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Talk of the bay: Alltel is king in Tampa, but not all is well

By Times Staff Writer
Published December 4, 2007

The next time you get into a discussion about which company provides the best cell phone service, cite this: Consumer Reports recently surveyed 47,600 people and asked about dropped calls, static and whether the caller found no service or circuits full. Verizon won the battle in most cities, but in Tampa, Alltel scored the highest with 76 out of 100 points. Verizon was a close second (73). Rounding out the field were T-Mobile (69), AT&T (68) and Sprint (63). Here's another interesting finding: Less than half of all respondents were completely or very satisfied with their service. Can you hear me now?

Barron's: Walter still underpriced

Walter Industries' stock is up nearly 28 percent this year, but Barron's believes the Tampa company remains underpriced. An article Monday said that Walter's stock price, which closed at $34.31 per share, could hit "at least the low $40s" next year if coal prices remain elevated and the company meets ambitious production goals. Analyst Justin Bergner told Barron's that Walter "could be a compelling takeover candidate" in a year or two, at around $45 to $48 per share.

Coast Bank sold for $1.86 a share

In the end, all they got was $1.86. That's the price First Banks of St. Louis paid for shares of financially troubled Coast Financial Holdings, part of a merger that closed Friday. Coast Bank lost millions when St. Petersburg builder Construction Compliance Inc. collapsed before completing nearly 500 homes for Coast customers. Before trouble hit in January, Coast stock had been trading around $16. First Banks agreed to pay $3.40 per share last summer but it was trimmed by bad loans to $1.86. Coast's branches in the Tampa Bay area will continue to operate under the new name.

Canadian named to lead Wikipedia

Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales broke the hearts of many a Tampa Bay techie when his company said in September it will move this winter from St. Petersburg to San Francisco - "where the talent is." Now he's reaching into Canada to find his talent. On Monday, the Wikimedia Foundation - the nonprofit entity that runs Wikipedia - announced Sue Gardner will be its executive director. Gardner is a familiar face to Wikimedia: She's worked with the foundation since July as an adviser to its board. Gardner had run the Web site of Canada's national public broadcasting system. Wikipedia will start paying art contributors, 3D.

Tampabay.com

All about housing

James Thorner digs deeper into bay area housing news in his (Un)Real Estate blog at blogs.tampabay.com/realestate.

[Last modified December 3, 2007, 23:58:40]