidates, only two have expressed interest so far, Linebarger said. Those attorneys are Chief Criminal Deputy Prosecutor Preston McCollam, who's overseen the side of the office processing criminal offenses since 2023, and Assistant Washington Attorney General Steve Garvin, who spent nearly 20 years in the prosecutor's office before joining the state's legal team in 2022. The county commissioners tapped McCollam to fill the role in the interim as the nomination process has played out. Linebarger said the GOP's candidate-vetting committee, led by precinct committee officer Tim Kinley, interviewed McCollam and Garvin and will make the questionnaires with each available on the party's website, in the days to come. Their early engagement in running for the position next year does not preclude other candidates from being nominated Saturday. The county commissioners will interview the nominees and make their selection in the coming weeks, said Spokane County spokesman Pat Bell. State law gives the commission 60 days from Haskell's departure, which took effect July 18, to make a decision. If they do not make a decision, Gov. Bob Ferguson will have 30 days to make an appointment. McCollam may have an advantage with the commission. Two of the five county commissioners, Mary Kuney and Al French, already have endorsed his campaign. No matter who wins the position from the county commission, the contest will continue. Both candidates have filed to run for prosecutor when the race will appear on Spokane County ballots. McCollam has raised more than $24,000 for his campaign, according to the Washington Public Disclosure Commission. Garvin has raised nearly $22,000. Solve the daily Crossword
Miami Herald
15-07-2025
- Business
- Miami Herald
Albertsons posts a strong Q1 as pharmacy and digital operations steam ahead
Dive Brief: Albertsons generated $24.9 billion in net sales and other revenue during the first quarter of fiscal 2025, up 2.5% compared with the same period last year, the supermarket chain reported sales moved ahead at a 2.8% clip, twice the rate it posted for the metric during Q1 of 2024, driven by double-digit growth in pharmacy and e-commerce raised its expectations for identical sales for the year, based in part on the assumption that its pharmacy and digital businesses will continue to grow, President and CFO Sharon McCollam said during an earnings call. Dive Insight: Albertsons has been directing resources toward its pharmacy and e-commerce operations, and those investments are paying off for the company, executives said during the earnings call. The grocer has seen "sequential improvement" in its core grocery operations and believes that continued strength in that area will help push identical sales up as the year moves ahead, McCollam said. The company now expects identical sales to rise between 2% and 2.75% during fiscal 2025, up from the range of 1.5% to 2.5% it previously forecast. Albertsons' pharmacy and health business grew 20% year over year during Q1, due in part to robust prescription sales and immunization growth, said CEO Susan Morris, who took over the top job in May. That, in turn, is helping to increase sales elsewhere in the store. People who make purchases at the pharmacy counter visit stores four times more often and buy significantly more groceries than other shoppers, Morris said, underscoring the long-term value for Albertsons of investing in that part of its business. Morris added that Albertsons has found that GLP-1 drugs intended to help people lose weight have turned into sales drivers beyond the pharmacy counter despite the fact that the grocer does not make much money on the drugs themselves. While shoppers who take those medications often decrease the size of their basket at the start, they typically start buying things like supplements and lean proteins, "categories that are actually quite profitable for us as a company," Morris said. During Q1, Albertsons saw 25% growth in digital sales, and e-commerce accounted for 9% of total grocery revenue, Morris said. In response to a question from an analyst, McCollam said Albertsons is "getting very close" to breaking even on its e-commerce operations - a goal that Walmart has already achieved and Kroger is also pursuing. McCollam emphasized that Albertsons does not take its Albertsons Media Collective digital media operation into account when evaluating the profitability of its e-commerce business, which she said differentiates it from competitors. "From a financial point of view, of course, [e-commerce] creates data for the media collective, and it is a major provider of information for the media collective. But from a P&L point of view, it's pure. What is driving that is volume, first and foremost," McCollam said. Morris also said during the call that Albertsons sees a strong growth path for its own brand business, noting that while private label penetration was nearly 26% during Q1, the company believes that figure should be at least 30%. Copyright 2025 Industry Dive. All rights reserved.
Yahoo
15-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Albertsons posts a strong Q1 as pharmacy and digital operations steam ahead
This story was originally published on Grocery Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily Grocery Dive newsletter. Albertsons generated $24.9 billion in net sales and other revenue during the first quarter of fiscal 2025, up 2.5% compared with the same period last year, the supermarket chain reported Tuesday. Identical sales moved ahead at a 2.8% clip, twice the rate it posted for the metric during Q1 of 2024, driven by double-digit growth in pharmacy and e-commerce sales. Albertsons raised its expectations for identical sales for the year, based in part on the assumption that its pharmacy and digital businesses will continue to grow, President and CFO Sharon McCollam said during an earnings call. Albertsons has been directing resources toward its pharmacy and e-commerce operations, and those investments are paying off for the company, executives said during the earnings call. The grocer has seen 'sequential improvement' in its core grocery operations and believes that continued strength in that area will help push identical sales up as the year moves ahead, McCollam said. The company now expects identical sales to rise between 2% and 2.75% during fiscal 2025, up from the range of 1.5% to 2.5% it previously forecast. Albertsons' pharmacy and health business grew 20% year over year during Q1, due in part to robust prescription sales and immunization growth, said CEO Susan Morris, who took over the top job in May. That, in turn, is helping to increase sales elsewhere in the store. People who make purchases at the pharmacy counter visit stores four times more often and buy significantly more groceries than other shoppers, Morris said, underscoring the long-term value for Albertsons of investing in that part of its business. Morris added that Albertsons has found that GLP-1 drugs intended to help people lose weight have turned into sales drivers beyond the pharmacy counter despite the fact that the grocer does not make much money on the drugs themselves. While shoppers who take those medications often decrease the size of their basket at the start, they typically start buying things like supplements and lean proteins, 'categories that are actually quite profitable for us as a company,' Morris said. During Q1, Albertsons saw 25% growth in digital sales, and e-commerce accounted for 9% of total grocery revenue, Morris said. In response to a question from an analyst, McCollam said Albertsons is 'getting very close' to breaking even on its e-commerce operations — a goal that Walmart has already achieved and Kroger is also pursuing. McCollam emphasized that Albertsons does not take its Albertsons Media Collective digital media operation into account when evaluating the profitability of its e-commerce business, which she said differentiates it from competitors. 'From a financial point of view, of course, [e-commerce] creates data for the media collective, and it is a major provider of information for the media collective. But from a P&L point of view, it's pure. What is driving that is volume, first and foremost,' McCollam said. Morris also said during the call that Albertsons sees a strong growth path for its own brand business, noting that while private label penetration was nearly 26% during Q1, the company believes that figure should be at least 30%. Recommended Reading Albertsons needs to move fast as it looks to regroup, experts say Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
