When the sprawling residential-commercial development project that was to be known as Serenova was still on the drawing board, one of the people involved in the project suggested that the center of economic activity in the county was even then shifting from West Pasco to Central and East Pasco. The U.S. 19 corridor would become economically "blighted" and have to be redeveloped, this person suggested. Serenova never got built and the 6,500 acres it would have occupied ended up in the hands of the Southwest Florida Water Management District. The U.S. 19 prediction, alas, is still looking viable. ...more

November 14, 2009

Hunter Douglas Fabrication Co., a firm that makes window blinds and shades, is laying off 191 people in Pinellas Park, according to a layoff notice filed with the state. ...more

May 27, 2009

The Japan-based operator of a cargo vessel that dumped oily sludge into the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean was sentenced today to three years of probation and fined $1.75 million. ...more

February 24, 2009

For the past two years, the home-building industry has been going through a correction. Builders have watched the market turn from "red-hot speculator driven buying" to one overstocked with finished homes, says Gregg Carlson of Maronda Homes. Couple this excess inventory with a mortgage industry meltdown and it's easy to understand why many home builders find themselves fighting for survival, he says. ...more

June 22, 2008

Some call it "Wii-habilitation." Nintendo's Wii video game system, whose popularity already extends beyond the teen gaming set, is fast becoming a craze in rehab therapy for patients recovering from strokes, broken bones, surgery and even combat injuries. ...more

February 10, 2008

After meeting with six licensed and insured pool contractors, we have selected the firm we want to build our dream in-ground concrete pool. What happens after the contracts are signed? ...more

January 12, 2008

A fundraising sale today will benefit the Bayonet Point Regional Medical Center's Volunteer Scholarship Fund, which since its inception has given $50,000 to 60,000 in scholarships to students who are planning careers in health care. ...more

October 10, 2007

The influx of convenient care clinics continues in the Tampa Bay area. Walgreens will open nine Take Care Health Clinics in the Tampa market as part of a nationwide push to add 400 centers to its 6,000 locations in the next year. The local clinics should open by November, company spokeswoman Tiffani Bruce said. She declined to identify specific locations. ...more

October 3, 2007