 |
|
The First District Court of Appeals just announced they've denied Allstate's appeal, like the Court had suggested they might a few weeks ago. Read the opinion here. That means Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty can stop Allstate from writing new auto business until the insurer complies with regulators' subpoenas requesting property insurance information.
Jennifer Liberto, Times Staff Writer
The U.S. Attorney's Office says it spent more than $250,000 to prosecute actor Wesley Snipes for failure to file his tax returns.
When Snipes is sentenced in Ocala tommorow for the misdemeanor convictions, prosecutors want a federal judge to order that he pay it back. Prosecutors also want the Orlando native to pay a fine of at least $5-million.
Snipes, 45, is facing as much as three years in prison after a jury convicted him in February on three of six misdemeanor charges of failing to file his taxes. He was acquitted on felony counts of conspiracy and filing a false claim with the Internal Revenue Service.
The U.S. Attorney's Office in Tampa announced the charges against Snipes in October 2006. Prosecutors accused him and co-defendants Eddie Ray Kahn and Douglas P. Rosile of conspiring to defraud the IRS of about $11.4-million in refunds on taxes Snipes paid in 1996 and 1997.
Jurors convicted Kahn and Rosile of conspiracy and filing a false claim.
Snipes hired Kahn, a Lake County resident, in 2000 as a tax consultant. Rosile, a de-licensed Venice accountant, worked part-time for Kahn and prepared an amended return for Snipes. Kahn is facing 10 years in prison and Rosile is facing more than eight years.
The IRS estimated that Snipes failed to report nearly $38-million in gross income from 1999 to 2004. The IRS calculated Snipes' unpaid tax liability for those years as more than $15.6-million.
Snipes' attorneys said at trial that he tried repeatedly to meet with IRS officials because he had questions about his taxes.
Kahn, a tax protester, told Snipes that Internal Revenue Code Section 861 excused Americans from paying taxes on income earned in the United States. Courts have rejected the theory.
In court records asking for the maximum sentence for Snipes, prosecutors say his celebrity status doesn't warrant leniency.
"To the extent that Snipes' background is even a mitigating factor, it is offset by his nearly decade-long effort to escape paying taxes on the lucrative compensation he received as result of that professional success," prosecutors wrote in a court filing. "To the extent that Snips has, in the past, performed charity and good works, such actions should be viewed in the context of what is typical and expected of individuals who have reached defendant's station in life."
Senior U.S. District Judge William Terrell Hodges has set the sentencing for Snipes, Kahn and Rosile to begin Thursday at 9:30 a.m.
-Kevin Graham, Times staff writer
That silence you hear from the 1st District Court of Appeal means Allstate Corp. can continue writing new insurance policies in Florida. For how long, no one is sure.
“I guess we’ll have at least until Monday,’’ Allstate spokeswoman Amy Moore said Friday.
Allstate asked the court Monday for a new hearing, but the court has yet to make a ruling. The Illinois insurer is trying to fight an order by Florida insurance commissioner Kevin McCarty that suspends the company from writing new policies until it hands over documents regulators say are key to an investigation of Allstate’s rate-making practices.
Allstate has managed to avoid the suspension since January.
--Tom Zucco, Times Staff Writer
Progress Energy today announced an agreement to buy long-lead materials needed for its planned nuclear power plant in Levy County.
The St. Petersburg utility announced that it had signed a letter of intent with Westinghouse Electric and the Shaw Group Inc. for certain items, but it did not provide details on the cost or materials. Progress Energy estimated last month that it would cost $17-billion to build two Westinghouse AP1000 reactors, and transmission lines to carry the electricity from the site, several miles north of its Crystal River power station.
"This is a prudent next step that will help us remain on schedule and preserve favorable pricing for key components," said Jeff Lyash, president and CEO of Progress Energy Florida, in a prepared statement released Monday afternoon.
The utility last month filed an application for the plant with state regulators.
Hearings have been scheduled for late May. Other regulatory hurdles include a site application with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, and an operating and licensing application with the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Progress Energy hopes to have the first 1,100-megawatt reactor online in 2016, and the second in 2017.
-- Asjylyn Loder can be reached at aloder@sptimes.com or (813) 225-3117.
WESLEY CHAPEL -- Cypress Creek Town Center is indefinitely on hold, a spokeswoman for the mall said today.
The Richard E. Jacobs Group, developers of the 1-million-square-foot project, and the prospective tenants of the mall agreed last week to halt all construction at the site on Interstate 75 and State Road 56 and postpone its opening, said Deanne Roberts.
The mall was originally scheduled to open in October. "I don't know what the new date will be," Roberts said.
The mall has long been dogged by controversy. Environmentalists sued the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, saying the regulators should never have issued a permit for the Jacobs Group to fill 54 acres of wetlands at the site.
In February, the corps suspended the permit, halting work on the 54 acres that would have been part of the mall.
Mall officials said that they decided last week to stop all construction on the site, because they did not want to risk the mall opening as an incomplete construction. But Roberts denied that Cypress Creek Town Center had lost any tenants because of these problems.
-- Chuin-Wei Yap, Times staff writer
TAMPA -- Delta Air Lines will charge customers $3 a bag to check luggage at curbside, the airline said Friday.
The fee takes effect Tuesday at Tampa International and 10 other major airports, then rolls out at 75 more cities nationwide April 15.
"It's a business decision that reflects today's competitive landscape and cost pressures,'' said spokeswoman Susan Elliott.
Delta and Continental Airlines are the only major carriers that don't charge for curbside check-in. But Delta's fee will be $1 a bag higher than charges at American Airlines, United, Northwest and US Airways. The fee will be waived for the airline's elite-level customers, first-class and business-class fliers, and passengers who check in online.
Will the fee drive passengers from curbside to the ticket counter? "With the baby, probably not,'' said Peggy Braitsch, flying home to Cincinnati from Tampa on Friday with her 20-month-old granddaugher, Mary, in a stroller. "For me? It probably would have.''
One group certainly won't like the change: Prospect of Tampa skycaps working for Delta. Airlines keep the curbside check-in fees. Skycaps say the charges cut into their tips and reduce the number of bags checked at the curb. A group of skycaps in Boston has sued American Airlines, seeking restitution for lost tips.
-- Steve Huettel, Times staff writer
State labor officials said Friday that 4.6 percent of the work force was unemployed in February, the same as in January. That's 422,000 people out of work and looking for jobs. However, the primary reason for the status quo is that both the labor force and the number of jobs shrank.
The big job losses have been in construction, down 12.3 percent from a year ago, and manufacturing, down 5.6 percent. The gains have been in health care, government and food services.
Unemployment in the Tampa Bay area showed slight improvement from last month, though the numbers have not been seasonally adjusted. The unemployment rate was 4.5 percent for Pinellas and Hillsborough, 5.6 percent for Pasco and 6.6 percent for Hernando. Statewide February unemployment was highest in Flagler County (7.4 percent) and lowest in Liberty County (2.9 percent). See the full details here.
--Helen Huntley, Times Staff Writer
At least two Delta flights out of Tampa International Airport were canceled today as the airline began a voluntary inspection of wiring in some of its planes.
The cancellations come a day after American, the nation's largest airline, canceled 132 flights of its estimated 2,300 flights scheduled for today, spokesman Tim Wagner said. That was about 6 percent of American's schedule today after the Fort Worth, Texas-based airline canceled 325 flights on Wednesday.
American's cancellations Wednesday disrupted plans by hundreds of people at TIA. However, the airport's Web site lists no cancellations for American Airlines flights today. The Delta flights that have been canceled are: flight 1897, which was scheduled to depart for New York-LaGuardia at 10:40 a.m., and flight 1836, which was scheduled to depart for New York-JFK at 12:15 p.m. A Tampa airport spokeswoman said both of those flights use the type of McDonnell-Douglas aircraft that are being inspected.
Nationwide, Delta has not specified the number of flights it was canceling today. However, the Atlanta-based carrier said it began voluntarily reinspecting wiring on 117 MD-88 aircraft Wednesday night.
-- Times staff and wire reports
TALLAHASSEE -- Two major pieces of Florida insurance legislation - one that would reduce the state’s risk in the event of a catastrophic hurricane, and another that would both tighten restrictions on insurance companies and freeze Citizens Property Insurance rates until 2010, breezed through the state Senate’s banking and insurance committee today.
The most sweeping proposal, introduced by Sen. Jeff Atwater, R-North Palm Beach, and co-sponsored by Sen. Mike Fasano, R-New Port Richey, includes more than a dozen provisions aimed mostly at tightening penalties for companies that break Florida law, more clearly defining how insurers set their rates, and what happens when the rates aren’t approved.
The proposals also include a rule that would force residential insurers planning to drop more than 10,000 policies to notify the state 90 days in advance, and to stagger the dropped policies “over a reasonable period.’’
The second bill, SB 2156, lowers the state’s catastrophe fund by $3-billion. Last year, the state increased the fund by $12-billion to help lower homeowner premiums.
Both measures head now to Senate President Ken Pruitt, who can refer the bills to another committee, or to the Senate floor for debate.
There is a companion bill for SB 2156 in the House, but no companion for the Atwater bill.
--Tom Zucco, Times Staff Writer
Talk about glum: The state's consumers haven't felt this bad about the economy since December of 1991 when they were coming out of a recession. The Florida Consumer Confidence Index fell five points, to 68, in March, just four points above is 1991 all-time low. "Given these levels and the retail sales data form the U.S. Census Bureau, it is clear that consumers are not in a position to revive an economy that is almost certainly in a recession," said Chris McCarty, director of the survey research center at the University of Florida Bureau of Economic and Business Research.
McCarty said the stage is being set for a recovery, but it won't be forthcoming any time soon. He said he expects housing prices in many Florida markets to bottom out by July.
TAMPA -- Prosecutors said today in federal court that a local father and daughter charged in an international fraud case may have duped investors out of at least $100-million.
Investigators had initially estimated that Paul Gunter, 58, of Odessa, and his daughter Zibiah Gunter, 25, of Oldsmar, scammed overseas investors of at least $70-million. Assistant U.S. Attorney Rachelle Bedke said in court today that that number has grown to nearly $100-million as investigators discover new records in the case.
"The evidence has only gotten stronger as agents seize evidence," Bedke said.
Paul Gunter failed for a third time to provide enough cash and property to convince U.S. Magistrate Judge Thomas B. McCoun III to release him on bail. McCoun wants at least $1-million in a secured bond from Gunter.
The judge said he will allow Gunter more time to work out a probate issue with his deceased mother-in-law's home, which Gunter's wife and brother-in-law have offered to the court as collateral. Several other family friends have offered up property or cash to secure the $1-million.
Zibiah Gunter is out of jail on $150,000 bail, secured with equity from her stepmother's home.
Prosecutors continue to object to releasing Gunter, described as the middle man in the scheme, saying that he is a flight risk. He's in the United States on a green card and has citizenship in England. The judge has also expressed concern about access to cash that Gunter may have in bank accounts around the world.
Federal agents said the Gunters and at least four others hijacked the identities of 54 publicly traded companies and sold bogus stock. Investigators have accused them of ripping off investors in Ireland and Great Britain and dumping illegal proceeds in bank accounts in Central Florida and around the world.
-Kevin Graham, Times staff writer
TAMPA -- State law enforcement officials charged four people today in a multimillion dollar mortgage fraud scheme that stretched through Hillsborough, Pinellas and Polk counties.
Orson Benn, Constance Golder, David Tuggle, Jr., and Eric Steinhauser have been arrested and face prosecution from the Attorney General's Office of Statewide Prosecution.
Benn was the former vice president of Argent Mortgage Company and Golder worked as an account executive, according to Attorney General Bill McCollum's office. Tuggle and Steinhauser, as the mortgage brokers for Tampa-based Sunstate Mortgage Company, submitted more than 300 fraudulent mortgage loans applications to Argent that Benn would approve, McCollum's office said.
Tuggle and Steinhauser paid Benn more than $100,000 to approve the loans. Golder helped facilitate the process by serving as liaison between Argent and Sunstate Mortgage, the attorney general said.
"Mortgage fraud threatens the very essence of the American dream -- the goal of home ownership," McCollum said in a statement. "Unfortunately, Florida ranks first in the nation for the number of mortgage foreclosures, making our citizens who are struggling to protect their homes even more susceptible to fraud, and we must continue to aggressively investigate and prosecute those whose criminal behavior perpetuates these illegal actions."
Of the 300 loan applications, state investigators say 280 were funded and collectively valued at more than $34-million. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Hillsborough County Consumer Protection Agency, Tampa Police Department and Pinellas County Department of Justice participated in the investigation.
The attorney general's office said the four carried out the scheme for more than two years. Investigators described Argent as "one of the nation's largest subprime lenders."
This is the second mortgage fraud case involving Benn, and investigators believe there are other mortgage brokerage companies in Florida with whom he organized a similar scheme.
Benn was previously charged in a case that is currently pending in Polk County Circuit Court. After that initial investigation into Benn's actions, officials began looking at additional targets involved in fraud along with Benn, who has been charged with racketeering, conspiracy to commit racketeering, mortgage fraud and grand theft. If convicted, he faces up to 95 years in prison.
Golder, Tuggle and Steinhauser have been charged with conspiracy to commit racketeering. They each face up to 30 years in prison.
-Kevin Graham, Times staff writer
TAMPA -- An Odessa man still hasn't convinced a federal judge to release him on bond for his alleged participation in an international $70-million fraud case.
Paul Gunter, 58, is trying to raise the $1-million bail set by U.S. Magistrate Judge Thomas B. McCoun III. The judge denied Gunter's bail request on Monday and again at a hearing today.
Court records show McCoun was unsatisfied with $25,000 in stock offered by one of Gunter's associates and testimony that Gunter was not a flight risk. A third bail hearing has been set for March 25.
On Monday, McCoun released Gunter's daughter, Zibiah Joy Gunter, 25, on $150,000 bail. The pair have been charged with conspiring to commit substantive acts of mail fraud, wire fraud, securities fraud and money laundering.
Federal agents said the Gunters and at least four others hijacked the identities of 54 publicly traded companies and sold bogus stock, ripping off investors in Ireland and Great Britain, then dumping the illegal profits in bank accounts in Central Florida and across the world.
-Kevin Graham, Times staff writer
Florida Power & Light today won state approval to build Florida's first new nuclear plants in more than two decades.
The unanimous decision this morning from the Florida Public Service Commission paved the way for the utility to build two new nuclear plants at its Turkey Point power station, 25 miles south of Miami. It also signaled the state’s unwavering support for nuclear power, despite cost estimates that have tripled in little more than a year.
The project could cost $12-billion to $24-billion, depending on the type of reactor FPL selects. It would be among the largest investments ever undertaken by the nation’s electric industry, and perhaps the most expensive construction project ever in Florida.
"This is a very historic day in the state of Florida,'' said Commission Chairman Matthew Carter.
The decision is good news for Progress Energy of St. Petersburg. The utility last week asked the commission for approval to build two new reactors in Levy County, several miles north of its Crystal River power station. Progress Energy estimated the cost at $17-billion, although it insisted that the estimate is "non-binding'' and could go much higher.
The price tag for Progress Energy's nuclear ambitions tripled since the utility announced its plans in late 2006. The skyrocketing costs have reverberated throughout the Southeast, where five other utilities plan similar projects, including Progress Energy’s sister utility in North Carolina.
Florida needs to diversify its fuel supply, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and ensure reliable power for its growing population, the PSC commissioners emphasized in approving FPL's project.
"Simply put, nuclear power is a strategic investment for the state of Florida,'' said Commissioner Nathan Skop.
About 4.2-million Visa, MasterCard and Discover credit and debit card numbers -- 1.6-million of them used at Sweetbay Supermarket locations in Florida in the past three months-- were exposed when hackers tapped into the computer network at the Hannaford Brothers grocery chain in Portland, Maine.
So far fewer than 2,000 incidents of attempted credit card fraud have been identified.
The U.S. Secret Service has opened an investigation into the data theft.
But Hannaford, which handles all payment transactions for its corporate sibling Sweetbay Supermarket in the Tampa Bay area, suggests that any customer who executed a credit or debit card transaction at one of its stores between Dec. 7, 2007, and March 10 doublecheck his card or bank statements for any unauthorized or unfamiliar transactions.
If there are questionable transactions, the company advises that shoppers call the card company, their financial institution or both.
Hannaford and Sweetbay do not know the affected customers' names or ways to contact them. So the company will not be making any calls or sending e-mails to shoppers who may have been affected. So if someone calls asking for personal information regarding the hack, be suspicious because they are not from the grocery chain, the company said.
Hannaford was alerted Feb. 27 by a payment card clearinghouse of an unusual number of payment card transactions. By March 8 the company, in concert with card issuers and federal investigators, had identified the breach and by March 10 had plugged the holes.
An investigation into how and where the breach occurred continues. Hannaford transmits its payment data over phone lines and uses encrypted wireless communications to transmit numbers inside its stores.
-- Mark Albright, Times staff writer
Thanks to huge investments in new rides and attractions, Central Florida -- and Walt Disney World in particular -- continued to dominate U.S. theme park attendance in 2007.
Overall attendance at the 20 largest parks in the country rose a modest 2.6 percent last year according to annual estimates compiled by Economic Research Associates. But Disney's four Florida parks -- four of the five most popular -- led the charge.
The Magic Kingdom topped 17-million visitors for the first time with a gain of 2.5 percent. Epcot and Disney's Hollywood Studios each were up 4.5 percent at 10.9-million and 9.5-million respectively, while Disney's Animal Kingdom was up 6.5 percent to 9.5-million.
Universal Orlando reported a healhty, profitable year at its two Orlando parks with Universal Studios up 3.3 percent to 6.2-million and Islands of Adventure up 2.5 percent to 5.4-million.
Busch Entertainment's Sea World was reported at 5.8-million, up 1 percent, although the company objected to the accuracy of the estimate. Busch Gardens Africa in Tampa, which was compared to a year that featured the opening of its SheiKra thrill ride coaster, was up 1 percent to 4.4-million.
Sources at Busch claimed Sea World drew 6.2-million and Busch Gardens in Tampa, 4.5-million. Disney and Universal didn't fare as well in California where Disneyland, which used to be neck and neck with the Magic Kingdom, fell 2.2- million people behind its Florida counterpart.
Disney's California Adventure was down 4.5 percent, Knott's Berry Farm was off 1 percent and Universal Studios Hollywood experienced no growth.
-- Times Staff Writer
The Sunshine State loves solar, according to a new poll.
Using solar energy showed strong support across party lines, according to the Mason-Dixon poll sponsored by the Florida Solar Energy Industries Association and the Vote Solar Initiative, both solar power advocates.
"Floridians understand the importance of having a long term strategy for for harnessing energy from the sun to power our homes and businesses," said state Rep. Adam Hasner, R-Delray Beach, Florida House majority leader.
State Sen. Burt Saunders, R-Naples, said, "We have a chance to address our growing energy needs in a cleaner, more cost-effective way that protects the environment while keeping the lights on."
The poll quizzed 625 registered voters, asking “Do you think the Florida legislature should or should not encourage investment in solar energy?” Eighty-five percent answered “should,” with 7 percent answering “should not” and 8 percent not sure. Eighty-seven percent of Democrats answered "should," along with 82 percent of Republicans.
Then the poll got down to brass tacks. Sure, solar sounds great — until you have to pay for it. The pollsters asked “Would you support or oppose having the Florida legislature encourage solar energy investment in Florida if it would cost you one dollar or less per month on your utility bill?” With cash on the line, support declined a bit. Eighty-one percent they’d be willing to pay up, 14 percent opposed, and 5 percent weren’t sure. Again, Democrats showed more support, with 86 percent willing to pay. But 78 percent of Republicans also said they'd be willing to reach for their wallets to pay for solar.
-Asjylyn Loder, Times Staff Writer
[Scott Keeler, Times archives]
Contractors that built power plants for Progress Energy sued the utility last week in Tampa federal court for nearly $43-million.
S&B Engineers & Constructors of Houston, Texas, and Bibb and Associates built two new natural gas generators at Progress Energy’s Hines power station in Polk County. The companies allege that the hurricanes of 2004 and 2005, as well as the run-up in world commodity prices, caused the project to go over budget. Progress Energy is liable for those overruns, the lawsuit alleges.
Michael Hornreich, attorney for the plaintiffs, said his firm would not comment on pending litigation. S&B Engineers & Constructors did not return calls for comment.
In 2005 and again in 2006, Progress Energy was given permission by the Florida Public Service Commission to add a hurricane recovery surcharge to customers’ monthly bills to recoup about $380-million in hurricane costs. Those were systemwide costs, and not directly associated with the construction of the Hines generators, said Progress Energy spokesman Buddy Eller.
“We generally don’t comment on litigation," Eller said. "But I will tell you that we certainly think it has no merit.”
- Asjylyn Loder, Times staff writer
Read the complaint here:
The Seminole Tribe of Florida expects to bring Vegas style slot-machine to its Tampa casino this summer with table games, including blackjack, to follow by fall.
The state's first legal games of blackjack and baccarat will debut at the Seminole Hard Rock casino in Hollywood, probably in June, said Jim Allen, CEO of Seminole Gaming.
The tribe plans to start hiring 3,650 card dealers for its seven Florida casinos, he said today at the Seminole Casino in Cocounut Creek. The hiring will be done at local Seminole Tribe casinos and at job fairs in gambling cities such as Atlantic City, NJ. and Gulfport, Miss.
Under a compact with the state, the tribe has the right to run Vegas-style slots and the card games in return for sharing profits with the state. The deal is being challenged at the Florida Supreme Court in a suit filed against Gov. Charlie Crist by legislative leaders. They say the governor doesn't have the authority to sign a compact without legislative approval.
The Seminoles have put about 1,800 new slot machines at their casinos in Hollywood and Coconut Creek. Tampa is next in line, but the availability of slot machines and the time to reconfigure casino floor space will delay their arrival until sometime this summer, Allen said.
Seminole Gaming CEO Jim Allen outlined the Tampa expansion during a morning news conference at the tribe's Coconut Creek casino, where 700 of the Vegas-style machines began operating today.
The tribe expects to eventually install about 15,000 so-called Class III machines across its seven Florida casinos. The first 1,000 opened for business in January at its Hard Rock Casino in Hollywood.
Tribal casinos have traditionally offered bingo-based machines, on which players compete against one another instead of the casino.
-- Steve Huettel, Times staff writer
The founders of Hooters have agreed to sell their 22 restaurants and other development rights to a Charlotte investment firm for $55.1-million. Chanticleer Holdings Inc., a small firm that holds a 2 percent stake in Hooters of America, the separate Atlanta-based company that owns the 433-store Hooter's franchise network, hopes to raise the cash from a bank loan and a public offering that will go to market before the deal closes this summer. Some of the nine founders, including Ed Droste, plan to remain active in the company that owns all the Hooters restaurants in the Tampa Bay area plus a few in Chicago and Manhattan. In the process Chanticleer will transform itself from a closed-end investment firm to an operating company that leaves the current management of Clearwater-based Hooters Inc. in place.
Posters of Robert Irvine in the windows of where his two St. Petersburg restaurants were to go. The posters disappeared Friday. [Scott Keeler | Times]
ST. PETERSBURG -- Celebrity chef Robert Irvine, caught fibbing about his education, culinary experience, British royal relationships and assorted bits of his life, will not open two highly anticipated restaurants in downtown St. Petersburg.
A statement jointly released today by the landlord and Irvine's business partner sidestepped the recent controversy, saying merely that "the timing is not exactly right'' and that and Irvine "cannot commit to spending at least four days a week'' at the restaurant as he had planned to ensure its success.
Home Shopping Network's recent decision to sever ties with Irvine means he will no longer spend much time in the Tampa Bay area.
The project was planned for 400 Beach Drive, the new 29-story, condominium tower at Fifth Avenue N.
Irvine, known for his popular Food Network show, Dinner: Impossible, was going to call his first restaurants Ooze and Schmooze. Ooze was to be a casual, tapas-style spot, and Schmooze was to offer fine dining. The restaurants were to be side-by-side, occupying 7,000 square feet on the ground floor of the Beach Drive tower.
Continue reading "Irvine backs out of St. Pete restaurants" »
Rising food costs and the sluggish U.S. economy have been hard on sit-down restaurants, but few chains are faring as poorly as Shells Seafood Restaurants.
The 23-store Tampa chain says its revenues fell nearly 22 percent in the fourth quarter, to $7.6-million, while its same-store sales fell 18.3 percent. Those figures translated into a quarterly loss of $2.3-million, or 10 cents per share. Shells announced Feb. 29 that president Leslie J. Christon had left the company to "pursue other opportunities."
-- Scott Barancik, Times staff writer
Five months after an FBI raid on its Tampa headquarters, WellCare Health Plans has taken yet another step to show its willingness to reach a settlement with the government.
On Monday it said it has hired a high-powered former federal prosecutor experienced in resolving allegations of Medicare fraud as general counsel. Thomas J. O'Neil III, chair of the Government Controversies group at DLA Piper, a Washington, D.C., law firm, will join WellCare in April.
O'Neil succeeds Thaddeus Bereday, who resigned along with WellCare's chief executive and chief financial officer in January.
WellCare has 2.3-million members in its Medicare and Medicaid plans.
-- Kris Hundley, Times staff writer
In revised employment figures released today, Florida officials gave the Tampa Bay area a dubious distinction: biggest job-loser in the state.
Because of the loss of construction, business service and manufacturing work, there were 11,700 fewer jobs in the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater area in January 2008 compared with a year earlier.
The Agency for Workforce Innovation's annual benchmarking of its employment statistics also turned up another shocker. While the agency's monthly estimates were projecting continued job growth in the Tampa Bay area last year, in reality, job creation stalled last spring and started eroding in July.
Statewide, Florida had a net loss of 7,300 jobs in January, compared to a year earlier. The state, which for years had boasted a lower unemployment rate than the U.S. average, is increasingly matching the national job picture.
A report today said 63,000 jobs were shed nationwide in February, the fastest drop in the labor market in five years.
- Kris Hundley, Times staff writer
If you’re a customer of Tampa Electric or Progress Energy, chances are you probably spent a few more minutes in the dark last year.
The reliability of both utilities worsened in 2007, according to reports the utilities filed this week with state regulators. The average Tampa Electric customer spent nearly 77 minutes in the dark, as opposed to about 69 minutes in 2006. Progress Energy’s customers spent 3.5 minutes more in the dark in 2007, for a total of just more than 78 minutes.
Both utilities blamed the slight uptick on severe weather.
Once a year, the utilities report to the state their System Average Interruption Duration Index, or SAIDI. It’s a system-wide average based on outages and the number of customers. The average doesn’t include lengthy outages caused by hurricanes.
Rick Morera, spokesman for Tampa Electric, said the company had the best record in the state in 2006, thanks to mild weather. Although the system-wide average worsened slightly in 2007, other numbers improved. For example, if your lights went out, Tampa Electric had them back on in 75.3 minutes, two minutes better than 2006.
Progress Energy has been steadily improving its performance, said spokeswoman Cherie Jacobs. When Carolina Power & Light bought Florida Progress in 2000, creating Progress Energy, the average customer spent more than 100 minutes a year without power. Since then, the St. Petersburg utility spent more than $100-million on new equipment, and beefed up tree-trimming programs.
BY THE NUMBERS: Average anual outage per customer in minutes
Tampa Electric
2003: 70.87
2004: 78.43
2005: 83.90
2006: 69.16
2007: 76.80
Progress Energy
2003: 85.8
2004: 77
2005: 74.5
2006: 74.8
2007: 78.3
Source: Progress Energy, Tampa Electric, Florida Public Service Commission
-Asjylyn Loder, Times staff writer
Odyssey Marine Exploration may be sitting on more sunken treasure than previously thought.
When the Tampa company announced last May that it had retrieved more than 500,000 coins from a wreck code-named "Black Swan," outsiders swiftly guessed that Odyssey had found the Merchant Royal, a British merchant ship that sank in 1641 with -- it is believed -- a substantial supply of coins aboard.
That conventional wisdom has changed, however. Today, many knowledgeable observers believe the "Black Swan" and the Merchant Royal are two different wrecks. The good news for Odyssey is that it may be in possession of both.
At a hearing in Tampa federal court Wednesday, U.S. Magistrate Judge Mark Pizzo acknowledged speculation that a ship Odyssey found near the English Channel in 2006 may in fact be the Merchant Royal.
Company representatives were circumspect. Lawyer Allen von Spiegelfield told Pizzo that his clients lacked "conclusive" evidence about the 2006 ship's identity. And in an interview after the hearing, company co-founder Greg Stemm declined to rule out even the original suspicion -- that the wreck known as "Black Swan" is the Merchant Royal.
Perhaps the only thing beyond dispute at Wednesday's hearing was the continuing bitterness between Odyssey and the government of Spain, which believes it has a legitimate claim to both wrecks.
Spain's lawyer, James Goold, continued to question Odyssey's claim that it doesn't know the identity of either ship. He accused the company of withholding key information and suggested it was using the need to protect "trade secrets" as an excuse. Von Spiegelfield and Odyssey general counsel Melinda MacConnel said the company is holding nothing back and that it has a right to protect the wreck sites and its intellectual property.
After the hearing, co-founder Stemm said it could be years before the "Black Swan's" identity is confirmed. He said Odyssey still doesn't know the name of a shipwreck it found in the Dry Tortugas in 1989. But that's Spain's responsibility, he added.
"If no one has a convincing claim, Odyssey Marine, as salvor, wins," Stemm said.
- Scott Barancik, Times staff writer
Greg Stemm poses in front of the Odyssey Shipwreck & Treasure Attraction in New Orleans, in August 2005. [Chris Graythen, Special to the St. Petersburg Times]
An ethanol plant planned for the Port of Tampa, mired in a lawsuit for more than a year, appears cleared for takeoff.
Brad Krohn, president of US EnviroFuels, declined to comment on the lawsuit, or to confirm that it has concluded. But he did say the project was now seeking financing and expected to get under way in the second half of 2008. That suggests a resolution in the project’s legal woes.
Krohn also said the project has changed. Original plans called for a 44-million-gallon-a-year plant that would use corn from the Midwest and reclaimed water from Tampa to make ethanol, an alcohol fuel. That plan has been indefinitely postponed. Instead, Krohn will start with an ethanol storage and blending facility.
“The market conditions are not optimal for building an ethanol plant at this moment,” Krohn said.
US EnviroFuels is moving forward with an ethanol plant in Highlands County. The company received a $7-million grant from the state to build the facility, which will use sweet sorghum to make ethanol. Krohn expected construction on that project to begin some time in 2009.
The Highlands County project is one of many state-funded ethanol projects in Florida.
- Asjylyn Loder, Times staff writer
There are dozens of energy bills wending their way through the Legislature this session, but insiders consider Senate Bill 1544 the one to watch.
Sen. Ben Saunders, R-Naples, presented new language Wednesday morning. The bill proposes tax credits and grants to encourage renewable energy investment, requires that local and regional planning take into account greenhouse gas emissions, and proposes energy-efficiency guidelines for state buildings.
Most important, the bill lays the groundwork for Gov. Charlie Crist’s baby: a system to cap and trade greenhouse gases. The state would set greenhouse gas reduction targets that get stricter over time. Polluters would get emissions credits. Those that emit a lot will use up their own credits and have to go out and buy more from companies that slash greenhouse gas emissions and don’t need all their credits.
Developing a new energy policy is among Crist's top priorities, so it's likely the session will see lots of horse-trading on the issue. Negotiations could continue until the session's last minutes.
Saunders' bill closely resembles draft language prepared by Crist's staff and would solidify policies Crist set out in his executive orders at his July climate summit. While the bill contains the broad strokes, there are dozens of other bills in the House and Senate that represent the competing interests of lobbyists supporting utilities, developers, builders, environmentalists, biofuel backers and renewable energy investors. Some of those bills could merge into a broad energy package as the session wears on.
- Asjylyn Loder, Times staff writer
The experts said it would probably happen. Just like in the 1990s, this latest housing downturn would push some builders out of the state. Last week, Illinois-based Kimball Hill Homes announced it would leave the Florida market.
The company promised that all homes now under construction would be completed, and warranties would be honored.
"Over the course of the next 10 months, we will be winding down our Florida homebuilding operations in an orderly manner and fulfilling all our obligations," Chief Executive Ken Love said in a news release that announced the company would lay off 75 employees at its corporate office. "These are not decisions we made lightly."
Love noted that Florida has been among the hardest hit states in the housing slump and problems in the credit and mortgage industries. The privately held company will continue building in its other markets of Illinois, Texas, Nevada and California.
Kimball Hill's communities include Ashton Oaks in Wesley Chapel and Sawgrass Creek in the Trinity area. Its Web site said it had planned to open two new communities in the Tampa Bay area: Putter's Pointe in Weeki Wachee and Stone Creek in Valrico.
Tampa Bay housing analyst Marvin Rose said in November that he expected the slowdown to claim some casualties. Tousa and Leavitt & Son recently filed for bankruptcy protection under Chapter 11. Kimball Hill has no plans to do the same, a company spokesman said Wednesday.
- Lisa Buie, Times staff writer
Progress Energy Florida will make its first tilt at windmills, with a $1.3-million project. The utility won $123,868 last week from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection to promote wind energy.
“We believe small-scale wind generation could play an important role in meeting Florida’s renewable-energy needs,” said John Masiello, director of alternative energy strategy for the St. Petersburg utility.
Progress Energy and Florida’s Turnpike Enterprise have pledged land for the project, and the Florida Institute of Technology will provide its expertise. The demonstration project will provide 15,000 kilowatt hours of wind energy every year, about enough to run a single household for a year. The utility hasn’t yet decided where in their 35-county service area it will put the wind turbines. The state listed the location as Citrus, Lake, Levy, Pinellas, Orange or Sumter County. It’s unclear when the project will get under way.
- Asjylyn Loder, Times staff writer
Tech Data Corp. said Tuesday that it's buying assets of Scribona AB for $20-million to $25-million.
Scribona has operations in Sweden, Finland and Norway.
The acquisition would allow the Clearwater IT distribution company to serve its customers and vendors throughout the Nordic region. It would also help the company "better leverage its investment in European IT and logistics," a news release said.
- Madhusmita Bora, Times staff writer
Gov. Charlie Crist asked for federal disaster relief Friday to help Florida's shark fishing industry, which has been crippled by troubled stocks and regulatory restrictions.
Once a cheap alternative at seafood counters, shark has essentially disappeared from the commercial marketplace in recent years. Sharks are slow growing, bear only a few young at a time and are particularly susceptible to fishing pressure. This year, federal regulators have banned all shark fishing at least through August as they consider new quotas.
Shark fishing has always been a boutique industry, with Floridians holding half the permits for the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic. Several dozen fishermen and a few seafood houses might have enough landings and sales to qualify for aid.
It will be an uphill battle. Disaster relief is allowed under federal law, but typically has applied to natural disasters, such as recent hurricanes that devastated Gulf of Mexico shrimp boats. The U.S. Commerce Department recently rejected a relief plea from the Northeast ground fishery, which has also been hobbled by overfishing and tighter regulations.
"We recognize that important details need to be addressed, including the amount of aid needed, how it would be administered and whether federal aid would be contingent on state matching dollars,'' Crist wrote to U.S. Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez. "However, because of the immediate impact occurring to Florida's commercial shark industry, we believe an important first step is to make a determination that this industry qualifies for federal fishery disaster relief."
- Stephen Nohlgren, Times staff writer
A surge in sales worldwide delivered Clearwater-based Tech Data Corp. a 39 percent bump in profits for the fourth quarter ended Jan. 31. Net Income for the quarter jumped to $50.2-million, or 92 cents a share, compared to $36.1-million, or 66 cents per share.
Analysts were expecting 88 cents per share.
CEO Bob Dutkowsky said in a conference call this morning that he is "extremely pleased" with the performance, and credited the year-old sales division, AIS, the company's strengthened customer-vendor relationships, and its focus on growing sectors for the results.
The company reported a 8.4 percent surge in sales in the Americas; European sales saw a 4.2 percent gain. Revenue climbed 5.9 percent to $6.48-billion.
Wall Street cheered the results.Tech Data shares added $1.84, or 5.5 percent, in premarket trading.
- Madhusmita Bora, Times staff writer
Federal prosecutors filed new fraud charges Monday against former boy band producer Lou Pearlman, who faces a sentence of up to 25 years in prison under a plea deal. Pearlman, 53, will plead guilty or no contest under the agreement with prosecutors that is expected to be presented at a hearing Thursday morning in U.S. District Court in Orlando.
In a four-count court filing late Monday, prosecutors expanded the bank fraud charges against Pearlman to include conspiracy to defraud investors through a Ponzi scheme he ran out of his Orlando office, as well as mail and wire fraud, money laundering and bankruptcy fraud. Go to the Money Talk blog for a copy of the charges and more details.
Lou Pearlman wasn't joking around when he told friends that he was talking to prosecutors about a plea agreement, as the Times reported last week. A notice filed this morning in U.S. District Court in Orlando says that a change of plea has been set for Thursday at 10 a.m.
Pearlman, the producer behind boy bands *NSync and the Back Street Boys, has been behind bars since his arrest last June in Indonesia. U.S. Magistrate Judge Donald Dietrich entered a “not guilty” plea on Pearlman’s behalf in July on federal bank fraud charges.
For background on the case and further details as they develop, see the Times' Money Talk blog.
- Helen Huntley, Times staff writer
(Photo by Phelan M. Ebenhack)
You may be eligible for a refund if your AT&T/Cingular cell phone was billed for ring tones, horoscopes or other third-party services you thought were free. Florida Attorney Gen. Bill McCollum announced a settlement this morning that includes refunds for customers, a $2.5-million payment to his office and an additional $500,000 to pay for consumer education on safe Internet use. Read more details on the Money Talk blog.
Fort De Soto Park's North Beach has been named the top beach in the United States by TripAdvisor, the Web site that touts itself as the world's largest online travel community.
TripAdvisor called the beach "a portrait of tranquility, with a spectacular combination of soft, white sand, calm and clear water and a laid-back atmosphere.''
The survey of TripAdvisor members and staffers included three other Florida beaches in their Top Ten: St. Andrew's State Park in Panama City, South Beach in Miami and Pensacola Beach.
Fort De Soto also was honored in 2005 as the nation's #1 beach by Dr. Stephen Leatherman, a.k.a. Dr. Beach.
A Day in the Life of Fort DeSoto Beach
TampaBay.com Beach Guide: Beach news, events and restaurant reviews
- Steve Huettel, Times staff writer
Orlando Anheuser Busch Cos. signed a deal to put about $5-billion worth of theme parks in Dubai.
Busch Entertainment Corp., the brewing giant’s theme park unit, unveiled the deal with a unit of Dubai World, Nakheel, an arm of the Dubai government. Nakheel will finance the parks, paying Busch license and management fees.
The location is a five-mile-wide series of islands called Jebel-Ali that are being pumped up from the bottom of the Arabian Sea. When completely developed, Dubai World envisions a city of 280,000 with 15,000 hotel rooms and what's being called Busch's Worlds of Discovery -- SeaWorld, Aquatica, Busch Gardens and Discovery Cove.
The Busch parks will be on a 330-acre island shaped like Shamu the killer whale. The first phase, which would open in 2012, will have Sea World and Aquatica, a water park. Several years later a Busch Gardens park, which includes zoo animals and theme park rides, will open along with Discovery Cove, a boutique park that offers personal interaction with dolphins and other sea creatures.
Universal Studios recently signed a licensing deal for a park about five miles away on the Dubai mainland.
Dubai is the second-largest of the United Arab Emirates.
-- Mark Albright, Times staff writer
One-time boy band producer Lou Pearlman is telling friends that he has been working on a plea agreement that would bypass a trial but could result in a sentence of up to 25 years in prison. More details here on the Money Talk blog.
Wireless company AT&T said today it plans to invest more than $220-million in Florida's wireless network this year. The company will add more than 70 new cell sites by the end of 2008.
The latest announcement will bring the company's investment in the Sunshine State to more than $1-billion since 2005.
- Madhusmita Bora, Times staff writer
Florida still has a bit of a hangover from Tuesday’s massive mid-afternoon blackout. Florida Power & Light, along with state and federal regulators, are still trying to figure out why a small switch fire triggered a blackout that left millions throughout the state without power.
- Two nuclear reactors at Florida Power & Light’s Turkey Point power station remain off line, according the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Both reactors shut down at 1:09 p.m. Tuesday due to “momentary power fluctuation caused by grid instabilities,” according to an NRC report. The Juno Beach utility will keep the units off line in order to conduct some additional maintenance, said explained FP&L spokeswoman April Schilpp. “We’ll keep you posted, but we don’t have a time now for when it’s going to return to service,” Schilpp said. The utility had 475,000 customers without power at the height of the blackout, and almost all had power restored by early Tuesday evening.
- Tampa Electric had about 50,000 customers lose power Tuesday. Most had power within an hour, and as of 4 p.m. Tuesday, everyone affected by that incident was back on, said spokeswoman Laura Duda. There may have been other, weather-related outages. Tampa Electric also lost two small natural gas units that shut down automatically because of unsafe fluctuations in the electric grid. Both were brought back online quickly.
- Progress Energy said that 152,903 customers lost power, said spokesman C.J. Drake. Most had power within 77 minutes of the outage, and all customers had power by 3:37 p.m.
- The North American Electric Reliability Corp., which sets and enforces electric reliability standards throughout North America, said a total of 2,700 megawatts of generation were lost, along with 15 transmission lines. That’s nearly 5 percent of the state’s winter capacity. The system shed about 4,000-megawatts of load, or about 950,000 customers throughout the state.
- Asjylyn Loder, Times staff writer
Florida is one of 34 states that will share in a $5.9-million antitrust settlement against generic drugmaker Barr Pharmaceuticals. The settlement, which will bring Florida $511,613, stems from the states' allegation that Barr conspired with Warner Chilcott to keep generic versions of oral contraceptive Ovcon off the market. Warner Chilcott reached a separate, $5.5-million settlement with the states' attorneys general last year.
The Tampa Bay area was seventh from the bottom in home price rankings, taking in 20 major cities across the United States.
The S&P/Case Shiller Index for December showed Tampa area prices falling 13.3 percent from a year earlier. Miami ranked in the group last with a 17.5-percent price decline, followed by Las Vegas, Phoenix, San Diego, Los Angeles and Detroit.
It marks an improvement for Tampa, which three months earlier, in September, posted the biggest price decline among the 20 cities. The only price gainers on the December index were Portland, Seattle and Charlotte.
Nationally, the average price decline was about 9 percent, which makes this current housing slump worse than the last one in 1991, Case Shiller said. Prices fell 2.8 percent during the worst moments of the last housing recession.
- James Thorner, Times staff writer
Floridians' confidence in the economy and their own finances rose in February, one month after hitting a 16-year low. But the surge is likely to be temporary, University of Florida researchers said today.
UF's Bureau of Economic Research identified two likely reasons behind the confidence boost: Congress' passage of a federal stimulus package that will lead to billions in one-time tax rebates, and Florida voters' recent approval of a property-tax relief amendment.
Chris McCarty, who directs the bureau's survey research center, said in a news release that he expects confidence to decline again in March. The effects of the stimulus package and property tax relief will likely be short-lived, he said. Moreover, the Federal Reserve Board's reduction in short-term interest rates, while perhaps emboldening lenders to make more loans, has "further weakened the dollar against other currencies." That, McCarty said, has boosted the price of gas and other imports.
Nationwide, consumer confidence continued declining in February. The Conference Board reported today that the U.S. index hit a 15-year-low, excluding a period during the Iraq war in 2003.
- Scott Barancik, Times staff writer
Tampa Bay area home sales started off the year on a down note, dropping 24 percent in January compared to sales a year earlier.
Sales totaled 1,235 last month versus 1,627 in January 2007. The percentage drop was less severe here than across the state. Florida's sales decline was 28 percent, from 9,360 homes in January 2007 to 6,737 in January 2008.
News on the pricing front was also mediocre. The median sales price locally fell from $220,100 to $187,100 the past year, a decline of 15 percent. The state's price decline was 14 percent.
Thee is one consolation: January sales generally stem from contracts signed during the relatively slow Thanksgiving-to-Christmas pause. Real estate optimists predict sales will bottom out this year and slowly turn upward.
- James Thorner, Times staff writer
Slightly fewer tourists traveled to Florida in 2007, the first year-to-year decline since 2001, the state’s tourism marketing agency said. Florida attracted 82.4-million visitors last year, down 1.5-million or 1.8 percent from 2006, according to preliminary estimates by Visit Florida. The number of tourists driving to the Sunshine State was off 5.5 percent, while the number flying rose 2 percent.
“Trends suggest that some vacationers traveling by auto may be staying closer to home,” said Bud Nocera, chief executive of Visit Florida. He pointed to a AAA survey in January in which 34 percent of members said they would consider a vacation near home if gasoline prices reached $3.25 per gallon. (On Friday, average gas prices in Tampa Bay and statewide hit record highs and are expected to continue to rise.)
Other reasons could have influenced their travel decisions as well, Nocera said, from fears about the economy to competition from other destinations.
Steve Huettel, Times staff writer
State Farm, the second-largest property insurer in Florida, told the St. Petersburg Times Friday it will stop writing new homeowner policies in the state effective immediately.
The company, which has about 120,000 policyholders in the Tampa Bay area, cited the "current environment" as the reason for the move. Florida lawmakers last year passed sweeping insurance reforms designed to lower homeowner premiums. After winning a 52 percent rate increase in 2006, State Farm was ordered last year to lower premiums an average of 9 percent.
Bloomington, Ill.-based State Farm announced last July it would drop 50,000 coastal policies in Florida, but has maintained just under 1-million policies statewide. Only state-backed Citizens Property Insurance, with about 1.25-million policies, is larger. State Farm also has about 2.8-million auto policies in Florida.
As current policyholders leave the company and are not replaced, State Farm will inevitably shrink. Allstate, Nationwide and several other large insurance companies have also dramatically cut back their homeowner business in the state, citing the increased risk of hurricane damage and the inability to charge the rates they need to cover their expected losses.
Tom Zucco, Times staff writer
Capping a two-year flirtation, Richmond-based Cherry Bekaert & Holland has acquired 18-year-old Aidman Piser to create the largest Tampa Bay area accounting firm after the national Big Four.
Terms were not disclosed. But Cherry Bekaert will double its size locally to 100 employees and annual billings of $20-million as a result. Terry Aidman, 61-year-old co-founder of the acquired firm, will become managing partner of Cherry Bekaert's expanded Florida practice that already has offices in St. Petersburg, Tampa, Orlando and West Palm Beach. Aidman Piser's accounts include DeBartolo Development, biotech firms and several area beach resorts.
- Mark Albright, Times staff writer
TAMPA -- A bitter winter storm that has shut down major airports in the Northeast is affecting flights at Tampa International Airport.
JetBlue, Delta, American, and Continental flights that were supposed to arrive in Tampa from New York, Newark and Boston have been canceled, and more have been delayed. Departing flights also have been canceled.
TIA spokeswoman Brenda Geoghagan said some airlines have been contacting passengers in the Tampa Bay area to let them know their flights have been canceled, and that their tickets will be honored later.
- Curtis Krueger, Times staff writer
The Tampa Bay area set a new record for gasoline today when average prices for regular unleaded reached $3.145 per gallon. It broke the old record of $3.114 per gallon set on Nov. 15 of last year.
Florida's average gas prices set their own record at $3.196 per gallon. Crude oil prices near $100 per barrel get most of the blame for the rise in prices.
The American Automobile Association predicts gas prices could reach $3.75 per gallon by the Fourth of July.
- James Thorner, Times staff writer
Maybe you don’t like your electricity bill, but Progress Energy and Tampa Electric have apparently given customers little other reason to complain. J.D. Power & Associates, a California global marketing information firm, released its utility customer satisfaction survey this morning.
Progress Energy ranked fourth in the region, with a 727 score out of a possible 1,000. Tampa Electric ranked fifth with a score of 723. Florida Power & Light ranked 10th, with a below-average score of 694. The highest ranked was CPS Energy in San Antonio, with 748, followed by South Carolina Power & Light and Southern Company.
The average score in the Southern region was the highest of the four regions, with a score of 705. The scores were based on interviews with more than 13,500 businesses that spend $500 to $50,000 a month on electricity.
The survey took into account power quality and reliability, customer service, billing and payment, price, and communications.
- Asjylyn Loder, Times staff writer
Benjamin Baines Jr., the 21-year-old Clearwater man caught at Tampa International Airport on Sunday with a box cutter hidden in a hollowed-out book, faces a federal felony charge.
A complaint was filed Sunday in U.S. District Court in Tampa charging Baines with attempting to carry a dangerous weapon on an aircraft, which is punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a $25,000 fine.
Baines pleaded guilty in Hillsborough County court Monday to carrying a concealed weapon, a misdemeanor. He was sentenced to 30 days in jail. Baines will make a first appearance in federal court after serving the jail sentence, said Steve Cole, spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Tampa.
- Steve Huettel, Times staff writer
Wireless giant Verizon today debuted unlimited nationwide calling plans, signaling a new course for the cell phone industry.
A couple of hours later, AT&T began touting a similar plan.
For $99.99 a month, the Verizon and AT&T plans allow customers to chat as much as they want with anyone, anywhere and at any time. Until now, prepaid cell phone companies were the only ones offering unlimited plans. Sprint, a rival has unlimited plans, but restricted to certain areas such as Tampa Bay, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Minneapolis.
Verizon also announced new plans for customers who access the Web on their phones. The plans, available March 2, will offer 50 megabytes of data usage for $39.99 a month, or five gigabytes of usage for $59.99
- Madhusmita Bora, Times staff writer
This morning, Progress Energy Carolinas asked federal regulators to approve its plans to build two new nuclear reactors in North Carolina. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has said that the licensing application will likely take more than three years to win approval.
The Carolinas utility picked the Westinghouse AP1000, the same technology on the drawing board for its sister utility, Progress Energy Florida. The St. Petersburg-based utility plans to build a pair of reactors in Levy County. Both utilities have carefully avoided voicing any commitment to build, saying only that its trying to preserve the option.
The utilities remain conspicuously silent on one crucial piece of information: cost.
When Progress Energy announced its plans more than a year ago, it offered a single-reactor estimate of $2-billion to $3-billion. In recent months, the utility -- along with others in the industry -- has backed away from that early estimate, saying it wasn't an all-inclusive estimate. But it has not given a new figure.
The industry has proffered a range of new guesses that double and even triple that early estimate. Perhaps the best guess comes from Florida Power & Light. Unlike its industry brethren, the Juno Beach utility has been unusually candid on the subject of cost. It has offered a two-reactor estimate on the Westinghouse AP1000 that ranges from $12-billion to $18-billion.
Progress Energy Florida plans to file its case for new nuclear with the Florida Public Service Commission some time in March. That utility has said it won't offer new estimates until then. It has estimated the cost of its 10-county, 200-mile transmission project to support the new plant at about $2-billion.
Read more about Progress Energy's new nuclear plans here:
Nuclear Power Costs Surge in Rush to Build -- Dec. 12, 2007
Nature Coast to Nuclear Coast -- Dec. 9, 2007
Utilities Press Land Access Law -- Feb. 7, 2007
Power Line Idea Takes Big Bite from Preserve -- Feb. 16, 2008
- Asjylyn Loder, Times staff writer
Peter S. Rummell, who has led the transformation of St. Joe Co. from papermaker to place maker, is stepping down as chief executive of the Jacksonville company in mid May.
Rummell, a former Disney executive, will remain chairman and be replaced in the top executive spot by Britt Greene, St. Joe's president. The publicly traded company, which owns about 700,000 acres in Florida, continues to suffer from a weak residential real estate market. It reported 2007 earnings of $39.2-million, or 53 cents a share, on revenues of $377-million, compared to net income of $51-million, or 69 cents a share, on revenues of $524.3-million a year ago.
- Kris Hundley, Times staff writer
Gov. Charlie Crist was in Tampa on Friday to help celebrate the grand opening of Cott Corp.’s new digs at 5519 W Idlewild Ave.
The Canadian beverage company has had a bottling plant in Tampa since 1997. The new “global office” doubles Cott’s Tampa employment to more than 200. The office serves as U.S. headquarters, and its employees work with Cott operations in other countries, including Mexico and the