The people may stay the same, but the names and places where Toledoans can speak to their stockbroker are undergoing a realignment, resulting from the financial turmoil on Wall Street a year ago.

A California man was sentenced to federal prison Friday in connection with four bank robberies -- including three in the Puyallup area -- during fall 2007. Robert Vincent Mendez, 43, now faces trial for four counts of bank robbery in Oregon, the U.S. District Attorney's Office said. Mendez pleaded guilty in August to four bank robberies in Washington.

For decades, when Wells Fargo & Co. tried to reach struggling homeowners who had fallen behind on their mortgages, the bank had just a few options: It could call, send letters or knock on doors. But with the foreclosure rate still rising, nationally and in the Twin Cities, the San Francisco-based bank is turning to the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul for help in reaching troubled homeowners.

SAN LEANDRO -- Lena Fong is quite the firecracker. So says her daughter, Jill Au, who today will be one of about 200 guests at Fong's 80th birthday party at Scott's Seafood Terrace in Walnut Creek. Fong, born in Oakland and a 40-year San Leandro resident, is well-known in town for her philanthropy, as well as her cooking.

North Carolina's unemployment rate rose slightly to 11 percent in October, as the state's battered jobs market continues to frustrate the increasing ranks of laid-off workers. Last month's rate was just shy of the May level of 11.1 percent, which was the highest the state reached this year. Despite the increase, there were a few positive signs, said Mark Vitner, senior economist for Wells Fargo.

One by one, the graduates marched to the front of the room to collect their diplomas, grinning, dabbing away tears and, in some cases, dancing back to their seats. Some members of this group, Goodwill Industries of the Southern Piedmont's latest job-training classes, have already gotten jobs.

A 56-year-old Oklahoma man has received two life sentences plus 99 years for his role in kidnapping a Springtown couple during a botched plan to rob a Springtown bank in 2007. A Parker County jury convicted Gary Nolen Huddleston of two charges of aggravated kidnapping and one charge of conspiracy to commit aggravated robbery.

For decades, when Wells Fargo & Co. tried to reach struggling homeowners who had fallen behind on their mortgages, the bank had just a few options: It could call, phone or knock on doors. But with the foreclosure rate still rising, nationally and in the Twin Cities, the San Francisco-based bank is turning to the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul for help in reaching troubled homeowners.

A 56-year-old Oklahoma man was given two life sentences, plus another 99 years, for his role in two kidnappings and a botched robbery at a Springtown bank in 2007. Gary Nolen Huddleston was convicted by a Parker County jury and, on Thursday, received three prison sentences. Included were two charges of aggravated kidnapping and one charge of conspiracy to commit aggravated robbery.

Though no date has been set for the late Jasmine Guevara's funeral, the burden of its cost has been lifted. Terry Rietveld, of Will Funeral Chapel in Mitchell, said Thursday that he offered Guevara's family a free funeral. The family accepted the offer Thursday during a visit with Rietveld. "It was a very emotional time for all of us," he said. Guevara, 16, was killed Nov. 10.