Friday's Daily Pulse
Florida in the Top Five Home States to America's 'Ultra-Wealthy'
Sure, Florida's long been as "where the boys are" and plain old millionaires are nearly a dime a dozen these days. But Florida's also not a bad place to find the "ultra-wealthy" -- folks worth $30 million or more -- either. So says a new report from wealth advisory/research firm, Wealth-X which says Florida ranks fourth among states in the number of super-rich residents who claim primary residence here. In all, there 3,526 ultra-wealthy Floridians, behind California (9,872), New York (7,327) and Texas (5,283) but ahead of Illinois (2,446), Michigan (1,533) and Pennsylvania (1,515). Of the nearly 55,000 ultra-high-net-worth individuals living in the U.S., more than half keep their primary residence in just five states. On the other hand, with the exception of Alaska, Delaware and North Dakota, all states have more than 100 ultra-high-net-worth residents. [Source: Tampabay.com]
Related:
» Where Do All the Ultra-Rich Live? [Wall Street Journal]
» Wealth-X White Paper
PolitiFact's Lie of the Year: No Topping 'Government Takeover'
In the spring of 2009, a Republican strategist settled on a brilliant and powerful attack line for President Barack Obama's ambitious plan to overhaul America's health insurance system.
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Disney to Open Family-Suites Hotel in Spring 2012
The first wing in Walt Disney World's newest hotel, Disney's Art of Animation Resort, will open in May 2012, resort officials said Thursday, and will be completed by the end of that year. Disney said the roughly 2,000-room hotel will create more than 800 permanent jobs. Most of those will be in housekeeping and food-and-beverage services, though officials said many jobs will be added in other categories, as well. Those are on top of roughly 800 construction jobs the project will require. Disney broke ground on the complex earlier this fall. The Art of Animation will include 864 standard hotel rooms in Disney's "value" category, the resort's cheapest rate classification. Another 1,120 will be suites, each with room for as many as six people, that will carry somewhat higher nightly rates. It's a significant expansion into "family suites" for Disney, which currently has only about 215 such rooms on its property. Several large non-Disney hotels feature such rooms — most notably the Nickelodeon Family Suites just beyond Disney World's eastern entrance — and Disney is aiming to pull more of those travelers onto its own property. [Source: Orlando Sentinel]
Buyout of Land Developer St. Joe Would Be 'Very Tough'
A takeover of St. Joe Co., the largest private landholder in northern Florida, is unlikely because the company’s financial condition would make financing a leveraged acquisition “very tough,” said hedge fund manager David Einhorn, who is short the shares.
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His Community Outreach Is Art's Reach
Kent Lydecker has been on the job as the director of the Museum of Fine Arts, St. Petersburg for less than two months.
The question people ask most often (or want to ask but don't) is: Can this distinguished scholar who has worked at three of the biggest and best museums in the United States find fulfillment at a much smaller regional museum?
His answer in a word:
"Yes."
He elaborates.
"Everything about this museum is exceptional. It's astonishing. I was so impressed when I first saw it."
He is sincere in his appraisal, even passionate in extolling the quality of the museum's location, staff, supporters and, most important, its permanent collection. The logic of him landing here may seem curious given the ever-upward trajectory of his career, but when he talks about what each stop along the way has meant to him, and what he hopes for at this museum, the motion seems unchanged.
[Source: St. Petersburg Times]
ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:
› Tampa Chamber Agrees to Take Up Rays Stadium Debate [St. Petersburg Times]
When the Tampa Bay Rays reached the World Series in 2008, Mayor Mike Nutter of Philadelphia picked up the telephone to propose a traditional wager with his counterpart in this region.
Let's see ... Tampa Bay ... that's area code 813, right?
"I told him I would be happy to place a bet,'' Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio recalled Thursday, "but to be on the safe side, I think you need to call the mayor of St. Petersburg.''
In a face-saving gesture of neighborly unity, Iorio eventually combined with then-St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Baker and Clearwater Mayor Frank Hibbard to pit coconut shrimp, stone crabs, key lime pie, a Cuban sandwich and Ybor City cigars against Nutter's cheesecake, Tastykakes, soft pretzels, mac-n-cheese and a Rocky statue.
That the Rays bring national recognition to the entire region, and not just St. Petersburg, is precisely why the Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce will spend 2011 studying baseball stadium financing, chamber President Chuck Sykes said Thursday.
› Officials Lose Free-Parking Perk at PBIA [Palm Beach Post]
Free airport parking is over for Palm Beach County VIPs, after an audit found managers did nothing to ensure the cards were only used for official business.
Airports Director Bruce Pelly said Thursday he discontinued the long-standing perk for county commissioners, federal lawmakers and select county advisory board members after the county's internal auditor concluded that airport managers did not properly monitor the parking cards.
Under the program, discontinued while the audit was still in progress last month, 68 VIPs were given cards that allowed them to park for free the airport's garages - a luxury that usually would cost between $30 a day in the premium lot to $7 a day in the Park & Ride area. The same perk is given out at other airports across the country, Pelly said.
› Cost of Living in Sarasota Down — But What Does That Mean? [Sarasota Herald-Tribune]
A t-bone steak might cost you $10.13 in Sarasota, while the same cut will run $9.70 in Bradenton. And a $2.61 gallon of gas here will run about $2.54.
Those are the everyday costs factored into a recent study that places Sarasota as the third most expensive city in Florida.
Overall, Sarasota and other cities are becoming more affordable by the numbers. But don’t expect to see it on the grocery bill.
As a result of the area’s plummeting home values — almost a third of the cost of living equation — Sarasota’s historically higher cost of living index is going down.
“If housing prices are falling in the area, that aspect is going to improve the cost of living, but it’s just one element,” said Sean Snaith, an economics professor at the University of Central Florida.
“It’s tough to put a lot of weight into what’s happening.”
But the numbers could still mean opportunity. Sarasota will look attractive to seasonal residents, retirees and to out-of-state workers, who could bring a boost to the area.
› ABC's 'Extreme Makeover' Coming to Brevard [Florida Today]
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition is coming to Florida's Space Coast to surprise a family with a home makeover.
Lifestyle Homes in Melbourne will lead the effort to build a new fully custom house for a deserving Space Coast family in one week. The project was announced at a news conference this morning at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor's Complex.
A pep rally kickoff event is scheduled from 7 to 9 p.m. Jan. 3 at the KSC Visitor Complex for volunteers and partners in the construction project.
People interested in contributing to the effort can go to the website www.extrememakeoverspacecoast.com for details.
The family has not been identified.
› New Florida Citrus Ads: Drink Juice, Take on What Comes [Lakeland Ledger]
A new Florida Department of Citrus advertising campaign aims to raise the status of orange juice. The Florida Citrus Commission, the department's governing body, on Wednesday approved three new television ads, all focusing on the theme of "status meeting."
Each ad focuses on a single family member - a mom, dad or a child - sitting at the family table reviewing the day's upcoming events with various people in their lives. Each ends with the central character saying "I'm glad I have my orange juice" and then drinking a glass full.
In the middle, story lines vary as family members get previews of their day. The mom hears from a cable repairman that he will not arrive until 10 a.m., making her late for work. The dad's secretary tells him his car's tire will blow out on the way to an important client meeting, forcing him to walk across town in a hard rain. And a teen boy hears from his math teacher that she will spring a pop quiz later on his least favorite subject.
The ads debut Jan. 3 on various cable channels. For the first time, the Citrus Department will not be buying ad time on broadcast networks.
› UM Med School Gets 'A' Grade for Conflict-of-Interest Policies
[Miami Herald]
The University of Miami was the only medical school in the state to receive an A rating for its conflict-of-interest policies on a national scorecard released Wednesday.
The PharmFree Scorecard, released by the American Medical Student Association, measures 11 areas including schools' policies about revealing doctors' financial ties to drug companies and whether they accept free drug samples.
Nova Southeastern College of Osteopathic Medicine in Broward received a C. The medical schools at the University of Florida, Florida State University and the University of Central Florida received B ratings. The University of South Florida was given a C. Florida International University's medical school, now in its second year, was not ranked.
The scorecard, developed with the help of the Pew Prescription Project, a nonprofit watchdog group, praised UM: ``This model policy displays all outside activities by faculty on a publicly accessible website. Gifts (except to patients) and samples are prohibited, regardless of nature. Industry representatives may only meet with faculty by appointment.''
Go to page 2 for more stories ...
› Bold City Finally Coming Out in 12-Ounce Bottles [Florida Times-Union]
Bold City Brewery finally has its bottling up and flowing. The first 12-ounce bottles went out to the distributor on Wednesday and should be in a few local stores in the next day or two.
The brewery has been selling some 22-ounce bottles, but its old bottling machine didn't really work very well, so the staff has been bottling those by hand. But with a new (used) bottling line, they've moved into the 12-ounce production. Susan Miller, president and CEO of the brewery, said she's also talking to Winn-Dixie and thinks it could be showing up there soon.
» Related: Bold City Brewery
› Ocala Business Donates $20,000 Worth of Toys for Program [Ocala Star-Banner]
While many parents find it difficult to stay below budget while Christmas shopping, employees with CCS Mechanical had the opposite problem Tuesday at Toys R Us.
With more than an hour of toy raiding under their belts, they had only stockpiled a dozen or so carts with $5,000 worth of merchandise, far below the $20,000 raised to purchase toys for Toys for Tots.
“I was pretty excited to hear that they were going to participate, because it helps in a big way for the kids. It’s really not about the business,” said Mark Amat, store manager.
After three hours of nonstop shopping, Amat opened a separate checkout lane just for the exhausted employees - and the more than 70 carts full of presents that snaked throughout the front of the store.
On Thursday, the toys - 1,500 in all - were dropped off at Marine Corps League Detachment 1072.
Peter Stern, Toys for Tots coordinator for the league’s Marion County West arm, said for the past four years, CCS Mechanical has been their single biggest contributor.
› Bradenton-Sarasota Called Top Retiree Community [Sarasota Herald-Tribune]
Portfolio.com, the national business news site, named the Sarasota-Bradenton market as the most desirable community for retirement.
The ranking is welcome news in a region that is still getting over the effects of the Great Recession and clearly banking on a rebound in the influx of retirees to fuel its economy.
In fact, many of the communities in the upper range of the list of 157 communities compiled by Portfolio.com represent economies heavily dependent on the real estate industry that are now struggling with some of the highest foreclosure rates in the nation.
Charlotte County was ninth of the top 10 retirement communities, which included six other Florida communities.
The rankings were based on an analysis of data from the American Community Survey, conducted in 2009 and released by the U.S. Census Bureau in September. The communities analyzed by Portfolio.com were from the top 157 metropolitan and "micropolitan" areas that had at least 40,000 residents who could be classified as seniors.
› Orange County Mayor-Elect Convenes 1st Jobs Summit [Orlando Sentinel]
Orange County Mayor-elect Teresa Jacobs kicked off her first in a series of planned jobs summits Thursday, using the audience of about 130 local government and business leaders to lobby for a business-expansion tax break on which she had campaigned and which she hopes to put to voters this spring.
"We're talking about building a lasting, sustainable economy," Jacobs said of the summits and her plans for the tax break.
Jacobs' tax-abatement proposal would allow local governments to vote to give certain businesses as many as five years' worth of property-tax breaks on new-equipment purchases and building expansions. State law allows local governments to grant such breaks now, but Jacobs wants to expand the list of eligible businesses to include emerging sectors such as health care, biotechnology and digital media.
› Disney, Universal Win Insurance Waivers [Orlando Sentinel]
Walt Disney World and Universal Orlando have won waivers from the federal government that exempt bare-bones health plans the two resorts offer part-time employees from new requirements imposed by this year's overhaul of the U.S. health-care system.
The waivers, which were granted earlier this fall, will permit Orlando's two largest theme-park operators to continue offering limited insurance plans — commonly referred to as "mini-med" plans — that have low premiums but also low caps on annual benefit payouts.
The two resorts are among more than 220 employers across the country, including Orlando-based Darden Restaurants, that have been granted waivers from a provision in the federal health-care law requiring annual limits on medical coverage to be no lower than $750,000.
The minimum will escalate each year until 2014 when coverage limits are to be eliminated entirely for most health plans, effectively abolishing mini-med plans. By that time, workers will be able to qualify for tax credits to help them buy medical insurance.
› Fortegra Lowers IPO Price, Expects Trading to Start Friday [Florida Times-Union]
Fortegra Financial Corp. Thursday lowered the price of its initial public offering of stock and delayed the stock sale for one day, but the company is hoping that trading in the stock will begin on Friday.
Jacksonville-based Fortegra had indicated in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing two weeks ago that it planned to sell 7.7 million shares at $14 to $16 each. The final pricing was expected to take place late on Wednesday with trading beginning Thursday morning on the New York Stock Exchange.
But Fortegra filed an updated SEC statement Thursday saying it will sell only 6 million shares of stock at $11 each. Trading is now expected to begin Friday morning.
Fortegra did not say why the price and volume of the IPO were lowered, but SEC rules prohibit companies from discussing stock information before a sale is complete.
David Menlow of IPO Financial Network in Milburn, N.J., said Fortegra was likely under pressure to get the stock sale done this week, before investors and traders take off for the holidays. Otherwise, it would have to wait until the new year.
“There’s a gate coming down pretty quickly” to complete the IPO, said Menlow.
› Tervis' Spencer Loses CEO Title
[Sarasota Herald-Tribune]
Tervis Tumbler Co., one of the region's fastest-growing manufacturing companies, shook up its executive suite this week, asking one of the area's most prominent female chief executives to step down. Laura Spencer, who had led Tervis as president and CEO for the last four years, will stay with the Venice-based drinkware maker, but had been asked by the Tervis board to return to her prior role as chief financial officer.
Barry Wolfson, a 61-year-old business consultant and former head of a Georgia-based chemical product manufacturer, Flexible Products Co., was named Tervis' new president and CEO. Wolfson, whose consulting business is based in Sarasota, is no stranger to Tervis -- he has worked closely with the company for the last six years.