Wednesday's Daily Pulse

Will Short Gorham | 2/23/2011

Floridians Remain Confident About Economy for Second Consecutive Month

Consumer confidence among Floridians remained at 77 out of 100 in February further demonstrating the public's positive view of the economy, according to a new University of Florida survey. The index rose seven points last month, an unexpected increase considering the economic climate in Florida. That the index didn't change dramatically after January's increase is noteworthy.

UF imprints on Gainesville the intellectual life, arts and culture of a larger metropolitan area — with relatively little traffic or other problems associated with a big city. [Gainesville - A Community Portrait] [View All Community Portraits]

"We had expected a correction to last month's seven-point increase in consumer confidence," said Chris McCarty, director of UF's Survey Research Center in the Bureau of Economic and Business Research. "A second month at this high level makes it much less likely that the increase for January was an aberration and more likely that consumers view the economy and their personal economic situation as having improved." McCarty said several factors are contributing to Floridians' increased optimism, and at the top of the list is the bull market in stocks that are lifting portfolios. Another factor, McCarty said, is that those nearing retirement age whose 401(k) accounts were almost halved by the recession have mostly recovered those losses. Work wages have shown steady improvement and the stimulus agreement, passed by Congress at the end of last year, is now appearing in workers' paychecks, increasing optimism about personal finances, McCarty said. Inflation has remained in check, McCarty said, but high inflation could resurface by the summer. Gas prices have begun to rise again and are expected to keep rising, as are prices for basic food items like wheat and corn, McCarty said. [Source: UF News]

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COLUMN: Florida Businesses Suffer with Internet Tax Break

Florida lawmakers are helping put our local bookstores out of business — and putting brick-and-mortar stores of all kinds at a competitive disadvantage to online retailers. They do so by forcing local companies to collect sales taxes while giving a break to out-of-state retailers. Not only does this hurt local businesses and cost jobs, it also robs the state's coffers of as much as $1 billion. That's right — a billion. At a time when we're talking about laying off teachers, cutting funding to veterans programs, slashing funding for nursing homes and everything else. Let's back up for a minute, though, and start with the basics. Current Florida law requires residents to pay sales tax on most purchases — including those purchased over the Internet. Surprised? Well, you're not alone. Most Floridians are completely unaware that they're tax cheats. Even the state knows this, posting on the Department of Revenue's website: "Most Florida citizens are not aware that this state has a 'use tax.'" We do. Residents are supposed to file an "out-of-state purchase return" equal to 6 percent of any tax-free online purchases. But the vast majority of Floridians file no such thing. [Source: Orlando Sentinel]

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Transportation Secretary One of Many Openings in Scott's Administration

Florida Gov. Rick Scott has yet to name the state's top transportation official, but already he has installed the agency's chief of staff, hired its lawyer and pulled the trigger on a major decision to blow up plans for high-speed rail.

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Scott is planning an ambitious overhaul of how the state provides health care to 3 million Florida Medicaid recipients, but he still hasn't named a chief for the Department of Health or for the Agency for Health Care Administration. The agency directors Scott has hired had little-to-no input on his controversial budget recommendation. One, Carl Littlefield, resigned Monday only 17 days after being nominated as director of the Agency for Persons with Disabilities when senators said Scott didn't know that he previously oversaw a region that included a controversial Hillsborough County group home. "Occasionally he steps in it," Sen. Evelyn Lynn, R-Ormond Beach, said of Scott. "But he's learning his way." Rep. Scott Randolph, D-Orlando, said having a transportation secretary in place probably would not have made a difference in Scott's high-speed rail decision. Stephanie Kopelousos left the job Feb. 11 for a consulting job with U.S. Rep. John Mica, R-Fla. "That decision was made on a pure ideological basis," Randolph said of Scott. "If it was simply a financial worry, he could have sat down with the feds and found another way to do this." [Source: St. Petersburg Times]

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Florida Takes Top Spot, Two Others in Top 10 Fast Food Cities

Orlando, the undisputed theme-park capital of the world, has won the top ranking in another dubious category: Fast-food joints. The Daily Beast website determined that out of nearly 500 large U.S. cities, Orlando had the highest number of McDonald's, Burger Kings, KFCs and other fast-food restaurants per 100,000 residents. Orlando has 463 of them, or 196.3 for every 100,000 people, with Subway being the most ubiquitous, according to the site, which used information from data collector AggData to determine the total number of fast-food restaurants per city. AggData included the nation's 30 largest fast-food chains. Also in the Top Ten: Miami and Tampa. [Source: Orlando Sentinel]

See also:
» Photo Gallery: Fast Food Capitals [Daily Beast]

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UF Ranked No. 3 for Value Among Public Universities

The University of Florida is one of the nation's best values among public universities, according to the Princeton Review. UF ranked No. 3 on the Princeton Review's 2011 list of public universities offering the best value, published online Tuesday. UF placed in the top 50 last year but had never before cracked the top 10 since the list was started in 2004. UF spokesman Steve Orlando said the university offers academic quality at a time when the economy is making parents and students take a hard look at the cost of a college education. "They have to think about the investment they're making, and they realize that there's a lot of value to be had here," he said. The University of Virginia topped the list, and New College of Florida ranked second among public universities, while the universities of Central Florida and North Florida also made the top 50. The inclusion of five Florida universities on the list comes as schools in other states face budget pressures, said Robert Franek, senior vice president of publishing for the Princeton Review. "Florida has a pretty significant showing this year, while other states are just under great stress," he said. Florida has been under similar stress in recent years, with budget cuts made to higher education at the same time that state universities have been allowed to raise tuition 15 percent annually until rates reach the national average. But Orlando said he expected UF will continue to remain a value as universities in other states also raise tuition rates. [Source: Gainesville Sun]

See also: New College Ranks No. 2 as 'Best Value' [Sarasota Herald-Tribune]

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ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› Former Space Shuttle Workers Find New Home at Embraer [Florida Today]
Having a reservoir of skilled aerospace workers is already paying off for Brevard County. At a ribbon cutting Monday for Brazilian jet manufacturer Embraer S.A.'s first U.S final assembly aircraft plant at Melbourne International Airport, executives said the company has hired 61 people for its operation . Eighteen of those new employees -- 30 percent of the total so far -- previously worked on the NASA's shuttle program. Soon they will be working on assembling and outfitting Embraer's Phenom 100 and 300 executive jets. More former shuttle workers are expected to be hired as Embraer heads toward its 200-person employment level in Melbourne. "We had a number of drivers that we looked at and considered when we established this facility," said Gary Spulak, president of Embraer Holding Inc., Embraer's U.S. subsidiary. "Obviously the availability of a skilled labor force here was very important."

› Harris Corp. to Expand Medical Data Business [Orlando Sentinel]
Harris Corp. plans to acquire an Arizona-based healthcare technology company in a major move to expand its reach into the medical data systems market, the company said Tuesday. Melbourne-based Harris said it has agreed to buy privately-held Carefx Corp. for $155 million in cash and debt financing. The deal is expected to close by mid-2011. Carefx would become part of Harris Healthcare Solutions unit, based in Falls Church, Va. Harris said the acquisition will be complementary to its own existing business in electronic patient-data systems for the healthcare industry. Harris provides healthcare data systems to government customers such as the Veteran's Administration and Department of Defense, as well as a number of private health care providers.

› Second Shortest Sugar Cane Season Ends with Crop Down 20 Percent [Palm Beach Post]
December's record-breaking freezes decreased its sugar cane crop by an estimated 20 percent, the Sugar Cane Growers Cooperative of Florida said today. During the 2010-2011 season, the Belle Glade-based cooperative produced 2.4 million tons of sugar cane grown on 61,650 acres in Palm Beach County. That yielded 265,865 tons of sugar and 17.4 million gallons of blackstrap molasses. That compares to last year's production of 2.7 million tons of cane producing 316,081 tons of sugar and 16.8 million gallons of blackstrap molasses. The 46-member cooperative completed processing Saturday, following its second-shortest harvesting season in its 49-year history, said spokeswoman Barbara Miedema. The 114-day crop rivals that of the 1970-71 freeze-impacted season. "Never ever have we had three freezes in December and never so early," Miedema said. George Wedgworth, president and CEO, said, "The December freeze events were so severe and widespread that very little of the crop was unimpacted."

› COLUMN: Job-Search Makeover for Miami-Dade Man [Miami Herald]
Last week I met with one of the country's top executive recruiters, who had just published a book on getting hired. Hearing Kimberly Bishop's advice, I instantly thought of Buster Castiglia, the out-of-work banker whom I had just featured in The Balancing Act column. Castiglia, 67, has 37 years of banking experience and a dynamic personality. However, he has spent the past year looking for a job. Castiglia is part of the age wave, a growing segment of seniors that are making the word retirement outdated because they no longer have the luxury or desire to stop working. Most of us know that job seekers should approach their hunt like they would a job: Set specific hours and allow themselves time off to stay balanced. Castiglia does that. But a year into the search, he needs some expert guidance and I asked Bishop to help.

› Home Prices Hit Post-Bust Lows in Big Cities [Sarasota Herald-Tribune]
Home prices fell in nearly all major cities tracked by an influential index — and the experts behind the measure are unsure whether, broadly speaking, the housing market is anywhere near a bottom. Both Tampa and Miami were among the 11 markets in the Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller 20-city index that hit new lows since the housing bubble burst in 2006-07. Prices fell in every market except Washington, D.C., while the overall index dropped 1 percent in what was its sixth straight month of declines. Neither the Sarasota-Bradenton market nor the Charlotte County-North Port market is included in Case-Shiller, but the researchers behind the index were not sanguine about this market's chances to buck the national trend. "The Sun Belt remains the most damaged area of them all," said David M. Blitzer, chairman of the Index Committee at Standard & Poor's, during a Tuesday conference call. "If one were to define a double dip as going below the previous low, we're not there yet. "But the margin of comfort is very, very thin."

› Sen Budget Chief Questions Gov's to 'Legal Authority' to Sell Planes [St. Petersburg Times]
Gov. Rick Scott is on a political crash course with the Florida Senate's powerful budget chief, J.D. Alexander, who wrote a letter Tuesday asking the governor to cite the "legal authority" for selling two state planes. Alexander said he believed the Feb. 11 transaction was unlawful because the governor failed to get the Legislature to sign off on the $3.67 million deal and Scott kept some of the money from reaching the state treasury — a highly unusual transaction. Alexander, who wrote a letter last week saying the deal wasn't legal, wrote his follow-up Tuesday so that Scott would tell him specifically who advised the governor. "In your response, please state specifically why this transaction did not violate Article VII, Section 1(c) of the Florida Constitution and Sections... [of] Florida Statutes," Alexander wrote Tuesday. The governor's office said Tuesday that Scott stands by his previous statements that the transaction was lawful.

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