Just about everyone is conflicted on all the bailouts going on these days. Rescuing banks and automakers are sold to the public by telling us about the apocalyptic destruction that doing nothing would spark. So Americans are going deeper in debt, with no end in sight. It's a sickening feeling. ...more

December 12, 2008

The BayWalk entertainment complex in St. Petersburg is still open, but there is a question about how long it can survive. Banks holding mortgages on the property began foreclosure action in Pinellas County Circuit Court on Nov. 20. ...more

December 10, 2008

The BayWalk entertainment complex in St. Petersburg is still open, but there is a question about how long it can survive. ...more

December 9, 2008

Gov. Charlie Crist says he's contemplating an emergency freeze on foreclosures for the holidays. ...more

November 25, 2008

Gov. Charlie Crist says he's contemplating an emergency freeze on foreclosures for the holidays. ...more

November 24, 2008

A man accused of robbing two banks in Palm Harbor received additional charges today, police say. ...more

November 24, 2008

E.T. Clark of Port Richey sees parallels between the current financial system problems and the savings and loan industry collapse of the 1980s. ...more

November 22, 2008

Pinellas detectives have arrested a Clearwater man in connection with a pair of bank robberies and say he's a suspect in three others. ...more

November 21, 2008

First came the banks looking for a federal rescue plan to stay afloat. Next it was the automakers seeking a bailout. And now state governments say they, too, need emergency federal assistance to remain solvent. ...more

November 17, 2008

The most idiotic nonsense design by any automobile manufacturer was made by Ford and probably others was to change the material of the intake manifold, I think it's called, and which I refer to as the water jacket on top of the engine, next to and under the injectors, to plastic. This water jacket replacement recently cost me over $1,000 to replace in my Crown Victoria because plastic cannot be welded good enough to withstand the high temperatures from the engine that the liquid carries. Metal can be welded. Ford, in their stupidity, had changed this important engine part from metal, which lasts over 20 years, to a short-life plastic. When this liquid jacket-manifold burst on my 1,500-mile trip on a Saturday, my trip was completely ruined as no one works on weekends in the Carolinas and no banks are open, and no small independent mechanics that you might find will accept credit cards. ...more

November 14, 2008