The Federal Aviation Administration's radar at Tampa International Airport will be relocated from the west side of the airport to a 140-foot tower on the northeast side by mid-2011, the Hillsborough County Aviation Authority said on Thursday. ...more

June 5, 2009

Banks that received taxpayer bailouts had a lower average level of loans outstanding at the end of March than a month earlier, the Treasury Department reported on Monday. ...more

June 2, 2009

Despite a 10 percent decline in Amtrak ridership in March compared with a year ago, down to 2.2 million passengers, Tampa ridership on Amtrak's Silver Star gained 3.8 percent to 8,423. ...more

May 28, 2009

Despite a 10 percent decline in Amtrak ridership in March compared with a year ago, down to 2.2 million passengers, Tampa ridership on Amtrak's Silver Star gained 3.8 percent to 8,423. ...more

May 27, 2009

Last Friday the U.S. Labor Department announced that nearly 540,000 Americans lost their jobs in April. As bad as that sounds, last month's jobless total was less than most economists had predicted. In fact, it was the lowest increase in joblessness in 14 months. Of late there have been a few other signs that the economy may not be recovering yet but its rate of decline has begun to slow. ...more

May 13, 2009

Higher crude oil prices are raising the cost of gasoline in Florida and elsewhere. ...more

May 12, 2009

Higher crude oil prices are raising the cost of gasoline in Florida and elsewhere. ...more

May 11, 2009

Hillsborough County's hotel room supply rose 8.1 percent in March to nearly 22,000 compared with a year ago, but demand was down 9.3 percent to 419,248 rooms sold, a report by Smith Travel Research of Hendersonville, Tenn., showed. ...more

May 11, 2009

It will be difficult, dangerous and plain foolish to balance next year's budget through spending cuts alone. So why is there no discussion of an increase in the county gasoline tax? With every single source of revenue in decline, and little reason to expect a reversal anytime soon, the BOCC must look for additional sources of income. Five cents per gallon would generate $20 million for Hillsborough County. Such a broad-based tax would create significant revenue while minimizing the pain. It is hard to argue an additional $1 per tankful is an unmanageable burden when gas was $2 a gallon higher just a few months ago. But this is more than a source of badly needed funds. It is the type of policy we need to wean ourselves off oil and reduce emissions. No one likes a tax increase, but compared to some of the budget cuts being proposed, it is the lesser evil. As one local baseball manager might say, 5 cents equals $20 million. ...more

May 2, 2009

Tampa is showing the nation's steepest decrease in hotel prices in April with a 31 percent decline, Hotwire.com reported in its monthly Hotel Rate Report. ...more

April 15, 2009