Racing in St. Pete: Although some residents complained about the noise and the crowds, the economic impact won out.A gas-price break: A Tampa hotel hopes it has an answer for people thinking about canceling a summer vacation due to high gas prices: Offer gas stipends.Pinellas ballpark money: St. Petersburg may not be the only source of public money for the proposed $450 million downtown open-air, real grass ballpark for the Tampa Bay Rays.Murdock Village help: Charlotte County commissioners have hired Orlando-based planning firm Tramell Webb PartnersBenderson builds roads: Sarasota-based Benderson Development is planning on spending more than $4 million in road improvements for the land surrounding its massive shopping mall projectPlanning vote delay: An effort to update the city of North Port's comprehensive plan has been delayed until at least June.Mining bills stall: Proposed Florida Senate bills that would have made it more difficult for local politicians to prohibit mining of economically critical limestone rock recently stalled in committees.Frontier takes off: Frontier Airlines, which provided Southwest Florida's only nonstop link to a Mountain-time-zone city, will end service between Fort Myers and Denver this summer.
