Malls •Prime Outlets at Ellenton Today - 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Christmas - Closed ...more

December 24, 2007

For 42 years, Cosme "Cookie" Herrera has been in the jewelry business. ...more

December 19, 2007

NASCAR is looking for another series title sponsor after Sears' decision to end its title sponsorship of the Truck Series after the 2009 season. ...more

December 6, 2007

Just after sunrise the day after Thanksgiving at Westfield Brandon mall, Leah Ciccone burst out of Sears into the parking lot, looked to the sky and shouted, "Oh my God, it's daylight!" ...more

December 1, 2007

Three years ago we chose to call this column Boomers & Beyond. We've had fun discussing what so-called experts say about American generations. Among the interesting things we've learned is the fact experts don't always agree on their assessments of the generations or the timetables in which they fall. For instance, some say the Baby Boomer Generation consists of people born from 1946-1964. Others call it the Boom Generation and classify it as those born 1943-1960. What we dub as "beyonds" in this column would actually be Americans belonging to two specific generations. One is the GI Generation that Tom Brokaw calls the Greatest Generation. They were born from 1901-1924. The other is the Silent Generation. It's made up of individuals born 1925-1942 (or 1925-1945,) depending on the expert or the source of books and articles one may read. ...more

November 30, 2007

As consumers hold tight to their wallets, online retailers will work harder this year for their share of the holiday gift list. ...more

November 26, 2007

AVON PARK — It's 4:30 a.m. Friday. A woman parked in front of Belk department store. Two children also got out. "Get in line," she instructed the pre-teen boy and girl. They didn't move fast enough. "Run like your life depends on it," she yelled. They giggled and made it a race for the back of the line, while she walked more slowly. An after-Thanksgiving sale crowd of 200 people was already waiting to get in, and Christina Starcher was first. She held up a sale flyer from the newspaper, and pointed to a silver-colored Fossil watch with a black face for $115. ...more

November 24, 2007

Thanksgiving holiday hours at various spots across the Bay area: Malls Prime Outlets at Ellenton ...more

November 22, 2007

Thanksgiving: Store Hours And Closings Information ...more

November 21, 2007

SEBRING – Lakeshore Mall's name recognition, drawing power and location seem to be benefiting a new plaza in Sebring. Construction on Plaza By The Mall is nearing completion. The 21,500-square-foot plaza includes two buildings and sits on 2 1/2-acres of land behind Sears. There are a total of 13 units, ranging from 500 square feet of space to a little more than 2,000 square feet. "Everyone knows where the mall is," said Norb Walz of Walz Management LLC, which owns the shopping center. "We're looking at traffic at the mall to be a positive," said Mike Chambers, president of United PC Inc., who is moving his computer sales and service store that is now on U.S. 27 next to Coker Fuel into the plaza. "It will be a better location and easier to find." ...more

November 11, 2007