FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., Sept. 27 -- Many rental car customers traveling on Florida's toll roads and bridges are now able to utilize 'SunPass Only' lanes to pay their tolls, even without a SunPass transponder, thanks to a pair of innovative programs announced by Turnpike officials this week.

American Traffic Solutions is currently offering its PlatePass(R) cashless toll payment service to rental car customers using vehicles rented from Avis, Budget, and Hertz.

Thrifty Car Rental Rolls Prepaid Tolls Into Rental Rates in Florida ...

TULSA, Okla., Jan. 7 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Thrifty Car Rental, a subsidiary of Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE: DTG) is minimizing the stress that takes a toll on globetrotting travelers. That's why it's including Pass24(R) Prepaid Toll Service with select car rental rates at participating Florida locations when customers use any American Express(R) card for payment and make their reservation using Promo Code AXTL. This offer is valid at participating Florida locations through March 31, 2008.

Ordinarily, Pass24 pre-paid toll service is available to Thrifty Car Rental customers for $5.95 per day or $27.95 per week in Florida, which includes all toll charges.

Rallies could make the difference in a close race

Barack Obama's or Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's campaign, putting South Texas and the Hispanic vote squarely in the spotlight. The candidates and their high-profile supporters have been criss-crossing the Rio Grande Valley as well.

The Edwards Campaign: What Went Wrong?

No campaign ever fails for just one reason. Some say the frightened corporate media torpedoed Edwards. Some say Edwards, a sleek rich cat himself, was the wrong messenger. He just wasn't believable. His populist message seemed invented out of thin air to save a failing election bid. All true — but perhaps not crucial. In the past, wealthy politicians have invented populist messages and done quite well, despite media opposition.

That frame was a huge gamble. It depended on voters seeing themselves not just as ordinary little guys but as losers: insignificant forgotten people, pushed to the margins of society, neglected by the people who really matter.

For horse lovers, Calgary, Canada, has it all

Calgary, the largest city in the province of Alberta, Canada, is on the rise. Over the past few years, local oil companies have enjoyed unprecedented riches from a burgeoning petroleum industry, fueled in part by the oil sands near Fort McMurray to the north. Calgary has also sprouted a vibrant high-tech industry, with hundreds of new companies and dozens of new buildings to house them. Even the housing market is taking off - a rarity at a time when home sales are slumping across most of the continent. Amid all of this growth, one of Calgary's biggest industries is a throwback to the days of the Old West: horses. Every summer (this year it's July 4-13) the city hosts the biggest exhibition and rodeo in the world, the Calgary Stampede. George Brookman recently became president of that organization, and shared some pointers for the best horse-oriented activities in town.

Success is mixed for high school bowling

Last year we had just enough girls to make a team, Tonelli said. This year, theres another reason to go out you can earn a letter so we have a lot more girls.
Letze also averages 160 and has been bowling much of her life.
My whole family bowls. I got bored with it for a while, but now Im getting back into it, she said.
The Lincoln captain once bowled a 249 and said, sanctioned or not, that shell compete just as hard for her team this winter.
Everybody is making a big deal about it, but its not a concern to me right now, Letze said.
The activities directors of the Des Moines public schools decided on Dec. 5 to not join suburban schools this season. The city schools hoped to sanction this season teams could still do so after the season began but the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union requires that a coach certified by the organization lead the program.

Yeager runway to close to make room for hangars

Officials at Yeager Airport plan to close a runway to make more room for general aviation hangars and potential new aviation-related businesses.

"We are now parking as many commercial airplanes as we can at the terminal area, although the new rental car facility, when complete, will give us one more space," Yeager Airport Director Rick Atkinson said.

late November

The Giants looked hot a month ago, but now have delivered two straight lethargic performances, and Eli Manning seems to be reverting to being a true freshman at Mississippi. TMQ loves Tiki Barber, TTNY ("The Toast of New York"), but at this point it's clear his announcement of a year-end retirement has become a distraction. For the last few weeks, the national media have been all over Tiki and his twin Ronde. For Ronde that's OK, distractions don't matter much when your club is 3-7 and rebuilding. But Jersey/A is in a playoff push. Here's my proposal: Tiki, stop doing media for the rest of the year. Concentrate on the game. Prove that you're all about the team, not yourself. It will help the Giants, and further burnish your reputation.

Play of the game: Maurice Jones-Drew walking into the end zone standing up for an untouched touchdown, making it Jaguars 23, Giants 10 in the fourth quarter and causing your columnist to close the light for bed.

Ford loses $2.8B in 4Q, $2.7B in 2007 on North American weakness

DEARBORN, Mich. (AP) -- Ford Motor Co. said Thursday its loss narrrowed to $2.8 billion in the fourth quarter and $2.7 billion for the year amid continued weakness in North America.

Ford lost $1.30 per share in the fourth quarter, narrower than a loss of $5.6 billion, or $2.98 per share, in 2006. The full-year results, which resulted in a loss of $1.35 per share, were significantly better than 2006, when Ford lost $12.6 billion, or $6.72 per share.

U.S. Telecom Growth Slower Than Global Industry

European growth will be just ahead of the United States at 7.5 percent annually, while Canada is expected to be the slowest region with 5.4 percent annually.