LA reservoir covered with balls to protect water

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Hundreds of thousands of shimmering black plastic balls were dumped into one of the city's last open-air reservoirs to prevent a sunlight-fueled chemical reaction that can harm the water supply....

Lehman shares plummet amid write-down fears (Reuters)

Reuters - Shares of Lehman Brothers plunged 13.6 percent on Wednesday, bringing their total loss in the past four days to more than 25 percent, on concerns about the potential for further write-downs and investors' declining confidence in the investment bank's management.

Vegas-style slots are up and running beginning Thursday at Seminole Immokalee Casino

The new Vegas-style slots machines at the Seminole Immokalee Casino debut Thursday. The first official pull on the Vegas-style slots is slated for 11:30 a.m., with members of the tribal council and civic leaders expected to attend.

Man found dead, hanging from tree

A man and two young children hunting for mangos near a busy section of Davis Boulevard Tuesday morning found more than just fruit dangling from the trees. They also found a dead body.

Three Dillard’s employees charged with felony grand theft

Three Dillard’s employees were arrested Tuesday after police say they stole more than $1,000 worth of merchandise from the store.

Mom finds snake coiled on baby's leg in crib

BRENTWOOD, N.Y. (AP) -- A Long Island animal shelter is a temporary home for a 1-foot-long snake that a mother found coiled on her 7-month-old daughter's leg as the baby slept in a crib....

Man accused of drunken driving twice in 2 hours

SHEBOYGAN, Wis. (AP) -- A Sheboygan man is behind bars after being arrested twice for drunken driving within two hours early Tuesday. Police say the 24-year-old driver was stopped by an officer about 1:50 a.m. after he was spotted driving the wrong way on a one-way street in Sheboygan....

Fidelity Sued Over Losses in Bond Fund

Fidelity Investments is being sued over losses in the Fidelity Ultra-Short bond fund, which invested in risky mortgage-backed securities.

Financial advisers preying on senior citizens

Question: I was at a presentation to senior citizens who have most of their funds invested in fixed income products (CD's). The presenter showed how our investments are taxed and we don't keep up with inflation. He scared the hell out of us. Then came the product he sells which was a fixed annuity that ...

Supply of hybrids runs out of gas as demand soars

Even as car buyers stampede for vehicles with better fuel mileage, there are fewer hybrids, the gas-stingiest, to go around.

Toyota promises plug-in hybrid vehicle by 2010

Toyota is introducing a plug-in hybrid with next-generation lithium-ion batteries in Japan, the U.S. and Europe by 2010, under ...

Fitzgerald's Irish Pub in Naples now closed

Fitzgerald’s Irish Pub, 4519 U.S. 41 E., closed Thursday. Owner Mick Fitzgerald said it “just wasn’t working out.”

Collier deputy fired after second DUI

A Collier County sheriff’s deputy was fired in May for improper conduct after his second DUI arrest in five years.

Dog owners beware, rules getting tougher in Collier

Dog owners who flout rules beware. Collier County’s animal control ordinance just got almost as tough as the dangerous dogs it addresses. Commissioner Frank Halas approved of some of the changes in the ordinance Tuesday but questioned enforcement.

Lee animal shelter suggesting immediate euthanization for feral cats

In 2007, Lee County Animal Services took in 5,114 stray dogs. Of those, 1,306 — 26 percent — were returned to their owners. In that same period, 4,582 cats were brought to the shelter off Six Mile Cypress Parkway. There were 76 returned to their owners, meaning more than 98 percent weren’t.

In the Know: What’s going up near North Naples park?

Q: What is going up next to the North Naples Regional Park or inside the park?

What the iPhone 3G Needs to Kill All Other GPS Companies

The true power of a GPS device is finding where you’re going next. And if Steve Jobs’ demo today was any indication, stand-alone nav unit makers like Magellan and TomTom really do have every reason to be “scared [expletive-]less.”

Moran resigns as president of Riverside Bank

Riverside Bank of the Gulf Coast has parted ways with longtime president and CEO John Moran, the Cape Coral-based bank's chairman said today.

Bonita may jump on fertilizer law bandwagon

Keeping lawns green may take the blue out of water. Bonita Springs is the latest Southwest Florida community to consider a fertilizer law as a way of reducing pollutants running off into the area waterways.

New deal for bar-neighborhood dispute on Collier commission’s agenda

The developer of Pebblebrooke and Stevie Tomato wants to cut a deal, and will try to persuade Collier County commissioners to play nicely at their meeting Tuesday.