Joy Gendusa spins through the converted NAPA Auto Parts warehouse; Lulu, her white Maltese, scampers at her feet in a valiant effort to keep pace. Over the din of ringing phones, she dishes updates about dozens of employees, many of them related. "And that's her stepmother over there," she gestures. "The girl next to her, her mother works here too." PostcardMania, a direct-mail company that prints and ships postcard advertisements on behalf of businesses nationwide, is 10 years old with 160 ...

CLEARWATER — In one of its biggest purchases in years, the Church of Scientology has added 5 acres to its already defining downtown presence. The $10-million cash purchase signals the demise of an ambitious waterfront condominium project proposed by a group of Scientology parishioners who assembled parcels immediately north of downtown four years ago and shared visions of turning downtown Clearwater into another Naples. Despite having no experience in condo development, Triangle Development partners Ben Kugler and Ron Pollack hoped to ...

All acknowledgement to Poynter's Jim Romenesko, whose blog [http://www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=45] alerted me to the Reporter's Notebook Web site [http://www.reportersnotebook.net/article.php3?id_article=57], which contains a compelling collection of memories by alums of the long gone Clearwater Sun newspaper. While I'm not so sure about the contention that a newspaper 25 miles away can't provide comprehensive coverage of a community, it is illuminating and sobering to read about the Sun's glory days. A particular standout is the essay crafted by Mike Pride [http://nenews.org/stories/639.html], a well-regarded, recently-retired ...

The Clearwater City Council took mere seconds Tuesday to deliver a powerful message: that people have the right to peacefully assemble and speak their minds, and the city won't even consider trying to tread on that right. Thirty-four downtown merchants and two residents signed a petition calling for the city government to take action against Anonymous, a loosely organized, Internet-based group that has been conducting worldwide protests against the Church of Scientology for months. Since the first of the year, the ...

CLEARWATER — About three dozen downtown business owners are upset with a group of anti-Scientology protesters and want the City Council to do something about them. But city leaders Tuesday said there's little they can do. "Suspending the First Amendment is something we shouldn't spend a whole lot of time on," Councilman Paul Gibson said. The loosely organized group Anonymous has held several recent demonstrations against the Church of Scientology. Many Cleveland Street businesses say the masked protesters and the constant ...

CLEARWATER — Shawn Lons­dale, who carried on a one-man crusade against Scientology in 2006, was "sick, depressed, broke and tired of it all" when he took his life in February, according to a suicide note released Friday. Police discovered him on Feb. 16, a garden hose stretching from the exhaust pipe of his car into a window of his home at 510 N Lincoln Ave. Online speculation coursed through anti-Scientology circles that he did not kill himself. On Friday, however, police ...

CLEARWATER — Marble floors with patterned inlay. Plush carpeting. Mahogany paneling. Decorated crown moldings. Marble sinks. Hi-def TVs. A 32-station fitness center. An elegant restaurant. Luxury touches abound inside downtown Clearwater's newest waterfront hotel, the gleaming 240-room Oak Cove. But don't rush to pack your bags. Oak Cove is just for Scientologists. Recently opened after a $26-million renovation, the hotel is Scientology's newest lodging option in Clearwater, the church's international spiritual headquarters. Oak Cove also is the first in a series ...

CLEARWATER — While thousands of college kids on spring break enjoyed a gorgeous Saturday on Clearwater Beach, another group of young people descended on the otherwise-deserted downtown wearing surgical masks, fake beards and bandannas. A group of about 150 people, mostly college-age, spent the sun-splashed day protesting the Church of Scientology outside its spiritual headquarters. Timed to coincide with Scientology's celebration of founder L. Ron Hubbard's birthday, it was the second major protest in Clearwater by a loose-knit Internet activist group ...

[Picture / Caption: "A bomb squad robot heads into the alley behind the Dianetics and Scientology Life Improvement Center at 336 First Ave. N in St. Petersburg on Thursday after the Scientology headquarters in Clearwater received a bomb threat. A large suitcase found in the alley behind the St. Petersburg office did not contain a bomb."] CLEARWATER — The Church of Scientology was told again Thursday it could not have a court order restraining Anonymous protesters this weekend, largely because the ...

The church filed a suit for an "injunction for protection" from a group called Anonymous. [Picture / Caption: "Anonymous protesters walk south on Fort Harrison Avenue in front of the Church of Scientology's new Super Power Building on Feb. 10 in downtown Clearwater."] CLEARWATER - After weeks of enduring Internet video taunts from a group called Anonymous, the Church of Scientology posted a YouTube video of its own Wednesday. It includes what Scientology claims are video snippets from Anonymous, threatening phone ...

[Picture / Caption: "A bomb squad robot heads into the alley behind the Dianetics & Scientology Life Improvement Center at 336 First Ave N in St. Petersburg after the Scientology headquarters in Clearwater received a bomb threat. A large suitcase found in the alley behind the office was found to contain clothing and a Bible. [Lara Cerri, Times]"] ST. PETERSBURG – When police opened the suspicious brown suitcase found behind a Scientology office downtown, it contained no bomb - just clothing, ...

CLEARWATER – Circuit Judge Douglas Baird today denied a motion for a temporary injunction sought by the Church of Scientology to prevent protesters from getting within 500 feet of Scientology buildings. A group of protesters calling itself Anonymous plans demonstrations against Scientology Friday and Saturday, coinciding with the church's birthday celebration of its founder, L.Ron Hubbard. This is the second of two similar suits filed by the Church of Scientology this week. The first was rejected by Circuit Judge Linda Allan ...

The church is seeking a restraining order to stop a new round of protests. CLEARWATER - With the Internet activist group Anonymous threatening a second round of protests against Scientology this weekend, the Clearwater-based church went to court late Tuesday, filing a petition for a temporary restraining order. The petition was filed just before the close of court Tuesday afternoon, and the St. Petersburg Times could not obtain a copy of the petition. Pat Harney, a spokeswoman for the Church of ...