• The long-awaited remodeled Ralphs grocery store in Bluff Heights is ready to open.

There has been a Ralphs at the corner of Fourth Street and Orizaba Avenue for decades, but it has been closed for the past year as it underwent a major remodel and expansion by 7,000 square feet.

The doors will be open by this weekend, according to officials with Ralphs.

The new store includes a deli, salad bar, a larger meat and seafood section and a full bakery. All that expansion means the parking lot will be a little smaller, something people in the parking-impacted area may be a little used to. The doors to the larger Ralphs opened Wednesday.

• The doors opened Wednesday, but the official grand opening for Powell’s Sweet Shoppe on Second Street is at 10 a.m. this Saturday.

Powell’s is an old-fashioned candy shop with a nostalgic look and feel. The shop has some of those old-time candies — like gigantic swirling lollypops — but there also are the popular modern sour candies and everything else.

And it has 24 flavors of gelato, something cool on those hot days. Powell’s is located at 5282 E. Second St. (the former home of Tilly’s before it moved one door down).

• The Los Alamitos Medical Center has been selected to the 2008 Circle of Excellence by its parent company, Tenet Healthcare Corporation.

The Circle of Excellence honors Tenet hospitals that have excelled in areas of service and operation performance. Key factors include patient, physician and employee satisfaction scores, clinical quality scores and financial performance.

This is the fifth consecutive year that the Los Alamitos Medical Center has won the award. To learn more about Los Alamitos Medical Center, visit www.losalamitosmedctr.com.

• For the 12th time in the last 13 years, the Port of Long Beach has been named the best seaport in North America by Cargonews Asia.

The Asian Freight and Supply Chain Awards, in its 22nd year, is given by the highly regarded publication serving logistics and supply chain professionals in the Asia-Pacific region.

“It’s a great honor for the Port and I think it speaks volumes to all the customer focus the staff has. We are proud to be known for our customer-friendliness,” said Port of Long Beach Deputy Executive Director Christopher Lytle.