Coupon users get aggressive
With household budgets tightening, some Americans are making couponing both a part-time job and a sport. As gas and food prices soar, and job security weakens, couponing is regaining popularity.

Burger King woos moms with healthier meal
After watching its bigger rival McDonald's Corp. try to woo mom, Burger King Corp. is launching a marketing and promotional campaign meant to grab her attention.

Building trust in troubling times
With times the way they are, the clearance rack is a popular gathering spot for shoppers these days. And with prices at all-time lows and a large stock available, the housing market should be no exception.

T-Mobile launches home service today

NEW YORK -- Cell phone company T-Mobile USA is set to launch a nationwide service that lets customers place unlimited domestic calls with their landline phones over a broadband connection.

Market experts say ride out the storm
With gas prices spiraling and the stock market sinking, it would be easy for Americans to be pessimistic about their financial futures. But take heart, say area investment advisers. These lows have come before, and they'll come again. "If we look back in history, the same things that are happening now, happened in the '70s, '80s and '90s," said Ron Molo, a financial adviser for Edward Jones Investments in Joliet.

Gas prices aren't hurting all businesses
Soaring gasoline prices have hit almost everyone hard, from the top business executive to the stay-at-home mom. However, for local businesses, the results of soaring gas prices have produced mixed results.

Internet era takes scraps out of scrapbooking
Like most people, Brenda Hahn-Boisvert says her family photos are the first nonliving things she'd want to save in case of a household disaster like a fire or a flood. Hahn-Boisvert was at a recent workshop for online story-booking.

High gasoline prices changing lawn-mowing habits
Sales of manual -- or push reel -- mowers with the cartwheeling blades are on the rise this year. Officials attribute the surge to increased environmental concerns because of emissions from gas-powered mowers, the faltering economy that makes the generally less expensive push reels more attractive, and $4-a-gallon gasoline.

Area bridge breaking new ground
A replacement bridge being built over Long Run Creek in Lockport Township is making history with the use of a new type of structural beam for its supports.

Jacobs dealership to expand
Bill Jacobs will expand its Jefferson Street dealership to add a separate Cadillac showroom and service area. The dealership also will remodel its existing building, which will continue to house Chevrolet sales and service.

A formal 60th anniversary
George Kosack has watched a whole generation go from being ring bearers and prom-goers to grooms and fathers of the bride. Kosack has been outfitting Joliet-area men in the formal wear they needed for special occasions for 60 years.

Realtors optimistic despite numbers
April homes sales increased slightly in Will and Kendall counties when compared to March, but they're still lower than a year ago. Sales fell in Grundy County.

Couple putting big chill on buffets
Take a bowl of potato salad, sprinkle in some hot and humid weather, add dozens of party guests and you have a recipe for a gastrointestinal disaster. But that same list of ingredients led a New Lenox couple to cook up a cool product that wards off curdled cole slaw and deviled eggs from hell.

New workforce program launches

JOLIET -- The workforce development system is being transformed throughout Illinois with a new concept that expands access to career, education and work support services.

Pizza Hut turns 50 in tough time for the industry
Pizza Hut, known for its red-roofed restaurants, is updating its look with plasma TVs, sports bars and local sports memorabilia. It's also rolling out tubs of baked pasta and piles of fried chicken wings to go with its famous pizzas. The 50-year-old business is now the world's largest pizza chain with $10 billion in annual sales.