Loose change

By ROBERT TRIGAUX

© St. Petersburg Times, published July 9, 2000

HOW BILL GATES STARTED? Only one in six kids discusses pay before taking a summer job, according to a survey by Zillions, Consumer Reports' magazine for children. The most common job for kids older than 12 is babysitting, which pays an average $4 an hour. Top among work for those younger than 11 is caring for pets, which should pay $3 an hour.

CALL IT "LOWBEAM': Sunbeam Corp., Florida's struggling maker of gas grills and kitchen appliances, held its annual meeting last month and, for the first time, refused to let in the media. Sunbeam says its no-media policy lets "shareholders feel free to express themselves."

NEXT STOP: TUXEDOS: Michigan-based Franklin Bank has thrown out its casual dress policy and issued navy blue suits to its 65 tellers. Even back-office personnel must wear suits instead of jeans and tennis shoes. "We want to stand out from the competition," bank president Rebecca David says.

DUNK THE JUNK: A non-profit organization in Takoma Park, Md., wants Americans to win their independence from junk mail. The Center for a New American Dream's Web site (http://www.newdream.org/junkmail) offers a simple form people can use to remove their names from the mailing lists of banks, credit card companies and many direct-mail companies.

CONSIDER VEGETARIAN: Chick-fil-A has sued Burger King, seeking to halt a promotion in which characters from the movie Chicken Run hold up cards that say, "Save the Chickens: Eat A Whopper." Chick-fil-A claims Burger King's promotion is too similar to its own ads, which feature cows that urge consumers to "Eat Mor Chikin."

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