The Miami Herald from Miami, Florida • 39

BUSINESS 0 THURSDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2005 EDITOR: LISA GIBBS 305-376-3578 or 954-764-7026 ext. 3578 THE HERALD THE MARKETS STOCKS, MUTUAL FUNDS, 6-7C DOW 30 10,344.98 500 1,191.38 NASDAQ 2,100.05 10-YR NOTE 4.59 CRUDE OIL 60.66 Stocks end session lower Wall Street finished a volatile session with a loss Wednesday as investors struggled to digest a mix of earnings reports and weighed the odds of a year end rally that would give the flagging stock market a boost. Disappointing earnings from Boeing Co. (BA) and a lower-than-expected holiday sales forecast from Amazon.com (AMZN) pressured the major indexes for much of the session despite other positive earnings reports. Investors are wondering whether the yearly "Santa Claus" rally will help boost stocks.

HURRICANE BRIEFING AGRICULTURE Vegetable shortage feared Shoppers can expect to pay much more for tomatoes and peppers, especially in grocery stores along the East Coast, for the next two months because of Hurricane Wilma. Florida growers who replant crops likely won't be able to bring their produce to market for two months. This will cause a temporary shortage of tomatoes and peppers since the state provides more than half of the nation's fresh vegetables between November and February, industry officials said Wednesday. And fresh green bean crops in western Palm Beach County and Homestead, which supply the nation in the winter months, are history. Sweet corn, lettuce, radishes and other Glades vegetables, along with eastern Palm Beach County's cucumbers, also were wiped out by the powerful storm.

TOURISM Seaquarium damaged The Miami Seaquarium said Wilma's storm surge sent sea water into the marine park on Virginia Key and caused extensive damage. No animals were injured. The damage was the worst since 1992's Hurricane Andrew, which closed the Seaquarium for four months, park vice president Eric Eimstad said. He won't predict when the Seaquarium would reopen. Dolphin swims are canceled through Nov.

14. RESTAURANTS Joe's hosts rescue workers Joe's Stone Crab on South 1 Beach has no power, but plenty of crustacean to spare. The world-famous eatery opened its doors Wednesday to feed fire rescue, crews and police steaks, veal and lamb chops on fire burning grills and propane-fueled flames. "These guys have been busting hump to get life back to normal around here," said Joe's spokesman Thom Mozloom. "If they have a uniform and a badge we can feed them." By 12:30 p.m., 100 rescue workers had filed in for platefuls of roast, key lime pie, and stone claws, Mozloom said.

The restaurant plans to dish it up until all its food runs out. CELLULAR Verizon provides services Verizon Wireless reported Wednesday that 23 of its 42 South Florida stores have reopened in the wake of Hurricane Wilma, and are providing free local and longdistance calls, battery charging and technical support to those in need of these services. Customers can view a list of open stores at http://news.vzw.com/ FloridaStores.html. PHARMACEUTICALS Andrx Corp. has resumed pharmaceutical manufacturing operations after suffering minor damage to its Broward facilities.

HURRICANE HELP Retailer Chico's FAS is donating $100,000 to the American Red Cross for hurricane relief efforts. Send news of other business openings and donations to CONTACT THE HERALD Share stories, questions Businesses, how are you coping with Hurricane Wilma? Share stories with us and ask your questions at HURRICANE WILMA THE AFTERMATH Creatively coping with chaos South Florida's hurricane- HERALD.COM: IS YOUR BUSINESS OPEN IN THE WAKE OF HURRICANE WILMA? worn companies are making do CLICK ON TODAY'S EXTRAS TO SHARE YOUR INFORMATION to keep going despite a lack of offices. going with mobile phones and pany owns. makeshift digs. Many of South Florida's blueBY CHRISTINA HOAG "We're 20-odd people sitting on chip corporate residents in the AND PATRICK DANNER the floor here with cellphones," region's two key business districts said William Holly, president of downtown Fort Lauderdale and Companies across South Florida Miami's Holly Real Estate, which Miami's Brickell Avenue have started assessing damage to their had to decamp from the Espirito been ramping up operations from offices and equipment on Wednes- Santo Plaza on Brickell Avenue to alternative sites as officials try to day while trying to keep business three empty apartments the com- get a handle on companies' losses.

RESTAURANTS WALTER STAFF EATING OUT: Kelly Waddich, front left, and Josh Kerrigan enjoy a meal with Marlene Kahn, rear left, and Stephan Cashman at The Floridian, one of several restaurants on Las Olas Boulevard and elsewhere around South Florida that were starting to open Wednesday. EATERIES GET BACK TO BUSINESS RESTAURANTS BUT FINDING BY ELAINE WALKER The menu was limited at The Floridian restaurant to eggs, pancakes, french toast, bacon and coffee. That's what was left in the refrigerator when the restaurant got its power back on and opened its doors at 7 a.m. Wednesday. But customers like Arthur 1 Bengochea didn't mind.

They were thrilled at the chance to enjoy a warm meal and sit down to relax for the first time since Wilma departed. "It feels good to be able to get out," said Bengochea of Fort Lauderdale, who was enjoying some pancakes and coffee while reading the newspaper. "You start to feel like life is returning to normal, at BOATING Marina owners South Florida's boating community assesses the damage from Hurricane Wilma and begins to rebuild, though for some, that could take months. BY AMY MARTINEZ Deerfield Beach marina owner Thomas Tyghem figured the Hillsboro Canal was no place for a boat in the middle of a hurricane. So to prepare for Wilma, Tyghem moved all the boats under his care at Marina One from the canal and into a building where they rested neatly on racks until, that is, the roof collapsed and the walls came down.

After Wilma, 150 boats lay TURN TO COLLAPSE, 4C SUPREME COURT, 3C BLACKBERRY APPEAL DENIED Chief Justice John Roberts denies appeal by Research in Motion. About 35 percent of Fort Lauderdale's downtown office space "is not functional for use," estimated Broward County Economic Development Director Norm Taylor. "We are starting to get some sense' of what's happening with large and small companies, but it's been slow and mostly by observa- TURN TO BUSINESSES, 4C COMMERCE Cash is king during power outages Area banks said they had plenty of cash on hand to service South Florida's post-storm cash-based economy. Branch locations are opening and ATMs are coming on line with power restoration. BY MONICA HATCHER The good, old-fashioned greenback is making a comeback in South Florida.

Knocked powerless by Hurri- cane Wilma, scores of grocery stores, gas stations, restaurants, and other retail outlets are operating on a cash-only basis. People are pulling the almighty dollar from their wallets again, instead of the almighty credit card, and heading START TO OPEN THEIR DOORS, FOOD AND SUPPLIES REMAINS A CHALLENGE least a little bit." Sarah-Jayne Brown and her MORE COVERAGE friends agreed. "We've been looking for some good coffee Miami International Airsince Monday afternoon," said port is jammed with stormBrown of Wilton Manors. "It's just weary travelers. PAGE 1B nice to come and hang out with Some malls reopen, profriends." viding refuge for residents The Floridian, a local institu- without power.

PAGE 5B tion, was one of several restau- Experts say consumers rants on Las Olas Boulevard and will be digging deeper into elsewhere around South Florida that were starting to get their doors open on Wednesday for business. But even for those restaurants lucky enough to get power, the problems weren't over. Finding everything from employees to TURN TO FOOD, 4C their pockets for insurance coverage. PAGE 5C Residents check in to local hotels, which are happy to fill empty beds. PAGE 8C Disaster-related loans are being readied by government officials to help businesses.

PAGE 8C and users face losses cm. fi BOB BEACH POST MAJOR DAMAGE: About 150 boats are crushed in the boat storage building at the Marine One Yacht Club that collapsed Monday. 'I feel like I lost a family said marina owner Thomas Tyghem. CRUISE LINES, 3C AUTOMOBILES, RCL POSTS STRONG QUARTER NATURAL an Royal Caribbean posts strong results, but Natural-gas warns of potential trouble ahead. an alternative en masse to the nearest ATM, which needs electricity to spit out 10s and 20s.

It's an unusual scenario in a society long-sold on the convenience of plastic. But banks in South Florida said they were ready to handle the largely cashed-based economy in the potentially powerless weeks ahead. "We have not been experiencing any cash issues," said Washington Mutual spokeswoman Nova Barnett. "We were well prepared prior to the hurricane's impact. We had stockpiled the cash." It's not as intriguing as it sounds.

Banks generally ship cash receipts from their branches once a week. Miami-based TotalBank, for instance, simply canceled their shipment scheduled last Friday to TURN TO MONEY, 5C SMART BOX GETTING THE CASH Here's what some banks are doing to keep the cash flowing: Bank of America is in communications with a vendor who brings in packaged cash, ready to load into empty and drawers at its nine open locations. BankUnited said it has been moving cash from inoperable ATMs to those with electricity. BankAtiantic has a mobile ATM van making the rounds at closed branches and other locations. Washington Mutual is waiving the fees it charges when its customers use ATMs operated by other banks.

ETC. 3C -GAS CARS ACCELERATE powered cars offer drivers to using gasoline..