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Northwest Fla., Panhandle Business Briefs - Oct. 2009
GULF BREEZE — The Zoo Northwest Florida, $4.5 million in debt and still hurting from losses in hurricanes Ivan and Dennis, closed permanently after both Santa Rosa and Escambia counties failed to approve the zoo’s $125,000 funding requests.
LEON COUNTY — A $347,000 federal grant is enabling Leon County Schools to buy eight new buses that run on compressed natural gas, a better choice environmentally than diesel. The district’s long-term goal is to operate 80 natural gas-fueled school buses and share a fueling station with the community.
MARIANNA — Chipola College has started construction of the $16-million Chipola College Center for the Arts, its biggest project since its 1947 opening and expected to be a five-county regional cultural centerpiece when completed within two years.
OKALOOSA COUNTY — Former Sheriff Charlie Morris was sentenced to almost six years in federal prison by U.S. District Court Judge Lacey Collier and ordered to pay $212,000 in restitution in connection with an employee bonus kickback scheme that netted him thousands of dollars. He was convicted of fraud, money laundering and conspiracy. He also faces state charges of racketeering.
PACE — U.S. District Judge Casey Rodgers filed criminal contempt charges against Pace High School Principal Frank Lay and school athletic director Robert Freeman, accusing them of violating a court order banning school officials from leading prayer at school events. The order was part of an agreement reached in a lawsuit filed last year by the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of two Pace High School students who complained that school officials were violating the Constitution by promoting religious beliefs.
PENSACOLA BEACH — Innisfree Hotels’ plan to build a $60-million, 206-room, oceanfront hotel has attracted $38 million in financing. Innisfree also operates two other Pensacola Beach hotels, a Hilton and Hampton.
SANTA ROSA COUNTY — After six years of negotiations, the Navy and county have reached an agreement that allows limited use of a 6,000-foot runway at Naval Air Station Whiting Field by future tenants of the county’s proposed 269-acre Whiting Field Aviation Park. The deal will help prevent incompatible development next to the base.
TALLAHASSEE — More than 2,250 state workers will begin relocating next year to Southwood, increasing the number of state workers in the St. Joe Co.-developed southeast Tallahassee community to 6,500. Starting in April, some 2,100 Florida Department of Revenue employees will move to the DOR’s $96-million, three-building office complex, consolidating 16 current locations. A $38.5-million, 1st District Court of Appeals building, to be completed in October 2010, will bring in 150 employees.
» Florida State University’s Antarctic Marine Geology Research Facility, operated by the FSU Department of Geological Sciences and containing the world’s largest Antarctic core library, won a $2.5-million grant from the National Science Foundation. The grant is twice the amount of previous awards.
» The National High Magnetic Field Laboratory, in collaboration with industry partner SuperPower Inc., has set a pair of world records for strength of magnetic fields created by a superconducting magnet. The gains have the potential to significantly reduce lab operating costs and make possible important advances in magnetics research.
