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Talk of the Bay

By TIMES WIRES
Published February 24, 2007

. THE TICKER

poor little rich kids to suck up the free frocks

If you saw a Hollywood starlet's kid in a cute smocked dress, wouldn't you want one just like it for your little girl? Maureen Rubini Quinlan hopes so. Her dresses, handmade in Nicaragua, will be included in the baskets of swag bestowed on Oscar nominees this weekend. Quinlan's St. Petersburg company, QRubini, is donating 18 frocks specially made for celebrity offspring whose identities she is not permitted to disclose. Though it's considered an honor to have your product in the celeb giveaway, Quinlan admits to mixed feelings about giving $100 dresses to people who could well afford them. "But the cost is comparable to other marketing I've done, so I figured I'd give it a shot," she said. Proceeds from QRubini's sales support a soup kitchen, school and orphanage in Nicaragua.

Now serving: lawsuits, not PB&Js

As surely as spring follows winter, lawsuits follow product recalls. So it's no shock the Florida law firm of Morgan & Morgan has filed one of the first class-action complaints in the country against ConAgra Foods, maker of the Peter Pan and Great Value brands of peanut butter. Less than a week after consumers were warned to toss those brands with the numbers 2111 on the lid, Morgan's lawyers filed a lawsuit in Hendry County, seeking to represent all Floridians who got salmonella as a result of eating the contaminated food. Scott Weinstein, a Morgan's attorney in Fort Myers heading the bad-peanut butter brigade, said about 50 people have joined the case.

New tune: Let's go organic tonight

On the heels of the Pro-Am tournament, Outback Steakhouse is getting another serving of good publicity. Edward D. Hess, an adjunct professor at Emory University's business school, gives the Tampa-based restaurant chain kudos in his new book, The Road to Organic Growth. Hess studied more than 800 companies and picked 22 that grew "organically" - through more customers, new products and more efficient operations. Outback is the only Florida company on the honor roll.

Correction

Avantair sells fractional aircraft ownership shares that entitle customers to as many 800 hours of flying annually. A story Friday gave an incorrect number.

. tampabay.com

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[Last modified February 24, 2007, 02:08:47]