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Letter to the editor

Talk of the bay: Airport theft rare, but maybe less so in Florida

By Times Staff
Published October 23, 2007

A recent report from Seattle TV station KIRO (www.kirotv.com/airports) ranks four Florida airports in the top 10 "worst airports for theft." It's based on passengers' claims to the Transportation Security Administration that items were stolen from their bags. Sounds bad, right? But a closer look at the TSA data shows that the four airports - Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Tampa and Fort Myers - averaged only about 15 annual claims each per 1-million passengers.

Another dips hand in 'Black Swan' till

The list of folks seeking a piece of the e_SDLqBlack Swan"shipwreck treasure just grew a little longer. Keith Bray says Tampa-based Odyssey Marine Exploration used his historical research to find the wreck - and an estimated $500-million in coins aboard it - this spring. Now he wants his cut. In a filing in Tampa federal court last week, Bray said Odyssey co-founder Greg Stemm originally promised him a 7.5 percent stake if the ship were found. Later, Bray said, Odyssey claimed it lacked the resources to continue the hunt and paid the Briton a flat fee of $20,000. So when Odyssey announced its find in May, Bray smelled something fishy. One potential problem with Bray's case: The alleged contract was oral. You'd think a documents expert would have asked for it in writing.

Nonprofit helps you sort out recalls

Imported toys decorated with lead-laced paint. Tainted lettuce. Highly flammable Halloween costumes. Government-ordered and voluntary industry recalls are piling up so fast that the Consumers Union created a Web site that offers one-stop shopping for product warnings. The nonprofit publisher of Consumer Reports posts on NotInMyCart.org as many recent recalls as it can muster, links to government agency recommendations, a spot where consumers can share experiences with hazardous products, and a tracking service for legislation the Consumers Union is pushing on the subject. Some hints at the agenda: The value of all imports soared 67 percent since 2000. Today, 80 percent of all toys come from China, while 13 percent of all food and 83 percent of all seafood Americans consume is imported. Less than 1 percent of it is inspected.

[Last modified October 22, 2007, 23:22:27]