TAMPA What drives someone to sleep in a tent outside an electronics store for two days? You could say "bargains," but you'd be only half right. The people camped outside the Best Buy store on North Dale Mabry Highway said they were celebrating Thanksgiving in a fun, if non-traditional, way. ...more

November 26, 2009

There could be less jingle in the Salvation's Army's hallmark red kettles this season. The charity is testing kettles that take debit and credit cards. ...more

November 25, 2009

ShopperTrak, a retail research firm, predicted Tuesday that total holiday sales will rise 1.6 percent compared with a year ago, which would be good news for retailers in the aftermath of last year's steep decline. ...more

October 21, 2009

A handful of Manatee County convenience stores and gas stations have spent the day dubbing surveillance tapes from Monday evening, the night Dr. James Briles came home from work and reported finding his wife, Kathleen, dead. Pulling surveillance video is common in the search for a criminal. Detectives have not released the name or description of the person they are looking for in the videos. The sheriff's office did confirm today that Sheriff Brad Steube has returned from vacation to help handle the case. Steube met with Kathleen Briles's family. ...more

August 5, 2009

Pasco County sheriff's investigators are looking into a rash of gas thefts that involved more than a few gallons. ...more

May 23, 2009

Cheap gas was no joke on April Fool's Day at one gas station in Avon Park - and motorists were lined up for several blocks to fill up. ...more

April 1, 2009

Donning green shirts and signs to save Bellamy Road, about 50 residents recently attended a zoning hearing to protest a new gas station proposed near their neighborhoods. ...more

February 25, 2009

Donning green shirts and signs to save Bellamy Road, about 50 residents recently attended a zoning hearing to protest a new gas station proposed near their neighborhoods. ...more

February 25, 2009

Gasoline prices in the Tampa Bay area continue to climb, despite abundant oil supplies and low oil prices. ...more

February 17, 2009

Gasoline prices in the Tampa Bay area continue to climb, despite abundant oil supplies and low oil prices. Although oil prices remain less than $40 a barrel, the average price of gasoline is creeping closer to $2 a gallon in the Bay area, according to AAA's Daily Fuel Gauge Report. ...more

February 16, 2009