Hits & Misses

Taxes and Insurance
From October 1958 comes this headline about a recurring issue very much in the news today: “What’s Making Insurance Soar: A Grave Problem Facing Florida Industry.” From the story: “In some cases rates have blown sky high and some major industries in Florida are wondering whether they can afford to keep shelling out more and more money.” Trend has been taking the state’s tax pulse accurately for a while as well. From a 1965 story: “The property tax needs to be modernized and equitably applied. The sales tax base should be broadened without increasing the tax.”

Business Prospects

In April 1980, the magazine wrote that “Pan-Am and National are making their merger work.” It only worked for another 11 years before Pan Am flew into the sunset. Another Florida company, Scotty’s, was able to postpone what proved to be inevitable for only so long. In July 1994, Trend wrote that the hardware chain was holding its own against a big new competitor: “Scotty’s defends its native soil and market share against invading Home Depot.” Scotty’s filed for Chapter 11 in 2004 and Chapter 7 in 2005.

Silver Screen
In June 1965 — “Movie Makers Eye Florida” — Trend wrote, “There are good reasons why major producers would come to Florida if a few obstacles can be cleared away.” Those major producers apparently agree: In 2006-07, the state attracted 22 productions that generated $58.8 million for Florida’s economy and employed 3,803 Floridians.

Condo Call
In a September 1975 story, Trend wrote that “condominium construction may never be the same. The recession has changed all the rules. Newly constructed high rises will be fewer and farther between. ... The rate of condominium construction will never return to its former pace.” Less than a year later, the magazine also opined, in a story headlined “Developers Leave the Waterfront”— “Environmental pressures and other problems, plus high costs, are making waterfront home sites less popular.” Oops. Some 22 years later found the magazine singing a different tune. From an August 1997 story, “On the Waterfront,” comes this: “Almost everyone in Florida wants to live on the water. With single-family homes in shorter supply, condominiums are the next choice.”

Solar Power
From April 1981 “Solar Energy Plays Hard to Get” — “The sun is an energy source that still seems to defy man’s grasp. Maybe some day.” The use of photovoltaic cell technology at the home level is still relatively rare, but the state does have a rebate program ($5 million in 2008-09) for those who install solar technology.

Real Estate From the April
Economic Yearbook issue in 1985 came this groaner, particularly painful in the context of today’s real estate scene: “Behind Florida’s Boom: It May Never Go Bust Again” — “The economy is no longer anchored by real estate, tourism and agriculture. Trade, manufacturing and services keep it steady in a storm.”

Insurance From September
1994, “The Politics of Wind” — “For while [Tom] Gallagher and other Florida policymakers have succeeded in keeping property insurance not only available but relatively cheap in the short-term, their use of government fiat to accomplish this is driving private insurance capital out of Florida and threatening to impose huge, unnecessary and inequitable costs on the future.”

Rail
In the February 1996 issue, the cover story titled “Speed” regarding a deal to bring high-speed rail to Florida, Trend wrote: “There is no question that a bold new age of high speed transportation is dawning in the sunshine state.’’ Three years later, Gov. Jeb Bush killed funding for the project.