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Thursday's Afternoon Update
What You Need to Know About Florida Today
Florida makes progress advancing female executives
Despite the fact that women now make up half the workforce, they still are no further toward achieving top ranks at the nation's big businesses than they were last year, or even six years ago. Florida is one state that saw some progress in advancing women in its corporate executive suites in the last year. In a separate survey looking at top public companies in 14 regions of the United States, Florida showed the greatest increase in the percentage of executive officers who are women and the greatest decrease in the number of companies without any women executive officers. Florida saw a 5 percent increase, to 11.6 percent, over last year in women executive officers at its 100 largest public companies. [Source: Miami Herald]
Downtown Fort Myers thrives
Things are looking up in downtown Fort Myers.
After years of business slowed by a poor economy and ongoing construction, downtown is finally seeing more crowds, more new businesses and fewer vacant storefronts.
"Most of the storefronts that are in a rent-able condition have been rented," said Don Paight, executive director of the city's Downtown Redevelopment Agency.
All retail fronts on First Street have been spoken for, said Nils Richter, a Realtor with Market America Realty. He's seen more potential renters interested in downtown properties now than in the past 12 years, he said. [Source: Fort Myers News-Press]
Osceola tops state for foreclosure actions
Osceola County was ranked No. 1 in the state for foreclosure filings in November, according to a report released Thursday by RealtyTrac Inc.
The Central Florida county, home to many of the region's tourism workers, had one foreclosure filing for every 227 homes — a far greater proportion than the state's overall rate of one filing for every 358 homes. Across the nation in November, there was one filing for every 579 homes.
So Osceola had more than double the rate of foreclosure actions as the U.S. as a whole last month.
[Source: Orlando Sentinel]
Digital animation venture gains license to open in West Palm
The Florida Department of Education has granted Digital Domain Institute a license to operate its experimental film animation school, paving the way for the company to start classes next spring.
With the license, company officials say, they'll be able to begin the certificate program in temporary space in CityPlace. A four-year program, in conjunction with the Florida State University film school, is scheduled to open in the fall of 2012, also in CityPlace temporary space.
[Source: Palm Beach Post]
Jacksonville University getting new dean of business
Jacksonville University's new dean of business is a Monmouth College professor who co-founded Above the Rim, an athletic apparel company later sold to Reebok.
Don Capener will officially start next July as dean of the Davis College of Business. He currently teaches at Monmouth College in Illinois, where he also served as vice president of strategic planning.
Capener said the "ingredients are all in place" for the Davis College of Business to flourish based on its faculty, support from the business community,
[Source: Florida Times-Union]
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