Tampa Bay Times from St. Petersburg, Florida • 1

Ij iuLjllUlnl ij msmmsimmmsm 1 Ij tampabay.com FLORIDA'S BEST NEWSPAPER Thursday, November 20, 2008 50 3 The proposed increase, up to 15 percent a year, would be allowed at students because 30 percent of the money raised would be used to lower tuition and fees for low-income students, according to drafts of the plan obtained by the TimesHerald. The proposal was developed over a period of months in conversations among the governor's office, the Board of Gover nors that oversees the state universities, university presidents and the Council of 100, an influential group of business leaders, according to state records. Key lawmakers who must approve the plan claimed to know little about it. "I know (Crist) is working on something, but I haven't seen the BY JENNIFER LIBERTO AND STEVE BOUSQUET TimesHerald Tallahassee Bureau TALLAHASSEE Bowing to the pleas of Florida's cash-starved state universities, Gov. Charlie Crist will announce a plan today to allow all 11 schools to raise tuition up to 15 percent a year.

Crist will reverse his stated opposition to higher tuition by asking the Legislature to extend the same 15 percent tuition hike that five of the largest universities, including the University of South Florida and Florida International University in Miami, could charge this year. The proposal would increase financial aid to the state's poorer SOUTHWEST MAKES PLAY TO LAND IN NYC Southwest Airlines has agreed to a deal that would take the discount carrier into New York's LaGuardia Airport starting next year, taking over slots held by bankrupt ATA. Business, 4B Late heroics lead Bulls to first loss Dominique Jones scored a game-high 23 points for the South Florida men's basketball team, but a late layup and free throw leads host Virginia to a 77-75 win, handing the Bulls their first loss of the season. Sports, 1C Legislators: Don't ask for turkeys GOP leaders of the state Legislature warn that in these uncertain financial times they will not consider requests for unnecessary local projects. They said this from an expensive resort where they are meeting.

Tampa Bay, IB Her tools gone, astronaut lets it go A day after a shuttle astronaut loses her bag of tools while on a space walk, she talks about finishing the job. Meanwhile, NASA works on coming up with Plan B. Daily Briefing, 4A Mammoth hairs open DNA doors Scientists say they have broken about three-fourths of the DNA code of the woolly mammoth, based on samples taken from hair strands. The results could tell them more about the history of elephants. World Nation, 2A Sunny it i Busch Gardens Attendance was 4.4-million in 2007, more than twice the biggest pro sports franchise.

More man half were overnight tourists. Surveys consistently rank the park with weather and beaches as top reasons out-of-town visitors come here.lt spends more on tourist advertising than the two convention and visitors bureaus combined. More than half of Hillsborough overnight leisure visitors spent a day there, as do a third of all Pinellas County visitors. hmm My -4 all state schools. details," said House Speaker Ray Sansom, R-Destin, at a Panhandle retreat with other Republican I louse members.

Sen. Charlie Justice, D-St. Petersburg, who works at the University of South Florida, said universities need more money. "We're making it harder for Flor- See TUITION, 12A While falling costs may sound good, deflation can be an economic nightmare. Times wires Businesses cut prices at a record rate and builders started fewer new homes last month than anytime on record, according to new government data, as the outlook for the economy continues to dim.

The data helped spur another terrible day for the stock market, as did a projection of more hard times ahead by leaders of the Federal Reserve. After gyrating wildly for weeks, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed below 8,000 for the first time since early 2003 as concern spread that the economy might be beset by a chronic and debilitating decline in prices. The Labor Department reported that prices of consumer goods and services fell by a record 1 percent in October, the biggest drop in the 61-year history of the index. New-home starts fell to their lowest level in the 49 years the government has kept that data. While most consumers might welcome the idea that things are getting cheaper, deflation is an economists' nightmare.

It was a hallmark of the Depression and Japan's so-called lost decade in the 1990s. A big worry is that deflation would blunt the impact of interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve, forcing policymakers to use other tools to try to revive the economy. Much of the 1 percent drop in the Consumer Price Index a measure of how much Americans pay for groceries, entertainment and other goods and services could be traced to a 14 percent See ECONOMY. 8A Auto vote a no-go Off the table: Senate Democrats canceled a showdown vote that had been expected today on a $25-billion bailout for Detroit's Big Three. After two days of testimony, the CEOs of General Motors, Ford and Chrysler were unable to persuade lawmakers to tap the $700-billion financial bailout And another thing: "There's a delicious irony in seeing private luxury jets flying in to Washington, D.C., and people coming off of them with tin cups in their hands." Rep.

Gary Ackerman, during committee questioning of the CEOs. Story, 8A 8 a.m. Noon 4 p.m. 8 p.m. 51 68 67 57 0 rain chance.

More, back page of Sports No more tiny video Our cool new video player lets you watch a video at the full width of your computer screen and then easily post it to your own blog or e-mail it to friends. Check it out at tampabay.com. DIRK SHADD I Times Anheuser-Busch's theme parks, including Busch Gardens, above, likely would cost at least $3-billion. New owner InBev isn't talking, but industry rumor has it the theme park is on the block. has already put investment bankers on the case, as has the Spanish Parques Reunidos.

Both are active players in the rapidly consolidating U.S. amusement park sector. A management team from within Busch Entertainment Corp. could try to take over by creating a new public company, but poker-faced top Busch executives here were mum to questions about the future. Merlin's Varney made his interest public after a speech in which he noted the industry's consolidation will continue See BUSCH, 12A that greased the Anheuser-Busch deal.

One prospective buyer British Merlin Entertainments Group kicked off the speculation Wednesday. "Anyone interested in taking a global position in this industry is interested in Busch," said Nick Varney, Merlin chief executive officer. "And that certainly includes us." Renamed Anheuser-Busch InBev, the world's largest brewer has been tight-lipped about the bid process. British Merlin Entertainments Group BY MARK ALBRIGHT Times Staff Writer ORLANDO Busch Gardens and Sea World may soon change hands, according to buzz at the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions trade show. Belgian brewing giant InBev LLC recently acquired the parks as part of its $52-bil-lion purchase of Anheuser-Busch Cos.

But some experts now figure that InBev will unload the parks as soon as this summer to help pay off a bridge INDEX Astrology 4F Etc 2B Business 4B Lottery 2A Classified Movies Comics 3F Puzzles 4F Crosswords 4F Television 2F Editorials 10A Weather 8C Vol.125 No. 119 Times Publishing Co. Ill 89067M9941 Potential suitors: A closer look at the companies A pirate's life for them pays of Graduation rates in Florida set record Bay area counties also show improvement. Ransom money has been a boon for impoverished Somali towns. involved, 12 A borough's rate moved from 79.1 to 80 percent.

Pasco's climbed from 73.7 to 79.5 percent. Hernando's went from 75.1 to 76.9 percent. Pinellas County took the biggest jump, rising 7.1 percentage points to 74.4 percent -the highest level in at least a decade. That stunning increase, revealed in state data released Wednesday, was among the biggest of all Florida districts and far larger than any of the other six urban districts. See GRADUATES, 6A Sea' YEMEN Gulf of Aden Bossaso, Addis Ababa SOMALIA ETHIOPIA Eyl Indian Ocean Harardhere Mogadishu 'AS.

KENYA Sources: ESRI; International Chamber of Commerce AP Saudi Arabian supertanker carrying $100-million in crude was anchored Wednesday. These boom towns provide a sharp contrast to Somalia's violence and poverty. Radical Islamists control most of the country's south, meting out lashings and stonings for accused criminals. There has been no effective central government in nearly 20 years, plunging the arid African country into chaos. Life expectancy is 46 years; a quarter of children die before they reach 5.

But in northern coastal towns like Harardhere, Eyl and Bossaso, the economy is thriv- See PIRATES. 9A Associated Press MOGADISHU, Somalia -Somalia's increasingly brazen pirates are building sprawling stone houses, cruising in luxury cars, marrying beautiful women and hiring caterers to prepare Western-style food for their hostages. And in an impoverished country where every public institution has crumbled, they have become heroes in the steamy coastal dens they operate from because they are the only real business in town. "The pirates depend on us, i and we benefit from them," said Sahra Sheik Dahir, a shop owner in Harardhere, the nearest village to where a hijacked BY RON MATUS AND THOMAS C. TOBIN Times Staff Writers Florida's high school graduation rate climbed to a record 75.4 percent last year, up 3 percentage points from the year before.

The rates for black and Hispanic students rose 3.8 and 3.1 percent, respectively. "I am so proud of our schools, teachers, and students for this tremendous achievement," Gov. Charlie Crist said in a written statement. In the Tampa Bay area, Hills I.