March 19, 2024

Thursday's Daily Pulse

What You Need to Know About Florida Today

› At University of Miami, a new student center will soon rise
With a lushly-landscaped Coral Gables campus, a plethora of clubs and organizations to choose from, and a fine athletic tradition, one could argue that student life at the University of Miami is pretty darned good. It's about to get better, school administrators say, after a $20 million donation from a local investment firm gave new momentum to plans for a brand-new, 119,000-square-foot student activities center. The university anticipates beginning construction on the new facility this summer, and completing the work over the next two years. UM President Donna Shalala said the gift from the Fairholme Foundation — the charitable arm of Miami-based Fairholme Capital Management — marks the largest student-affairs donation UM has ever received.

› Hybrids, fuel-efficiency and high-tech features hot at the Fort Lauderdale Auto Show
You can test drive the part-electric 2011 Chevy Volt, check out a 2012 Hyundai Volester, or admire a Lexus LFA sports car that sells for about $375,000, when the Fort Lauderdale International Auto Show opens Thursday at the Broward County Convention Center for its annual extravaganza through the weekend. The 20th anniversary edition features some brands new or rarely seen at the show: Lamborghini, Rolls-Royce and Bentley. It highlights several 2012 models, including the Acura TL. And it offers more fuel-efficient cars, including the 2012 Ford Focus that boasts more than 40 mpg, said Cliff Ray, show coordinator for the South Florida Automobile Dealers Association. Also hot this year: high-tech features on vehicles such as Microsoft's Sync communication system on Fords, more hybrid gas-electric models including GMC's Yukon Denali hybrid and a motorcycle display from Rick Case Automotive Group, Ray said.

› St. Petersburg weighs offering breaks for creating jobs
It's no secret that the main drag on the city's bottom line the past few years has been the collapse of the real estate market. The city collects $35 million less in property taxes than it did five years ago, a falloff that almost single-handedly explains all the cuts in parks, police, fire and professional services. "It's been huge," said Tim Finch, the city's director of budget and management. "The challenge is: What do you do?" Whatever the city does, further slashing property tax revenue would seem unlikely, right? Not quite. City Council Chairman Jim Kennedy is planning to propose just that. He will ask the council today to consider a ballot measure that would ask voters to reduce property taxes for businesses that create jobs. The tax break might stimulate the economy enough to offset the lost revenue, he said.

› $4.25 million gift to expand Jim Moran Institute at FSU
A gift of $4.25 million has been given to Florida State University to expand the Jim Moran Institute for Global Entrepreneurship, The Jim Moran Foundation announced Wednesday. Jan Moran, wife of the late JM Family Enterprises founder Jim Moran, and The Jim Moran Foundation have pledged $850,000 a year for five years to FSU. The Institute will be expanded with a national small business and entrepreneurship conference, beginning in 2012; a Global Consortium of Entepreneurs Centers National Conference; and the addition of an associate director to support programs that serve minority entrepreneurial programs and business owners in South Florida.

› Last Central Florida Let's Eat! is closing
Let's Eat! in Altamonte Springs will close April 30. Let's Eat! was one of services that opened throughout Central Florida, allowing people to get together in a fun atmosphere and cook batches of meals they'd take home to eat later. But between the novelty wearing off and the tough economy, the businesses suffered. "Like so many other small businesses in the current economy we have struggled to stay afloat," the Altamonte Let's Eat! said in an e-mail to customers. "At the current time our lease has come to an end and with the continued slowing in the economy the risk of signing a new lease is not in our best interest." The Altamonte springs Let's Eat! is the last of the company's kitchens remaining in the area, according to its Web site. Let's Eat! used to have kitchens in Dr. Phillips, Ocoee, Hunter's Creek, Waterford Lakes and Winter Park. The owners of the Winter Park franchise tried expanding into a market and café but ended up closing.

› Residents want construction site shut down due to noise, dust
For six months, Liz Fate has been unable to open her windows, because when she does, dust from an unpermitted construction site across the street covers her floor and furniture. She complained to the city of Miami, the Florida Department of Transportation, whose contractor is using the site, and the Miami-Dade County Department of Environmental Resources Management, but nothing happened. Finally last week she complained to the City Attorney's Office and The Miami Herald, which contacted several government agencies to inquire about the situation. Within hours, city code-enforcement inspectors visited the property and cited owner David Lombardi for lacking a permit and for improper storage of construction materials in a residential neighborhood. Now it turns out Lombardi's tenant, American Engineering and Development, never had city permits to be there to begin with.

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