Residents who used free tax-preparation services this year have something to be excited about — they received $1 million more in refunds versus last year’s tax season.

Preparing the returns was a group called The Asset Building Coalition of Waco. It included volunteers from NeighborWorks Waco, A.J. Moore Academy, AARP and Baylor University’s Hankamer School of Business.

The group served 3,904 taxpayers this year free of charge. That was down from 4,776 last year, but total refunds jumped 26 percent to $4.9 million this year.

Ron Smith, director of the Academy of Finance at A.J. Moore Academy, said students learn tax codes and prepare returns as part of their curriculum. “The students are gaining invaluable real-life experience and a sense of giving to the community, and the citizens of Waco and surrounding areas have a location to electronically file their tax returns free of charge.”

Smith said the average income for taxpayers served at A.J. Moore’s site was $18,000.

Jewelry store moving

I’ve received several calls and e-mail messages from people wondering about the former TCBY yogurt shop at 801 N. Valley Mills Drive and what’s going in there now.

I’m told that Waco Jewelers will move into that building sometime in August.

It has been doing business for 15 years and is currently located at 5201 Sanger Ave.

Italian Garden opening

Nick Colaku tells me he will open an Italian Garden restaurant soon in the former Mr. Gatti’s pizza parlor at Lake Shore Drive and North 19th Street, in RiverBend shopping center.

He has operated an Italian Garden in China Spring for nearly three years, and that location will remain open “for now.”

Firm hosts tech day

Industry representatives from Waco and beyond are invited to “Technology Day” at Texas Machine-Tool International, a new company in Bellmead’s fledgling industrial park.

The event will last from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday, and visitors will get the chance to see what the business is all about.

It does high-end work for the aerospace and robotics industries and will display such features as Fanuc Robotics, laser tracking systems, laser calibration systems, laser radar, scanning arms and indoor GPS devices.

On Friday, the public is invited to attend a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the business hosted by the Greater Waco Chamber of Commerce. It begins at 3 p.m. and refreshments will be served.

The company, located at 600 Research Ave., employs about 20 people.

President Michael J. Sullivan said hourly employees start at about $8 but can make as much as $30.

Hillcrest staff lounge

I noticed a very interesting building permit issued by the city of Waco. It was for interior work on the staff lounge at the new Hillcrest Baptist Medical Center. The estimated cost is $400,000, according to the permit.

That’s going to be a very nice place to relax.

Downtown coffee shop

Steps are being taken to place a coffee shop at 716 Austin Ave., which is the annex for the historic Waco Hippodrome Theatre downtown.

The Cooper Foundation has put up $36,000 for a study on how the work can be done without jeopardizing the historical look of that location.

Expect a shop in place by year’s end or by next summer at the latest, sources say.

mcopeland@wacotrib.com

757-5736