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Talk of the bay

By TIMES STAFF
Published January 22, 2007

Make room, Pasco and Hillsborough

It's now official for all you people dodging cement mixers, running over roofing nails and sitting in traffic jams. Pasco and Hillsborough are among the top dozen counties in the United States for population growth. Pasco ranked ninth with 88,650 net new residents from 2000 to 2005. Hillsborough was 11th with 73,325. And they're not coming for a life of leisure, says Michael Barone of U.S. News & World Report, who crunched the numbers from Census Bureau data. They were mostly lured by the prospect of jobs in Florida's hot economy. Sorry, Pinellas didn't make the list: It's the most densely populated county in the state.

Green is on the agenda in Orlando

Is the business community going green? The Council for Sustainable Florida will host "Climate Change: Opportunities in Florida" in Orlando on Wednesday to prime business leaders on the topic. Former U.S. Sen. Connie Mack will open a session that includes insights from St. Petersburg developer Grady Pridgen, scientists, politicians and Florida Power& Light. The general thrust: Keep the economy roaring while treading lightly on the environment. Pridgen, best known for running industrial parks, is a proponent of mass transit, solar power and recycling.

Banks line up to sue Lou Pearlman

Things are looking grim over at boy band promoter Lou Pearlman's Orlando headquarters. Two more banks sued Pearlman last week for debt defaults. First International Bank & Trust of Waterford City, N.D., says Pearlman owes $19.6-million, while First National Bank &Trust of Williston, N.D., says he owes $14.2-million. That brings to four the number of bank lawsuits filed against Pearlman in recent weeks. The state is investigating an investment program Pearlman and his Trans Continental Airlines ran, promising insured accounts with high yields. Investors, including many in the Tampa Bay area, haven't been able to get their money back.

Whew, we missed the catastrophes

Here's a Top Five list for 2006 that thankfully passed over Florida. Insurance claim database provider ISO identified states that suffered the worst property damage from 33 "catastrophe events" last year. No. 1 was Indiana with $1.5-billion in losses, followed by Missouri, Tennessee, Texas and Kansas. Florida lucked out, thanks to a quiet hurricane season with only one storm that qualified as a catastrophe: Tropical Storm Ernesto. The storm did little damage in South Florida before heading north to drench North Carolina and Virginia.

[Last modified January 21, 2007, 09:26:29]