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Talk of the bay: Opportunities to work at Coke bubbling over

By TBASSINGERN
Published April 21, 2007

It's the Real Thing - for jobs. Coca-Cola Enterprises announced it is hiring 200 more people at its Brandon Shared Services Center, which opened in 2001. Most of the jobs relate to accounting and pay an average of $41,500. With the expansion this year, Coke will employ close to 2,500 in the Tampa Bay area, including jobs at a customer-development center in Temple Terrace, a sales office in St. Petersburg and a bottling plant in Tampa. The company will hold a job fair from 9 a.m. to noon April 28 at 605 Lake Kathy Drive, Brandon. Best not to arrive drinking a Pepsi.

Cruise boss' big idea has to wait
Carnival Cruise Lines dominates the Tampa cruise market and would like to bring larger ships to the port. Just one problem: Anything bigger than the current vessels won't fit under the Sunshine Skyway bridge. With his tongue firmly planted in cheek, Carnival executive Brendan Corrigan suggested a solution at a ceremony with Tampa port and business leaders Thursday: If a freighter that lost power in Tampa Bay last month had only hit the bridge instead of running aground, he said, the way would be clear for Carnival's monster cruise ships. That's okay - we'll make due with the merely mammoth vessels.

Ruling buys time for Universal
Universal Health Care Insurance Co., which operates the Any, Any, Any Medicare plan, bought itself some time Friday when a Leon County Circuit judge allowed the company to withdraw a lawsuit against the state because, the company said, it has complied with the state regulatory requirements. The matter now heads to federal court, where a judge will decide to hear the case or remand it back to state court. For nearly two months, St. Petersburg-based Universal has fought an effort by regulators to place the company into receivership because of an inadequate surplus to pay claims. Universal insists it is financially solvent, but regulators say the company, which has an estimated 60,000 members in its Any, Any, Any plan, remains "impaired" and needs at least $120-million in reserves.

Correction
Sen. Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut is an independent. An item in Friday's edition misidentified his party affiliation.

[Last modified April 20, 2007, 22:44:41]