The UPS Store at 1818 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., in the Chapel Hill North shopping center, is launching Operation: SWAK (Sealed With A Kiss) to deliver Valentine's Day greetings to U.S. troops and veterans. Through Feb. 14, the store will provide free first-class postage (41 cents) for one-ounce valentines and letters to U.S. military personnel stationed overseas or to veterans in VA hospitals.

Coffee shop back after renovation

Padgett Station, the organic coffee shop and bistro at 401 E. Main St. is open for business again under new ownership. The store had been closed for renovations since early this winter.

Downtown sees openings galore

Nearly a dozen new stores and restaurants are open or opening soon downtown, according to the Chapel Hill Downtown Partnership.

• Jernigan-Wicker Fine Arts and Pearson Fine Arts, an arts and antiques gallery, will open in February at 142 E. Franklin St.
• The smell of cookies should be wafting from Sugarland Bakery at 140 E. Franklin St. within the next few weeks. Construction remains under way at the store, which originally had been scheduled to open in October 2007.
• There'll be fried chicken, chicken sandwiches, chicken tenders, chicken salad, spicy chicken wings and other poultry preparations at Cluck-U Chicken, a national franchise to open soon at 127 E. Franklin St.
• Have a smoothie or a tapioca "bubble" drink at Chill Bubble Tea, now open at 145 E. Franklin St.
• Baby shower? Get a present at Glee Kids, a children's boutique offering clothes, shoes, gifts and gear for kids ages 0 to 8, to open in February in University Square.
• Watch the big game at the Carolina Skybar, now open at 136 E. Rosemary St. with two 90-inch video projectors, two 50-inch flatscreens and nine other TVs.

Market bans unhealthy items

Weaver Street Market has removed trans fats, high fructose corn syrup from its shelves.

Research has shown that trans fats are directly associated with heart diseases, says the co-op's newsletter, and high fructose corn syrup has no nutritional value while the subsidy-driven overproduction of corn leads to environmental harm. Affected foods include Orangina, Balance bars and some Tofutti products.