Tallahassee Democrat (Tallahassee, FL) articles from August 2001

Tallahassee Democrat (Tallahassee, FL) archives from August 2001

Tallahassee, Fla., Retailers Get Serious about Customer Service.
August 1, 2001... Byline: Juana Jordan Aug. 1--Tammie Hampton barely got inside the clothing store when she was greeted by a sales associate showering her with gifts -- a CD and CD holder, a gift card, a small lint brush, a drink coozie and a book cover....

Arsenic Found in Port St. Joe, Fla., Soil.
August 1, 2001... Byline: Bruce Ritchie Aug. 1--The state has found arsenic in soils beneath a Port St. Joe neighborhood and has confirmed the presence of paper mill boiler ash that was dumped there in the 1940s and 1950s. The Florida Department of...

Tallahassee Democrat, Fla., Have You Heard Column.
August 1, 2001... Aug. 1--The "Banana Lady" offers everything from singing telegrams to entertainment at corporate roasts and toasts. Catherine Conrad, owner of Banana Productions, can be reached at 385-5119 or e-mail banana lady@myexcel.com . Fleet's...

Steak & Ale and Semolina to Close Tallahassee, Fla., Restaurants.
August 2, 2001... Byline: Juana Jordan Aug. 2--Check, please. Coming on the heels of recent restaurant closings -- including Shell's Seafood and Cooker -- Steak and Ale on North Monroe Street and Semolina International Pasta Restaurant on Sharer Road...

Tallahassee Democrat, Fla., Business Bazaar Column.
August 2, 2001... Byline: Alice Coale Aug. 2--OPENING THOUGHT: "I came to Tallahassee with $300 in my pocket. For the first six weeks, I was broke and lived out of my car." -- Joe DiMarco. SHOP TALK: All Joe DiMarco had to his name was a paint brush and...

Company to Close Tallahassee, Fla., Traffic-Signal Plant.
August 2, 2001... Byline: Rachel Sams Aug. 2--Peek Traffic Systems Inc. announced Wednesday that it will close its Tallahassee manufacturing plant, lay off an estimated 85 employees and move the rest to its facility in Sarasota. "We have decided to...

Jack Youngblood, Hall of Famer and Duke of Football.
August 3, 2001... Byline: Randy Beard TALLAHASSEE, Fla. _ Any disappointment Jack Youngblood ever had regarding his NFL career can be traced to a Super Bowl. It's not all ancient history, either. Youngblood can point to a recent decade of Roman...

Dig out of your marriage rut.
August 3, 2001... Byline: Jeff Herring Here's what you can do to have a dull, boring and passionless marriage: _Believe that courting, dating, wooing, whatever you wish to call it, ends once you're married. Act like the man whose wife asked "Why don't...

Florida Public Health Agency Loses Top Officials.
August 3, 2001... Byline: Nancy Cook Lauer Aug. 3--Florida's agency charged with safeguarding public health is losing most of its top officials, even as the hurricane season kicks into full swing and concerns escalate over the West Nile virus. Health...

Hurricane-wannabe Barry closes in on Fla. Panhandle.
August 5, 2001... Byline: Tony Bridges and Nancy Cook Lauer As hurricane-wannabe Barry closed in on the Florida Panhandle late Sunday, the Big Bend did the only thing it could do: hunker down and wait for the water to start rising. State and county...

Tropical Storm Barry slouches toward coast.
August 5, 2001... Byline: John Sevigny APALACHICOLA, Fla. _ As Tropical Storm Barry slouched toward the coast Sunday, people in and around this fishing town vowed to ride out the bad weather even as areas just a few miles away were being evacuated. But...

Georgia Regulators Work With Florida Officials to Improve Water Quality.
August 6, 2001... Byline: Bruce Ritchie Aug. 6--Georgia environmental regulators will look for suggestions on how to improve water quality in the Ochlockonee River when they meet with Leon County representatives today. Leon County officials say water...

Check of computer records shows campaign speech on state computer.
August 7, 2001... Byline: Nancy Cook Lauer TALLAHASSEE, Fla. _ Secretary of State Katherine Harris has consistently maintained she kept a "firewall" between her political work for George W. Bush and her role as Florida's chief election official. But...

Hacker Deletes All Data on Tallahassee, Fla., Jewelry Retailer's Web Site.
August 7, 2001... Byline: Juana Jordan Aug. 7--Guy Moore's employees had just finished placing the last of Garnet & Gold's 1,500 new catalog items on the retailer's Web site when its system crashed at about midnight on Friday. The site had been...

Tallahassee, Fla., Health Plan Ranks Again in Top 10 for Member Satisfaction.
August 8, 2001... Byline: Rachel Sams Aug. 8--For the fifth year in a row, Tallahassee's Capital Health Plan has been ranked among the nation's top 10 health plans for member satisfaction. This year, CHP ranked sixth in the nation in an annual study by...

New Rules Designed to Improve Access to Medical Records.
August 8, 2001... Byline: Rachel Sams Aug. 8--Ever wish you had more access to your medical records -- or that other people had less access to them? Soon, those wishes will become reality. Those are just two of the changes you'll see in the next...

Tallahassee Democrat, Fla., Have You Heard Column.
August 8, 2001... Aug. 8--THE CULINARY CAB CO. is now offering lunch delivery, in addition to their existing dinner delivery, from 18 different restaurants. Lunch delivery hours are 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday to Friday. For delivery or to request a book of menus,...

Tallahassee, Fla., Appliance Retailer Makes National Top 100.
August 9, 2001... Byline: Juana Jordan Aug. 9--Between Maryann Van and her parents, they've given more than 80 years of business to Mays-Munroe Inc., a locally owned appliance and bedding store. Why? "Because they're wonderful," said Van, a Tallahassee...

Tallahassee Democrat, Fla., Business Bazaar Column.
August 9, 2001... Byline: Alice Coale Aug. 9--OPENING THOUGHT: "I was born to be a banana." -- Catherine Conrad. SHOP TALK: Kermit the Frog laments, "It's not easy being green." Here's a news flash, little toad: Being 7 feet tall and yellow isn't a...

Back-to-school tips for students of all ages.
August 10, 2001... Byline: Jeff Herring Sorry to bring the summer to a screeching halt, but classes resume many places this month. So, here are a few tips for students from preschool through graduate school _ and life school for that matter. _Get a good...

Tallahassee, Fla., Convalescent Home to Be Renamed, Renovated.
August 11, 2001... Byline: Juana Jordan Aug. 11--For more than 30 years, the nursing facility at 2510 Miccosukee Road has been known as the Tallahassee Convalescent Home. But on Aug. 1, the nursing facility changed hands and its name -- to Vanderbilt Life...

Environmental Threats Persist at St. Marks, Fla., Refinery.
August 12, 2001... Byline: Bruce Ritchie Aug. 12--ST. MARKS, Fla.--The troubled history of the St. Marks Refinery shows that cleaning up a site contaminated with hazardous waste can be a messy, complicated business. In 1985, the Florida Department of...

University Leader Cheers on New Trustees Board at Alumni Convention in Florida.
August 12, 2001... Byline: Melanie Yeager Aug. 12--ORLANDO, Fla.--Fighting for Florida A&M University during his 16 years as president, Frederick Humphries said, left him feeling "very lonely a lot of days." "There were plenty of days I felt like we had...

Moving 'Mountain' is a spiritual tonic for dog days.
August 14, 2001... Byline: Leo Sandon At the movies, it has been a rather wearying summer of failing blockbusters, mindless action pictures and escapist comedies. Tim Burton's "Planet of the Apes," promoted as a reimaging rather than a remaking of the 1968...

Tallahassee, Fla.-Area Growth Policies Face Scrutiny.
August 14, 2001... Byline: Bruce Ritchie Aug. 14--Plantation owner Kate Ireland has championed the protection of wildlife and forests north of Tallahassee. Now she wants to loosen some development restrictions there so she can build on her land at County...

Florida State University Seeks Support for $3 Million Electricity Center.
August 14, 2001... Byline: Melanie Yeager Aug. 14--Florida State University officials think the state's future economy will be only as good as its ability to deliver electricity. And it has asked Enterprise Florida Inc. -- the state's top economic...

Florida A&M University's $6.5 Million Grant to Fund Biomedical Research.
August 15, 2001... Byline: Melanie Yeager Aug. 15-- The development of artificial blood. New drugs to fight Parkinson's disease. Relief of arthritis without side effects such aslike stomach pain. Expansion of Ph.D. programs in pharmacy. ...

Pastor Negotiates to Buy Tallahassee, Fla., AM Radio Station.
August 15, 2001... Byline: Juana Jordan Aug. 15--WTAL has found a buyer. The Rev. R. B. Holmes, pastor of Bethel Missionary Baptist Church, has entered negotiations that will make his company, Live Communications Inc., the sole owner of WTAL (1450-AM)....

Tallahassee Democrat, Fla., Have You Heard Column.
August 15, 2001... Aug. 15--MEET ABOUT WELAUNEE; HIRE A MOSQUITO MAGNET: Development plans for Welaunee -- a 3,000-acre proposed development between Centerville and Miccosukee roads -- will be discussed at a public meeting from 4 to 7 p.m. Tuesday at Dorothy B....

United Way Leader to Head Florida Park System.
August 16, 2001... Byline: Bruce Ritchie Aug. 16--Wendy Mays Spencer, a Tallahassee United Way executive who has no work experience in parks, was named Wednesday to lead Florida's state park system. Some environmental groups questioned the appointment...

Tallahassee Democrat, Fla., Business Bazaar Column.
August 16, 2001... Byline: Alice Coale Aug. 16--OPENING THOUGHT: "Judges do arraignments; lawyers take depositions; major colleges interact with community colleges; doctors here diagnose or observe surgeries there." -- Larry Mackland SHOP TALK: Students...

Supercharge your goals.
August 17, 2001... Byline: Jeff Herring One of the things that frustrated me while in school was that most of the psychology books specialized in complicating things. It's the same with many self-help books as well. I always wondered why relationships,...

Bug Suits Flying Off the Racks in Tallahassee, Fla.
August 17, 2001... Byline: Kathleen Laufenberg Aug. 17--For outdoorsy Tallahasseeans, the question lately has been: To DEET, or not to DEET? But there's another weapon beyond bug spray you can deploy to keep those skeeters at bay: a bug suit. ...

Tallahassee-Based University Board Wants to Open Search for New President.
August 17, 2001... Byline: Melanie Yeager Aug. 17--Florida A&M University's Board of Trustees turned down a suggestion Thursday by President Frederick Humphries to send early applications for his job to an off-campus site for privacy's sake. That...

Tallahassee, Fla., Job Fair Draws 300.
August 18, 2001... Byline: Rachel Sams Aug. 18--A quick glance around the packed parking lot at the Big Bend Jobs and Education Council's job fair Friday showed that lots of folks in Tallahassee are looking for jobs. A quick look around inside the fair...

Three Tallahassee, Fla.-Area Taco Bell Restaurants Close.
August 18, 2001... Aug. 18--Progressive Restaurants Inc., based in Gainesville, has closed three of its 12 Taco Bell restaurants in the Tallahassee area. The Taco Bell in Crawfordville closed earlier this month. In July, the restaurants in Quincy and on...

Petition Urges Federal Government to Head Off Nursing Shortage in Florida.
August 19, 2001... Byline: Bill Cotterell Aug. 19--Pauline Card signed a giant petition urging federal action to head off a shortage of attendants in nursing homes Friday and said the situation is getting critical for elderly patients and those who care for...

Cumulus Broadcasting's Radio Stations Top the Charts in Tallahassee, Fla.
August 20, 2001... Aug. 20--Cumulus Broadcasting is on top again. For the second year in a row, Cumulus dominated the radio market with three of its five stations placing in the top three spots among the 12-plus age group in the Arbitron ratings. The...

HEADLINE HERE.
August 21, 2001... From Tallahassee Democrat TA^-0822.loc.spraying SPRAYING From page 1A By Jeff Burlew Knight Ridder Newspapers There's plenty of controversy surrounding the decision to spray insecticide from a plane over Leon County...

Construction Firm Tries to Blast Out Beavers at Tallahassee, Fla., Store Site.
August 21, 2001... Byline: John Fleming Aug. 21--Maybe they prefer country music, but beavers apparently don't rock 'n' roll. A construction company is having local rock station Gulf 104 blared over the site of a beaver dam in an effort to rid itself of...

National Program Begins Helping Florida Home-Buyers.
August 21, 2001... Byline: Juana Jordan Aug. 21-- Buying a home has just gotten easier -- especially for those who are cash-strapped or may be saddled with debt. The AmeriDream Gift Program -- a 3-year-old national nonprofit organization that provides...

Florida A&M making muscadines user-friendly.
August 22, 2001... Byline: Melanie Yeager TALLAHASSEE, Fla _ Tiny DNA particles swirl in suspension in a beaker. Across the room, green life sprouts from petri dishes under the no-heat fluorescent lights of the lab. It's the patient work of the...

Tallahassee, Fla.-Area Development Team Asks Neighbors for Their Opinions.
August 22, 2001... Byline: John Fleming Aug. 22--Look at any map of northwest Tallahassee and you'll see a vast blank space between Centerville and Miccosukee roads. To the north and south are countless miles of twisting roads, the hallmark of...

Tallahassee, Fla., Firm's Wireless Device Software Draws Attention.
August 22, 2001... Byline: Juana Jordan Aug. 22--They're no KITT, Knight Rider's black, T-top Trans Am crime-fighting partner. But these high-tech devices are the next best tools to TV's early `80s talking car. They're microcomputers -- slim Palm...

Tallahassee Democrat, Fla., Have You Heard Column.
August 22, 2001... Aug. 22--HERE'S A SPECIAL STONE FOR SEMINOLE FANS: Paul Lainhart of Custom Concrete Coating is now offering hand-painted concrete steppingstones. Lainhart's specialty is the Florida State University Seminole stone, but any custom design can be...

High-Speed Provider ExciteAtHome Struggles to Stay Afloat.
August 23, 2001... Byline: Rachel Sams Aug. 23--The Internet service provider that Comcast partners with nationwide to offer its high-speed cable modem service is struggling financially and could go out of business. Shares of ExciteAtHome closed at 56...

Tallahassee Democrat, Fla., Business Bazaar Column.
August 23, 2001... Byline: Alice Coale Aug. 23--OPENING THOUGHT: "If he gets you on the ground, he'll kill you." -- Jimmy Beavers. SHOP TALK: Sweet, lovable Bambi wouldn't hurt a fly. But during rutting season, Bambi transforms into BAMBO. Just ask Jimmy...

FSU offense still has question marks.
August 23, 2001... Byline: Steve Ellis TALLAHASSEE, Fla. _ Bed for Jeff Bowden has been the sofa in the Florida State coaches' lounge. The first-year offensive coordinator heads there instead of home following long hours of two-a-day practices. Bowden...

Tallahassee, Fla., College Students Swimming in Credit-Card Debt.
August 24, 2001... Byline: Rachel Sams Aug. 24--Florida State University junior Lloyd Spring has only one credit card. He likes it that way. But that hasn't stopped six other credit-card companies from sending him cards in the mail. Spring threw...

New Jersey Lab Will Explore Cancer Drug Developed at Florida State University.
August 24, 2001... Byline: Bill Cotterell Aug. 24--A New Jersey cancer research company announced plans Thursday to build a laboratory in Tallahassee to search for new uses of the drug Taxol, used to fight breast, ovarian and lung cancer. The...

True leaders have a vision.
August 24, 2001... Byline: Jeff Herring Here are the universal laws of leadership: _The Law of Authoritarian Style: Authoritarian leaders lead by control and fear. It's a "my way or the highway" approach. They believe their right to leadership comes with...

Gas Prices in Florida Fall, But Pump Watchers Say It's Temporary.
August 25, 2001... Byline: James L. Rosica Aug. 25--The good news: Gasoline prices in Florida dropped more than 5 cents a gallon over the past month, to $1.34 a gallon for self-serve unleaded, according to a new survey by AAA Auto Club South. The bad...

Tallahassee, Fla., Enjoys Housing Boom.
August 25, 2001... Byline: Rachel Sams Aug. 25--As the national economy has cooled off, Leon County's housing market has heated up. Sales of existing single-family homes in Leon County rose 13 percent in the second quarter this year from the same period...

Research Group Says Cybersales Put Florida Economy at Risk.
August 25, 2001... Byline: Nancy Cook Lauer Aug. 25--As shoppers increasingly forgo the pleasure of the mall for the convenience of the mouse, they're putting a major hurt on state revenues. That's according to a report released Friday by Florida...

Florida Students Say Tuition Hike Creates Hardship.
August 25, 2001... Byline: Melanie Yeager Aug. 25--LaKenya Robins credits student loans and God for getting her through college. "I'm working off grace," Robins said of how she's making ends meet while pursuing a fashion design degree at Florida State...

High Utility Bills Shock Educators in Tallahassee, Fla.
August 25, 2001... Byline: Andrew Dunn Aug. 25--Rising natural gas prices meant higher utility bills this past spring for Tallahassee's three largest colleges and Leon County Schools, and officials from each say they are concerned about the unexpected...

McPherson waiting in the wings at FSU.
August 25, 2001... Byline: Jack Corcoran TALLAHASSEE, Fla. _ Forget Charlie Ward, Andre Ware and Ty Detmer. Florida State freshman Adrian McPherson has patterned himself after a quarterback he watched in a flag football league when he was about 10 years...

Florida State University Gets Rid of Last of Mercury Spill.
August 27, 2001... Byline: James L. Rosica Aug. 27--Hazardous material workers have removed the last traces of more than a pound of mercury that leaked out of a broken barometer at Florida State University, contaminating parts of the William Johnston...

Democrats Cry Budget Crisis in Tallahassee, Fla.
August 28, 2001... Byline: Nancy Cook Lauer Aug. 28--Two months into the state's budget year, Democrats see a financial crisis looming. On Monday, they said lawmakers may have to call a special session to fix it. Senate Democratic Leader Tom Rossin and...

Wal-Mart Supercenter Plan Gets Approval from Tallahassee, Fla., Officials.
August 28, 2001... Byline: Bruce Ritchie Aug. 28--More trees, bicycle parking spaces and an improved facade helped a proposed Wal-Mart Supercenter on Thomasville Road win approval by city of Tallahassee staff Monday. The new site plan proposed for the...

Lessons from our 'Puritan' founding father.
August 28, 2001... Byline: Leo Sandon This past week David McCullough's "John Adams" was No. 1 on The New York Times' list of nonfiction best sellers. It has been listed for 11 weeks. The word is that President Bush is reading it during his vacation....

Judge Says Leon County Can't Join Florida Governor's Lawsuit in Budget Dispute.
August 29, 2001... Byline: John Fleming Aug. 29--Leon County has to stay on the sidelines, at least for now, in a budget dispute between Gov. Jeb Bush and the Legislature. Circuit Judge Nikki Clark on Tuesday turned down Leon County's request to join...

Florida Buys Lime Rock Mine in Tallahassee Area.
August 29, 2001... Byline: Bruce Ritchie Aug. 29--The sparkling Ichetucknee River was the subject of both a protest at the Capitol and a state land purchase Tuesday. About 25 people demonstrated outside the Capitol against the state's approval in 1999 of...

Tallahassee Democrat, Fla., Have You Heard Column.
August 29, 2001... Aug. 29--TOAST THE REMODELED ABC SPIRITS: ABC Fine Wine and Spirits at 3015 Apalachee Parkway will host a grand reopening and wine tasting from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday to celebrate its recently finished remodeling project. There will be a $7 fee,...

New Channels, Higher Rates at Comcast.
August 31, 2001... Byline: Rachel Sams Aug. 31--Comcast is adding new cable channels and raising rates effective Oct. 1. ESPN Classic and the Outdoor Life Channel will be added to Comcast's Standard Service tier in Leon County. Comcast Sports Southeast...

Deregulation Phantom Recedes for Relieved Tallahassee Utility Officials.
August 31, 2001... Byline: David Twiddy Aug. 31--The city of Tallahassee's electricity leaders are breathing a little easier. After years of worry that the state was about to allow electric customers to choose their power company like they do their phone...

Florida Gives Tallahassee Elementary School More than $39,000 for High Marks.
August 31, 2001... Byline: Andrew Dunn Aug. 31--Pineview Elementary's grade was so good this year it stopped traffic. Crowds of students cheered on Thursday as police escorted Principal Marilyn Jackson-Rahming, Gov. Jeb Bush and other dignitaries into...

Florida Agency Tightens Regulations after Prepaid Phone-Card Fraud Reports.
August 31, 2001... Byline: Juana Jordan Aug. 31--Roger Mae Johnson just wanted to save a little money on long-distance charges when she purchased a prepaid phone card at a local gas station near her home in Jacksonville. It worked for about three days....

Architect of Florida Technology-Worker Plan to Face Fraud Charges.
August 31, 2001... Aug. 31--A plan to consolidate the state's 1,760 technology employees and a $600 million budget under one office has suffered a serious setback with the resignation and expected arrest Thursday of its architect, Roy Cales. The plan, which...

Put time with kids at top of your list.
August 31, 2001... Byline: Jeff Herring Every now and then I'll get a story sent to me by e-mail that I want to use in this column. One of those came across my desk just the other day. It's called "I Wish I Had a Second Chance." Like many of these...