Thursday's Top Stories

THURSDAY, JUNE 25, 2009

SOUTH FLORIDA:
Hospitals Show Signs of Distress

South Florida hospitals are suffering big investment declines -- but some are considerably better off than others. Read on ... [Source: Miami Herald]

ORLANDO:
Motion-Capture Innovation Can Aid Video Game, Defense Companies

A fast-growing New York computer-simulation company with big players such as Sony and Intel among its partners has chosen Orlando as the site of its first expansion. Organic Motion Inc. plans to open a business-development and sales office in Central Florida this summer, with consulting, engineering and support operations to follow later. [Source: Orlando Sentinel]

MELBOURNE:
Space Coast Credit Union Completes Acquisition of Eastern Financial

Melbourne-based Space Coast Credit Union, in a move that doubles its size, completed its acquisition of Eastern Financial Florida Credit Union after obtaining regulatory clearance. Miramar-based Eastern Financial, which was seized by regulators April 24 after heavy loan losses, will operate as a division of Space Coast. The combined institution is Florida's third-largest credit union, with more than 360,000 members with about $3.2 billion in assets. [Source: Miami Herald]

Related:

• Stuart-based Seacoast stops dividend payments to TARP [Post]

Pointing to concerns about homeowners getting hit with major increases, Gov. Charlie Crist vetoed a bill Wednesday that would have freed large property insurers to raise rates. Lawmakers overwhelmingly passed the bill this spring, with supporters arguing that residents should be able to choose to pay higher premiums to get coverage from name-brand insurers such as State Farm and Allstate. [Source: News-Journal]

Opinion:

• License to gouge consumers rightly vetoed [St. Petersburg Times]

ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:



› He's the Biggest Winner in Madoff Swindle [Palm Beach Post]
Between December 1995 and 2008, Jeffry Picower and his family withdrew from their various Madoff accounts $5.1 billion more than they invested with the confessed swindler.

› Blue Cross Requiring Psychiatrists to Get Prior Authorization [Daily News]
Mental-health advocates are taking issue with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida for a new rule taking effect in fall requiring psychiatrists to get prior authorization before treating patients in their offices or other outpatient setting.

› Pine Island Airport on Craigslist [Tampa Tribune]
Owner Wayne Reed is throwing in seven hangars and a zoning permit that allows for construction of 13 more hangars, a house and a barn. "I don't want to spend my golden years cutting grass. I want to get back out on the water," said Reed, 62.

› Spirit Airlines Adds Service to Dominican Republic [Miami Herald]
With the new city, the Miramar-based airline says it now serves 24 destinations in Latin America and the Caribbean.

› Sink, McCollum Rack Up Miles in State Planes [Times/Herald]
Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink, who is running for governor on a platform of fiscal discipline, has logged hundreds of flights on state planes, often including side trips for her and family members to their home near Tampa. Her opponent Attorney General Bill McCollum partakes a little himself.

› Home Sales See Turnaround in Jacksonville Area [Times-Union]
May brought good news to Jacksonville’s struggling real estate market. Realtor-brokered single-family home sales broke 1,000 in May -- for only the second time since July 2007 -- and showed a third upward move in four months. Related: Lennar posts slightly larger 2nd-quarter loss

› More Red Lobsters Will Get New Coastal Look [Orlando Sentinel]
Darden will also introduce a new ad campaign this fall for Red Lobster, which the company hopes to transform into a more upscale brand.

› Overload of Foreclosures Means Clerks Must Work on Saturdays [DN]
Clerks in Collier County will now be working Saturdays to catch up with a backlog of work due to increased mortgage foreclosure filings and shortstaffing caused by state budget cuts. For sale: Anything and everything inside foreclosed homes

› State Tax Collections Top Forecast; Rebound? [Florida Chamber]
The state’s general revenue collections, steadily dropping for most of the past three years, are $56.2 million above what economists forecast in March for the budget year that ends next month.

Go to page 2 for more stories ...

› Developer Wants to Pay Less, Build Less for Riviera Beach Marina [Post]
Frustrated by the lack of specifics in a revised marina redevelopment plan, the city council Wednesday set a July 22 deadline for Viking Developers LLC and the Community Redevelopment Agency staff to deliver cost estimates and details of land swaps proposed for the marina district redevelopment.

› Vangent Inc., New Tenant at Brandon Call Center, Hiring 800 [Times]
The former Home Depot call center in Brandon has a new tenant: Vangent Inc., which plans to hire 800 to operate a Tampa Bay call center of its own.

› 'Free' Downloads Will Cost Verizon [Tampa Tribune]
Verizon Wireless and the Florida Attorney General announced a settlement Wednesday that lets customers get their money back if they downloaded supposedly "free" ringtones, music or horoscopes that ended up costing $20 or more a month.

› Group Advocates Prison Reform [Lakeland Ledger]
The group, which calls itself the Coalition for Smart Justice, wants Florida to invest in education and substance abuse programs for prisoners. Its letter to the governor says too many ex-offenders go back to prison because they receive little or no job training, mental health and substance abuse treatment while in prison. From Trend: Prison Reform: A Course Correction

commentary
› 'Hometown Democracy' Already Tried in St. Pete Beach [Sentinel column]
Mike Thomas: Hometown Democracy would give residents the right to vote on changes to growth-management plans. St. Pete Beach went that route in 2006. It backfired and was expensive.

› ULA Receives Lease from Lockheed [Florida Today]
Space Florida's Board of Directors on Wednesday approved a "conduit financing package" that transferred Lockheed Martin's remaining debt and the lease on Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station to United Launch Alliance, a company formed in 2006 as a merger of launch operations between Lockheed and The Boeing Co.

› Spring Hill Golf Clubs Close Abruptly [St. Petersburg Times]
Golfers and workers were stunned Wednesday afternoon when sister courses Spring Hill Golf and Country Club and Seven Hills Golfers Club shut down without warning.

› Gainesville Cancer Center to Open Monday [Sun]
Physicians and administrators at North Florida Regional Medical Center showed off their newly constructed Cancer Center on Wednesday with tours and a ribbon cutting. The facility will open to the public Monday.