The Palm Beach Post (West Palm Beach, FL) articles from October 2002

The Palm Beach Post (West Palm Beach, FL) archives from October 2002

Vero Beach, Fla.-Based Aircraft Maker Reduces Expected Output.
October 31, 2002... Byline: Susan Port Oct. 31--VERO BEACH, Fla.--Reeling from poor third-quarter sales and a sluggish economy, New Piper Aircraft said Wednesday it is cutting the number of planes it expects to produce this year. The Vero Beach plane...

Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., Promises to Make Changes to Keep Medicare Patients.
October 31, 2002... Byline: Phil Galewitz Oct. 31--PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla.--With nine days left to fix its infection control problems or lose the right to treat Medicare patients, Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center on Wednesday submitted a correction plan...

Palm Beach, Fla., Four Seasons Resort Garners Top County Honors.
October 31, 2002... Byline: Linda Rawls Oct. 31--The Four Seasons Resort in Palm Beach is the county's top hotel, according to Zagat Survey's 2003 guide of 822 U.S. hotels, resorts and spas, which was released Wednesday. "You can have a beautiful...

Mattress Giant Store to Give Extra Mattresses to Florida Shelters.
October 31, 2002... Byline: Sonja Isger Oct. 31--RIVIERA BEACH, Fla.--Seven shelters for needy children and adults in Palm Beach County are slated to get 127 free beds from Mattress Giant as part of a settlement with the state, the attorney general's office...

New Retail Development Planned on Former Palm Beach, Fla., Mall Site.
October 31, 2002... Byline: Paul Owers Oct. 31--Longtime home builder Carl Sabatello is buying part of the former Twin City Mall property and planning a large retail development on the site. Sabatello wants to renovate the former Hyde Park Market and...

BellSouth Contests Miami-Based Telecom Company's Bid for Bankruptcy.
October 30, 2002... Byline: Deborah Circelli Oct. 30--BellSouth Corp. Tuesday asked a federal bankruptcy judge to dismiss rival Supra Telecom Inc.'s Oct. 23 petition, claiming Supra is manipulating the courts to continue to receive wholesale phone service...

U.S. Department of Agriculture Displays Public Research to Florida Investors.
October 30, 2002... Byline: Susan Salisbury Oct. 30--FORT PIERCE, Fla.--Scientists presented their research about everything from cancer-fighting citrus compounds to a device that can detect bacteria such as anthrax in the air, and potential investors...

AOL Spinoff Is Doubtful, Analysts Say.
October 30, 2002... Byline: Shelly Emling Oct. 30--NEW YORK--Once you scramble the eggs, it's nearly impossible to unscramble them. That was the word from Wall Street analysts Tuesday when asked whether AOL Time Warner might consider spinning off its...

Florida Consumer Confidence Plunges, Reflecting Nationwide Decline.
October 30, 2002... Byline: Stephen Pounds Oct. 30--BOYNTON BEACH, Fla.--After edging downward for four months, the national consumer confidence index plunged in October on worries about job security and war with Iraq. The index, released Tuesday, fell...

State Farm, Florida Regulators Discuss Deal on Condo Association Insurance.
October 30, 2002... Byline: Jeff Ostrowski Oct. 30--State Farm might back down from its threat to drop coverage for 4,800 condominium associations in Florida -- although the insurer still plans to dump some 1,200 policies and impose double-digit rate hikes...

TenetCare Aims to Pamper Outpatients at Boca Raton, Fla.-Area Facility.
October 29, 2002... Byline: Susan Salisbury Oct. 29--The personal pager Sharon Ciriago received when she arrived Monday and the terry-cloth robe she donned once inside the private lounge reminded her of being at a spa. But the extras, including a...

Demise of Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-Based Mars Music Hits Sour Note at Mall.
October 29, 2002... Byline: Paul Owers Oct. 29--WEST PALM BEACH, Fla.--The collapse of Mars Music means more than just a disappearance of a South Florida company. It's another blow to the beleaguered Palm Beach Mall. Fort Lauderdale-based Mars is...

Former Stock Analyst for Boca Raton, Fla., Investment Group Faces $35,000 Fine.
October 29, 2002... Byline: Jeff Ostrowski Oct. 29--BOCA RATON, Fla.--A drug-stock analyst who posed as a sleep-deprived patient to glean secret information about a drug trial was slapped with a $35,000 fine, an action regulators called the first of its...

Boca Raton, Fla.-Based Artesyn Technologies May Have to Cut More.
October 29, 2002... Byline: Stephen Pounds Oct. 29--BOCA RATON, Fla.--Although Artesyn Technologies has hunkered down to ride out the telecom storm, analysts said Monday there might be little more it can do except close more plants and lay off more workers....

Venture Capital to Florida Firms Doubles in Third Quarter, Survey Shows.
October 29, 2002... Byline: Stephen Pounds Oct. 29--Venture capitalists paid out $148 million to 15 Florida firms in the third quarter, the largest flow of such money into the state in six quarters, a survey showed Monday. Florida more than doubled its...

Mall Developer, Partner Sell Interest in Manalapan, Fla., Ritz-Carlton.
October 29, 2002... Byline: Linda Rawls Oct. 29--MANALAPAN, Fla.--Megamall developer Mel Simon and a Japanese partner have sold their combined majority interest in The Ritz-Carlton, the posh 270-room hotel that opened in 1991. Terms of the deal were not...

Developer of Jupiter, Fla., Town Center Is Cool to Resident's Proposal.
October 28, 2002... Byline: Paul Owers Oct. 28--JUPITER, Fla.--Developer Bruce Rendina listened, but apparently wants to hold off on a private citizen's proposal to revitalize his Abacoa Town Center in Jupiter. Patricia Brennan, who lives in Town...

Boca Raton, Fla., Enterprise Development Group Gets Federal Grant Renewal.
October 28, 2002... Byline: Stephen Pounds Oct. 28--BOCA RATON, Fla.--The Enterprise Development Corp. has found a friend in the U.S. Small Business Administration. For the second consecutive year, the EDC has won a grant of $157,000 from the SBA. For...

'Grapefruit Slushie' Exceeds Expectations at Disney Theme Park Festival.
October 28, 2002... Byline: Susan Salisbury Oct. 28--A frozen grapefruit drink being slurped up at the Epcot International Food and Wine Festival that runs through Nov. 17 at the Disney theme park has its creators optimistic about future success. The...

Tequesta, Fla., Marina Owner Makes Environmental Upgrades to Facility.
October 28, 2002... Byline: Linda Rawls Oct. 28--TEQUESTA, Fla. -- Marina owner Spencer Lloyd heard so many people say "I remember how things used to be" that he decided to do something about it. "I wanted 'I remember when' to become 'I want to get it...

South Florida Internet Job Site's Creator Sees Partnerships as Key to Success.
October 28, 2002... Byline: Susan T. Port Oct. 28--Sylvia Miller believes the key to her Internet start-up's success will be teaming up with strong South Florida media partners. Earlier this year, Miller launched Rhinomite, an Internet job site that...

The Palm Beach Post, Fla., Business Notes Column.
October 28, 2002... Byline: Susan T. Port Oct. 28--STUART, Fla.--NEW LOOK IN STORE FOR STUART PLAZA: Dan Lundstrom has ambitious plans for downtown Stuart. Specifically, he's got big plans for the 50-year-old unnamed shopping plaza near Confusion Corner...

The Palm Beach Post, Fla., Lona O'Connor Column.
October 28, 2002... Byline: Lona O'Connor Oct. 28--There is nothing better -- and nothing worse -- than being new on a job. The bad parts are obvious. You are self-conscious. You don't know anyone. Even the simplest task seems hard because you're not...

Palm Beach County, Fla., Candidates Give Work to Sign Makers, Postal Service.
October 28, 2002... Byline: Susan Salisbury Oct. 28--WEST PALM BEACH -- That election campaign literature stuffed in your mailbox might be junk mail to you. But to local printers, direct-mail companies, sign makers and the U.S. Postal Service, it looks...

The Palm Beach Post, Fla., Real Estate Column.
October 28, 2002... Byline: Paul Owers Oct. 28--AT 2, CITYPLACE STILL CHASING SUCCESS: CityPlace is growing up -- it turned 2 on Sunday -- and a new management team is celebrating by trying to solve a problem that has stymied the development from day one....

The Palm Beach Post, Fla., Alexandra Clough Column.
October 27, 2002... Byline: Alexandra Clough Oct. 27--Actress Lana Turner was said to have been "discovered" at a Hollywood drugstore. It's more fable than fact, but it can happen. One day you might be discovered at the CityPlace fountain as you sip...

Wellington, Fla.-Based B/E Aerospace to Lay Off 200 Workers.
October 26, 2002... Byline: Stephen Pounds Oct. 26--WELLINGTON, Fla.--B/E Aerospace Inc. said Friday it will lay off 200 workers by March as its airline customers fall deeper into a financial hole that could ultimately force airfares to rise. The...

Citrus Canker Decision Is Key, Florida Agriculture Chief Says.
October 26, 2002... Byline: Susan Salisbury Oct. 26--VERO BEACH, Fla.--Florida's commercial citrus industry isn't all that's at stake in the upcoming court hearings over the citrus canker controversy, Florida Agriculture Commissioner Charles Bronson said...

Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-Based Mars Music to Close West Palm Beach Store.
October 26, 2002... Oct. 26--WEST PALM BEACH, Fla.--Mars Music's West Palm Beach store is closing as the Fort Lauderdale-based chain prepares to liquidate its assets. The West Palm store at the Palm Beach Mall opened in October 2000 and was part of a new...

The Palm Beach Post, Fla., Business Notes Column.
October 25, 2002... Byline: Susan T. Port Oct. 25--BOOK TO EXAMINE LEVY-CONDIT AFFAIR: The files of the National Enquirer are bulging with research from its investigations that didn't make it into the tabloid's regular pages. Now the paper's owners,...

Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., Hospital Could Lose Medicare Certification.
October 25, 2002... Byline: Phil Galewitz Oct. 25--PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla.--Federal health care officials are threatening to stop Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center from treating Medicare patients, who account for more than a third of its business, if...

Some Martin County, Fla., Employers Blame Hospital for Rising Insurance Costs.
October 25, 2002... Byline: Phil Galewitz Oct. 25--STUART, Fla.--After selling cars in Delray Beach for three decades, Bill Wallace pulled up stakes in 1998 and moved his dealership 50 miles north to Stuart. He says he's happy with the slower pace of...

Decision to Allow State Farm to Hike Homeowners' Rates in Florida Will Stand.
October 25, 2002... Byline: Jeff Ostrowski Oct. 25--Florida Insurance Commissioner Tom Gallagher won't challenge an arbitration panel's decision this month that lets State Farm boost homeowners' rates by as much as 42.5 percent a year -- but he will push...

Competitors Are Going after Customers of Miami-Based Supra Telecom.
October 25, 2002... Byline: Deborah Circelli Oct. 25--Miami-based Supra Telecom Inc. may have won a reprieve from rival BellSouth Corp., but the state's largest phone service provider is not the only competitor it needs to worry about when it comes to...

Tyco Restates Quarterly Earnings, Reports $1.7 Billion Loss.
October 25, 2002... Byline: Stephen Pounds Oct. 25--BOCA RATON, Fla.--Tyco International restated earnings Thursday for its first three quarters and said it had suffered a $1.7 billion loss on a one-time charge in its fiscal fourth quarter. The...

BellSouth Stalls Plans to Switch, Disconnect Customers of Rival Firm.
October 24, 2002... Byline: Deborah Circelli Oct. 24--BellSouth Corp. Wednesday halted, at least temporarily, its plan to either switch or disconnect customers of Florida rival Supra Telecom Inc. The abrupt move came minutes after Miami-based Supra...

Biweekly Newspaper Caters to Hispanic Community in Stuart, Fla., Area.
October 24, 2002... Byline: Susan Port Oct. 24--STUART, Fla. -- When Maria Bello picked up the first issue of a Treasure Coast Spanish-language magazine called Vision, her first thought was: Someone beat me to it. A certified lab technician and founder...

Palm Beach, Fla.-Based Applied Digital Solutions Gets FDA Approval for Chip.
October 23, 2002... Byline: Deborah Circelli Oct. 23--PALM BEACH, Fla.--Applied Digital Solutions Inc. has received a green light from the Food and Drug Administration to move forward with marketing its implantable microchip in the United States. The...

Marketplace Bank to Shut Some Kiosks in Palm Beach County, Fla.
October 23, 2002... Byline: Jeff Ostrowski Oct. 23--Marketplace Bank moved into Palm Beach County two years ago with ambitious plans to woo shoppers at grocery stores. Its branches at Winn-Dixie Marketplace stores would offer a generous 5 percent...

The Palm Beach Post, Fla., Business Briefs Column.
October 23, 2002... Oct. 23--JUNO BEACH, Fla.--FPL GROUP CUTS 114 MORE JOBS: FPL Group Inc. has cut 114 more positions throughout the state as part of a continued effort to cut costs and streamline operations. Bill Swank, a spokesman for FPL, said 39...

Boca Raton, Fla., Company Gives Luggage Its Own Ride.
October 23, 2002... Byline: Linda Rawls Oct. 23--BOCA RATON, Fla.--Tired of long airport lines to check your luggage -- and to retrieve it from the baggage carousel? Outraged at rubber-gloved inspectors rummaging through your underwear -- in front of your...

BellSouth Receives Approval to Contact Customers of Miami-Based Supra Telecom.
October 22, 2002... Byline: Deborah Circelli Oct. 22--WEST PALM BEACH, Fla.--Customers of Miami-based Supra Telecom will have a couple of weeks to find another provider of local phone service or find their phones disconnected, BellSouth officials said...

Malpractice Costs Lead Florida Doctors to Pull Back on High-Risk Procedures.
October 22, 2002... Byline: Phil Galewitz Oct. 22--ORLANDO, Fla.--Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center -- a leading provider of brain and spinal surgery in Palm Beach County -- does not have a neurosurgeon to treat emergency patients several weeks each month....

Certified Organic Growers in Florida Hope New USDA Standards Boost Business.
October 22, 2002... Byline: Susan Salisbury Oct. 22--M&M Groves in Fort Pierce isn't growing just run-of-the-mill Florida oranges. The 3,000-tree grove is certified organic by Florida Organic Growers of Gainesville. "It's a tough thing to do," says...

More Palm Beach County, Fla., Office Space Sits Vacant.
October 22, 2002... Byline: Paul Owers Oct. 22--Palm Beach County's office vacancy rate continues to grow. Vacancies hit 17.4 percent for the third quarter, according to a survey of 290 office buildings released Monday by Cushman & Wakefield Inc. ...

West Palm Beach, Fla., Hospital's Maternity Ward Is Undergoing Makeover.
October 21, 2002... Byline: Phil Galewitz Oct. 21--WEST PALM BEACH, Fla.--St. Mary's Medical Center has for years been the most popular place in Palm Beach County to give birth. The hospital's central location, as well as its ability to care for the...

Homebuilders' Economist Stays Bullish on Housing Market.
October 21, 2002... Byline: Jeff Ostrowski Oct. 21--PALM BEACH, Fla.--Bubble? What bubble? The hot housing market won't go the way of the burst that hit the Nasdaq, National Association of Homebuilders economist David Crowe said in a speech here last week....

Six Palm Beach County, Fla., Companies Make List of Fastest-Growing Firms.
October 21, 2002... Byline: Jeff Ostrowski Oct. 21--A half-dozen Palm Beach County companies have made Inc magazine's latest list of the nation's fastest-growing private firms. The Inc. 500, which appears in the magazine's Oct. 15 issue, ranks...

Web Site Gives Insight About Expense of Palm Beach, Fla., Mansion.
October 21, 2002... Byline: Linda Rawls Oct. 21--With Triarc Chairman Nelson Peltz's $75 million Palm Beach mansion topping the Forbes magazine list of The Most Expensive Homes in America, you might be wondering what makes a house cost that much. ...

Number of Local Phone Lines in Florida Drops.
October 21, 2002... Byline: Deborah Circelli Oct. 21--The number of local telephone lines in the state is shrinking despite Florida's growing population. According to a report given to the Public Service Commission last week on telecom competition in...

Florida Power & Light Survey Shows Employees Want News on Paper.
October 21, 2002... Byline: Julie Waresh Oct. 21--Remember that paperless society everyone was talking about back when the Internet seemed new and nifty? It turns out people still want the option of carrying with them the things they read, whether they...

The Palm Beach Post, Fla., Residential Real Estate Column.
October 21, 2002... Byline: Linda Rawls Oct. 21--JACKSON DIGS NOT A WORK IN PROGRESS: Alan Jackson, country music's No. 1 singer, has just bought an oceanfront home in Jupiter Island, the country's No. 1 richest town. Jackson, who turned 44 Thursday,...

The Palm Beach Post, Fla., Alexandra Clough Column.
October 20, 2002... Byline: Alexandra Clough Oct. 20--When companies fall out of love with their leaders, parting sometimes can be nasty. In Palm Beach County, several companies are suing their former top execs, and vice versa. It's all about money, of...

Florida-Based Companies Bank on Cuban Trade Potential.
October 19, 2002... Byline: Susan Salisbury Oct. 19--TEQUESTA, Fla.--A Tequesta-based shipping company whose executives attended Cuba's first U.S. Food and Agriculture Exhibition see the island nation as a market with great potential. "We think Cuba is...

Florida Unemployment Rates Fall in September.
October 19, 2002... Byline: Stephen Pounds Oct. 19--The employment picture is looking a little better locally and statewide, new statistics showed Friday, with construction and service jobs taking some of the clouds out of a gloomy economy. Florida's...

Scripps Group of Stuart, Fla.-Area Newspapers Get One Audit.
October 18, 2002... Byline: Susan T. Port Oct. 18--STUART, Fla.--The E.W. Scripps Co. group of Treasure Coast newspapers has asked to be audited by a key industry agency as a single publication. The Scripps group, consisting of The Stuart News, Fort...

Florida Sugar-Cane Growers Begin Harvest.
October 18, 2002... Byline: Susan Salisbury Oct. 18--After being delayed since Monday by rain, Florida's sugar cane harvest, the nation's largest, began Thursday in Palm Beach and Hendry counties. That rain, plus balmy temperatures and the summer rains...

Developer Puts Downtown West Palm Beach, Fla., Townhome Project on Hold.
October 18, 2002... Byline: Paul Owers Oct. 18--WEST PALM BEACH, Fla.--The Related Group of Florida says it is scrapping plans, for now, to build 35 townhouses across from CityPlace in West Palm Beach. The Miami-based developer said Thursday it will...

Profits Fall 55 Percent for Florida Power & Light's Parent Company.
October 18, 2002... Byline: Deborah Circelli Oct. 18--JUNO BEACH, Fla.--FPL Group Inc. said Thursday its third-quarter profit plummeted 55 percent from the same period last year, as the utility company canceled out-of-state power plant projects and pulled...

Delray Beach, Fla.-Based Office Depot's Quarterly Profit Rises 41 Percent.
October 17, 2002... Byline: Paul Owers Oct. 17--DELRAY BEACH, Fla.--The feel-good story at Office Depot continues, with the company announcing Wednesday that third-quarter profit rose 41 percent. Net income jumped to $88.2 million, or 28 cents a share,...

Boynton Beach, Fla., Vitamin Seller Vitacost.com Credits Value for Its Success.
October 17, 2002... Byline: Phil Galewitz Oct. 17--BOYNTON BEACH, Fla.--Vitacost.com, which sells vitamins and nutritional supplements out of a warehouse near Gateway Boulevard, hit the national spotlight this summer when it bought drkoop.com, the Web site...

The Palm Beach Post, Fla., Business Briefs Column.
October 17, 2002... Oct. 17--TALLAHASSEE, Fla.--The Public Service Commission voted Tuesday to temporarily shelve a plan requiring state utilities to give up control of their power lines. The PSC said it will wait for a decision by the Florida Supreme Court...

Palm Beach, Fla.-Based Office Products Firm Under Pressure from Lenders.
October 17, 2002... Oct. 17--PALM BEACH, Fla.--Printing company Workflow Management Inc. (Nasdaq: WORK) has been given until Jan. 15 to implement a plan to solidify its capital structure, the company said Wednesday. The company has exceeded the...

Ads Tout Florida-Born Innovations.
October 16, 2002... Byline: Susan Salisbury Oct. 16--Tourism and citrus, move over. Enterprise Florida is launching a $1.45 million campaign today to give Florida's image a makeover by focusing on the state as a global business location. Under the...

Real Estate Officials Get Development Advice in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.
October 16, 2002... Byline: Paul Owers Oct. 16--PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla.--Want to dabble in a little redevelopment? Then be creative, hire good help and prepare to ante up. That's the advice a panel of experts passed along Tuesday to real estate...

At Last, Nordstrom Is Coming to Wellington, Fla., Mall.
October 15, 2002... Byline: Paul Owers Oct. 15--WELLINGTON, Fla.--Larry Beermann manages the Mall at Wellington Green, which, these days, means fielding questions about a store not yet there. Barbers, bakers, dry cleaners, fast-food workers --...

The Palm Beach Post, Fla., Business Notes Column.
October 14, 2002... Byline: Susan T. Port Oct. 14--STUART, Fla.--WAL-MART SUPERCENTER OPENING IN PORT ST. LUCIE: For 10 1/2 hours Tuesday night, Port St. Lucie will have to do without a Wal-Mart. The 24-hour Wal-Mart store at 10400 U.S. 1 will close its...

Health Insurance Rates Jumping 20 Percent for Some Palm Beach, Fla.-Area Firms.
October 14, 2002... Byline: Phil Galewitz Oct. 14--Nicole Sheriff doesn't like to think about health insurance. Sheriff, who makes about $20,000 a year as a customer service agent for Wallace Automotive Group in Stuart, pays $3,100 a year for a Blue...

The Palm Beach Post, Fla., Lona O'Connor Column.
October 14, 2002... Byline: Lona O'Connor Oct. 14--When you feel pulled in six directions by your boss or all the other people who make demands on you, there's only one thing to do: Give 'em what they want. It sounds backwards, but it works. Two...

The Palm Beach Post, Fla., Real Estate Column.
October 14, 2002... Byline: Paul Owers Oct. 14--Patricia Brennan is passionate, ambitious, organized. She could sell prayer books to a pack of atheists. The mother of two is taking her powers of persuasion to developer Bruce Rendina, hoping he will hire...

NYSE Chief Tells Boca Raton, Fla., Audience That Vigilant Directors Are Back.
October 13, 2002... Byline: Jeff Ostrowski Oct. 13--Like the dot-com bubble and the great bull market, the pliable corporate director is a vestige of the irrationally exuberant past, New York Stock Exchange Chairman Richard Grasso said Friday. The...

Banks Reach Out to Hispanics.
October 13, 2002... Byline: Daniella Aird Oct. 13--WASHINGTON--When Patricia Velez-Mansdorf started a business in 1989, she avoided asking the bank for a loan. Mansdorf, a Colombian-American, said she wouldn't go where she didn't feel comfortable. ...

Palm Beach, Fla., Estate Tops Forbes' Most-Expensive List.
October 12, 2002... Byline: Linda Rawls Oct. 12--PALM BEACH, Fla.--Triarc Chairman Nelson Peltz recently lost a bid to buy Burger King, but he still owns a whopper. Peltz's $75 million asking price for Montsorrel, his 46,995-square-foot oceanfront...

Agriculture Department Says Citrus Crop Will Be Small, Sweet.
October 12, 2002... Byline: Susan Salisbury Oct. 12--Florida's orange and grapefruit crops will be smaller than last season's, the U.S. Department of Agriculture predicted Friday. And it will be a vintage year for the fruit in size, sweetness -- and...

Nasdaq Considers Lowering $1 Minimum.
October 12, 2002... Byline: Jeff Ostrowski Oct. 12--BOCA RATON, Fla.-- For years, the Nasdaq Stock Market has threatened to boot companies whose shares dip below $1. Now, as the bear market has pushed some 500 Nasdaq-listed companies into pocket-change...

West Palm Beach, Fla., Townhouse Project Stalls, Frustrates Buyers.
October 12, 2002... Byline: Paul Owers Oct. 12--WEST PALM BEACH, Fla.--Barry Steinhorn is an executive of a Los Angeles paint manufacturer that's moving to West Palm Beach. So he signed a contract in February to buy a three-bedroom townhouse next to the...

Canal Point, Fla., Farm Family Cultivates Unusual Crops.
October 11, 2002... Byline: Susan Salisbury Oct. 11--CANAL POINT, Fla.--While other growers in the Glades are tending their sugar cane and corn fields, the Erickson family is growing some exotic crops many Floridians would have trouble identifying. Take...

Labor Board Accuses West Palm Beach, Fla., Medical Center of Poor Negotiations.
October 11, 2002... Byline: Phil Galewitz Oct. 11--WEST PALM BEACH, Fla.--The National Labor Relations Board has accused St. Mary's Medical Center of failing to negotiate in good faith with its nurses union and unilaterally imposing new wages and benefits...

The Palm Beach Post, Fla., Media Column.
October 11, 2002... Byline: Susan T. Port Oct. 11--CHRISTIAN RADIO STATION TO BOOST POWER: Mike West is pleased that his radio station can now push its positive message farther south. Christian radio station WAY-88.1 FM received FCC approval in July to...

Ex-Wife Wins Round in War over Control of Altoona, Pa.-Based Boyer Candy.
October 11, 2002... Byline: Susan Salisbury Oct. 11--WEST PALM BEACH, Fla.--The battle for control of the Boyer Candy Co., makers of the Mallo Cup, isn't over yet. On Thursday, Palm Beach County Circuit Judge Timothy McCarthy ordered the Altoona,...

Stocks Will Relieve Gloom, Nasdaq Chairman Says.
October 11, 2002... Byline: Jeff Ostrowski Oct. 11--BOCA RATON, Fla.--It's little wonder Nasdaq Chairman Hardwick Simmons finds "an atmosphere of gloom" when he talks to corporate executives and investors. The Dow is at a five-year low. The Nasdaq 100...

Florida Public Advocate Seeks Stop to Area Power Transmission Organization.
October 11, 2002... Byline: Deborah Circelli Oct. 11--WEST PALM BEACH, Fla.--The Office of Public Counsel is asking the Florida Supreme Court to step in and stop Florida utilities from turning over their main power lines to an independent company. ...

Hurricane Lili Causes Gas Prices to Increase in Palm Beach, Fla., Area.
October 10, 2002... Byline: Susan Salisbury Oct. 10--The threat of war with Iraq has had a destabilizing effect on the stock markets, but that isn't what's causing gasoline prices to edge up, a AAA spokeswoman said Wednesday. Prices are on the rise...

Boynton Beach, Fla., Investor Sues Merrill Lynch.
October 10, 2002... Byline: Jeff Ostrowski Oct. 10--After driving Hertz shuttle buses for years, Thomas Strano retired on his $120,000 nest egg. Then, at the peak of the bull market in 2000, he invested his life savings in the Merrill Lynch Focus Twenty...