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Tuesday's Daily Pulse
What You Need to Know About Florida Today
The Freshman Class: Trend's Legislative Preview The 2010 elections gave Republicans a veto-proof majority in the Legislature. In the Florida House, Republicans hold an 81-39 majority. In the Senate, GOP pickups included outgoing Sen. Dave Aronberg's seat, which went to Lizbeth Benacquisto, and Sen. Charlie Justice's seat, which sees a return of Jack Latvala. The Republicans now hold a 28-12 majority in that chamber. All told, Tallahassee welcomes 57 newcomers. More important than the Republican-Democrat tally, say political observers, is that the new senators, regardless of party, will be more business-friendly.
At the links below, you'll find lists of all the new representatives and senators. They include photos, district, net worth and some notable factoids on each person.
» Meet Florida's New Representatives
» Meet Florida's New Senators
 Representatives (from left): Doug Broxson, Clay Ingram, Elizabeth Porter, Daniel Davis and Reggie Fullwood being sworn in [Photo: James Borchuc- St. Petersburg Times] |
'Live-in' Managers Pay Peanuts to Live in Mansions for Sale
John and Faith Forsythe live in a million-dollar mansion on Deer Island, but they don't own it. And they're not renters, house sitters or squatters either. The Forsythes are "home managers" with Showhomes Orlando, a home-staging company that specializes in placing individuals and families in upscale homes for sale. For a fee of $1,700 a month, excluding utilities, the Forsythes live in a 4,500-square-foot lakefront home with five bedrooms, four-and-a-half bathrooms, a heated spa, hand-carved marble mosaics, 20-foot ceilings and a boat dock. "It feels like this is our home," Faith Forsythe said. But technically, it's not. The owners of the home southwest of Oakland moved out months ago and took their furnishings. An empty house, however, is hard to sell, said the owners' real-estate agent Barbara Vance. "Selling a vacant house is like a woman trying to model without makeup," Vance said. In order to create that "lived-in" look and feel, Vance contacted Showhomes Orlando, which provides both occupants and furnishings. "We create the model-type atmosphere," said Jeff Smith, Showhomes Orlando director of operations. [Source: Orlando Sentinel]?
EPA's New Florida Rules Roils D.C.
The fight over the federal Environmental Protection Agency's new water pollutant rules for Florida could soon be decided in Washington. Earlier this month, the US House of Representatives voted to stop EPA from enforcing its water nutrient standards for Florida's waters. It did so by cutting off funding to the federal agency to carry out the program. The Senate is now looking at its own 2011 Continuing Resolution budget and considering a similar rider to nip EPA's enforcement of nutrient pollutant standards for Florida waters. Environmental groups across Florida are asking residents to urge their senators to not interfere with EPA's plans. The new rules set standards for both nitrates and phosphorus, excess amounts of which can cause harmful algae blooms. The pollutant often originate from sewage, manure and fertilizer. The new rules were approved by the EPA last year but don't to go into effect until mid 2012 to give impacted businesses time to work with EPA to meet the standards. The EPA estimates that 60 percent of Florida's waters are impaired. Dozens of Florida industries — from mining to the farming and waste water industry — oppose the new standards, claiming they are too stringent, costly and not based on good science. [Source: Gainesville Sun]
Enterprise Florida Names Gray Swoope as New President
F. Gray Swoope Jr. of the Mississippi Development Authority was hired Monday as president of Enterprise Florida, the organization announced.
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Panama Canal Widening Could Bring Money Into Florida
The widening of the Panama Canal is a bigger deal for Central Florida's economy than you could imagine. Crews are widening the canal to allow mega cargo ships to pass through, and believe it or not, it could mean 100,000 local jobs.
Central Florida has such a huge opportunity in Panama that could change the way the world does business with the U.S.
It takes most ships 24 hours to get through the Pacific side of the canal. Once larger ships are able to navigate the canal, they have to unload somewhere.
If they can stop in Florida, it could change the way all of us live. It's an incredible feat of engineering, and now, the series of locks that make up the 48-mile-long Panama Canal is getting an upgrade that could send money flowing into Florida.
"We can see that Florida is really interested in the impact of the expansion and how it can take advantage of the opportunities that it will bring," Rodolfo Sabonge of the Panama Canal Authority said.
Canal officials such as Sabonge, who met with WFTV, have also been hosting Florida business leaders coming to see work to widen the canal.
[Source: WFTV]
ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:
› Jax Mayoral Candidate Might Sell Preservation Land for Revenue
Mayoral candidate Mike Hogan said today he would consider selling city-owned preservation land if the economic slump keeps squeezing revenue for the city's budget.
At a forum sponsored by the Rotary Club of Jacksonville, Hogan split from two other contenders - Audrey Moran and Rick Mullaney - when asked whether he would support selling preservation land to generate revenue.
"I think everything is on the table," Hogan said. "It depends on where we are at that particular point in time. If it's pristine (land) or if it has some significant ecological significance, then of course that would not be on the table. If it's not encumbered, if it's uplands, then it could be."
Mullaney told Rotary Club members his plan to cut spending would avoid needing to sell preservation land.
"I believe it's time to change our thinking, not time to panic," Mullaney said. "I believe with the restructuring plan we have in mind, that's not necessary."
Moran ruled out selling preservation land.
› Gainesville's Wüdskins Electronics Accessories Get Kickstarted
A group of friends with hopes of breaking into the competitive field of electronics accessories has turned to a unique Internet funding source to bring attention to their bamboo iPad cases and hopefully raise a little production capital in the process.
Christina Harris, Jena Slocum, Dawn Brower and Jennifer Ford are the team behind Wüdskins. Their iPad cases are made of bamboo plywood with aluminum hinges and can also include personalized laser engravings such as company logos.
Wüdskins signed up for kickstarter.com, a website that allows creative endeavors to set a fundraising goal and a deadline to meet or forfeit all contributions. They gave themselves 30 days to raise $10,000.
Contributors can select various funding amounts from $5 to $75 in return for gifts such as messenger bags, T-shirts and plaques, $150 for a basic case up to $1,400 for a 10-pack of cases with laser engraving.
As of Monday, they had 50 backers pledging $5,000 with nine days to go.
› Ceridian Hiring up to 220 in St. Petersburg
Ceridian Corp. will add up to 220 high-wage jobs over the next year in its St. Petersburg operations, a hiring spurt sweetened by a tax incentive package worth up to $1.9 million.
Ceridian, which manages human resources, payroll and benefits for more than 110,00 clients worldwide, is based in Minneapolis.
St. Petersburg, however, has long been one of its key markets, tied largely to its purchase of the former HR company ABR Information Services in 1999. In 2000, Ceridian moved into a new 400,000-square-foot headquarters in St. Petersburg to house its benefits services division, where it now employs about 1,200.
"We've been growing our company here in St. Petersburg since 1996," said Charles Daye, senior vice president of human resources with Ceridian. "We really didn't want to go elsewhere to continue our growth, and we're delighted to have some options that make expanding here cost-effective."
St. Petersburg & Clearwater Community Portrait
› Gov. Scott to Assist with 'Sunshine' Tour
Gov. Rick Scott is pitching in to help Florida's tourism industry persuade cold-weary Northerners to take a Sunshine State vacation.
The new governor is part of a two-day "Share a Little Sunshine" tour that departs Tuesday from Orlando after an 8:30 a.m. public rally at the University of Central Florida's Rosen College of Hospitality Management on Universal Boulevard near the Orange County Convention Center.
The tour will stop in four of the state's key visitor markets — Washington, Philadelphia, New York and Chicago — before returning to Orlando with a planeload of promotion winners on free Disney vacations, according to Visit Florida, which is organizing the event.
Scott and a marketing team will speak with meeting planners and members of the public and award Florida vacations as prizes on the four-city hop.
"Jobs and economic development are two of the most important issues we face as a state and a nation," Scott said in a written statement announcing the promotion. "We know that every 85 visitors create one Florida job, so I urge all Floridians to join with me in supporting this effort to increase jobs and grow the state's economy."
› COLUMN: Diverting Rail Cash to Ports Needs Planning Scott Hasn't Considered
Gov. Rick Scott says forget the sleek, lightning-fast trains.
Bring on the gigantic, plodding cargo ships instead.
Scott went on CNN on Sunday to argue that Florida would be better off using ObamaBucks to expand our ports than build high-speed rail.
Backing that up, the Florida Chamber of Commerce says better ports could bring us 143,000 new jobs.
If ports are so great, how come Scott isn't putting any state money or any long-range planning into them? And this is classic chamber double-speak, talking about the need to invest in the future while at the same time glomming on to the latest scheme to slash taxes for its members.
› Tampa Bay SEO Companies Quake at Google Crackdown
After punishing JCPenney and overstock.com for gaming their way to top search results, Google last week launched a crackdown on companies trying to trick the dominant Internet search engine in 12 percent of all searches.
That's got some local companies in the search engine optimization business quaking — whether their tactics are clean or not.
"It's stirred up a lot of fear among optimizers that Google is coming after them, while our industry's black hat optimizers are freaking out they'll be put out of business," said Dave Barry, co-founder of Web Tools & Technology in Largo, who has taught about 5,000 people this arcane trade. "It's about time."
More art than science, search engine optimization, or SEO, has mushroomed to about 100 companies in the Tampa Bay area. A few employ up to 35 people to write the rich, descriptive Web content Google bots crave. But it's mostly a cottage industry of the self-taught working from a spare bedroom with skills learned in hotel ballroom seminars.
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