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Today’s headlines
Shopping for online success

[Times photo: Bill Serne]
Publix has committed $50-million to create an online grocery service that is now operating in South Florida. It hopes to find the profitable online supermarket model that has eluded others.

Robert Trigaux
To keep waters pristine, punish the polluters
In 1993, Tampa's now-defunct Regency Cruises was caught and later fined $250,000 for dumping dozens of garbage-filled plastic bags into the Gulf of Mexico about 36 miles off St. Pete Beach and, separately, 29 miles off Bradenton.

Helen Huntley
On money
There's no way around paying taxes on IRA investment

Struggling with the legacy of his past
With accounting industry problems and corporate abuses flourishing, SEC chairman Harvey Pitt is under fire for what he has and hasn't done.

Loose change
FOOD FACTOR: Federal officials estimate that driver distraction, including eating, is involved in 20 to 30 percent of crashes. Now Hagerty Classic Insurance has determined the "10 deadliest foods to eat while driving." Drawing from federal figures, claim statistics and interviews, the insurer of collector vehicles says coffee tops the list. A spill can be painfully hot, and people want to get it off their clothing. Second-worst is soup, followed by tacos, chili, hamburgers, barbecued food, fried chicken, jelly and cream-filled doughnuts, soft drinks and chocolate.

Ten Tips
The average family with at least one credit card has a whopping $8,367 in credit card debt. To make matters worse, many of those families are locked into interest rates of 25 percent or higher, and they routinely get walloped with penalties of $30 or more, sometimes without realizing it. The following tips can help you avoid paying unnecessarily high interest rates and fees.