Marketplace for Tuesday, July 6, 2010

There have been scattered power outages along the East Coast as the utilities try to manage record demand for power, during record high temperatures. It's been almost seven years since the last big blackout on the East Coast. And there have been lots of talks about upgrades, but how prepared are we? Alisa Roth reports.

The post office asked for another rate increase on first-class stamps and wants to eliminate Saturday service. These are all attempts to get control of losses that could reach $240 billion over the next decade. John Dimsdale reports.

Michigan State University says it is closing its undergraduate university in Dubai, putting an end to a money-losing experiment. It's tough news for the 100 students who need to find a new place to go to school. But for American universities, the race to go global continues. Jeff Horwich reports.

Winona, Texas -- population 600 -- is the first town in its county to allow alcohol sales since Prohibition. Mayor Rusty Smith talks with Bill Radke about what the reasoning was behind the decision and what its done for the local economy.

In our new series "Road Warriors," producer Michael Raphael introduces us to some of our listeners' soundtracks when they're out on the road. We kick off the series with Tim Westergren, founder and Chief Strategy Officer of Pandora.com, the online radio company that's made waves by using mathematical algorithms to guess what music you want to hear.

Bill Radke reviews what listeners had to say about stories involving the FDA wanting farmers to lay off feeding meat-producing animals antibiotics, our series on China's one-child policy, and consumer confidence plunging in June.

Health plan customer service is getting a makeover. Insurance companies are hiring empathy trainers for their call agents and brushing up on their phone manners. It's an attempt to keep customers loyal as health care reform starts to give individuals more options to quit their insurance company and shop for a new one. Gregory Warner reports.