The Pinellas School District is confronted with having to cut some $43 million in spending for the 2008-09 school year. It would be tempting to attribute this totally to Florida's economic woes and the resulting cuts in state spending . As Superintendent Clayton Wilcox has noted, however, the district has a declining student population. ...more

May 3, 2008

These days the news is full of beautiful - and wrenching - images of polar bears, often swimming in unending open water, or standing on tiny ice floes. ...more

February 26, 2008

Heavily armed federal police swarmed an Amazon town and seized more than 500 truckloads of illegally cut hardwood that were confiscated but abandoned last week when rioting residents and loggers drove out environmental authorities. ...more

February 24, 2008

Pinellas County drew a record 5.3 million overnight visitors in 2007, but the weak U.S. economy appears to be taking a toll on leisure travel statewide, with upscale destinations remaining the exception. ...more

February 14, 2008

Rates on 30-year mortgages dipped slightly this week, the fifth decline in the past six weeks. ...more

February 8, 2008

More than a year ago, the chief executive of luxury-home builder Toll Bros. Inc. thought the housing slump could be touching close to bottom. ...more

February 7, 2008

What Happened Monday While U.S. markets were closed for the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, the world's other major economies went into tailspins. Stocks lost value in 42 of the 43 nations with widely followed markets - the only exception was Sri Lanka. A German index fell the most since the Sept. 11 attacks. An index in India had the second-worst decline in its history. ...more

January 22, 2008

CLEARWATER - Pinellas County's tourism consultant said the nation has entered a recession, which means the tourism industry will become more vital to the county than ever. ...more

January 16, 2008

U.S. factories saw orders for costly manufactured goods rise only marginally in November - falling short of expectations for a much bigger gain and underscoring the strains on the economy from housing and credit problems. ...more

December 28, 2007

Sales at U.S. retailers declined for the third straight week as storeowners grappled with winter storms and rising gasoline prices that discouraged shoppers during what may be the worst holiday season in five years. ...more

December 21, 2007