Florida Trend | Florida's Business Authority

Friday's Afternoon Update

How do business execs do as Governors?

Candidates running for governor can either run an inside game, or an outside game. That is, they can run as an experienced politician, or someone who can bring private-sector experience to the job. It turns out that being a businessperson offers both strengths and drawbacks as a candidate. Read more from Governing Magazine.

In Case You Missed It
A tall order for VGTI
photo
Rafick-Pierre Sékaly made national news in Canada when he decided to leave Montreal for Florida in 2009. "I really want south Florida to be one of the major leading centers in what we call the HIV cure," he says.

Florida will be eager to see what he can accomplish. As part of taxpayers' $1.3-billion investment in creating a life science industry, Florida in 2008 committed $60 million to create VGTI-Florida, an offshoot of a similarly named institute in Oregon. Local governments threw in another $53 million.

» A tall order for VGTI

After downturn, Jacksonville apartment construction is picking up

Apartment complexes suffered the same downturn that single-family construction did. In the 2009-10 fiscal year, not a single building permit was issued by Jacksonville for a new apartment complex. But that’s changed with complex after complex breaking ground. [Source: Florida Times-Union]


Building a successful business one customer at a time

In 1984, Lou Morano worked for a carpet retailer in New Jersey before opening his own business, Capitol Carpet & Tile and Window Fashions, in Palm Beach. Capitol has now grown into a regional retailer. Read a Q&A with Morano and see a video at the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.


» FRIDAY PREVIEW: Coming next week to FloridaTrend.com:

  • The Rise and Fall of the House on 96th Street: The ups and downs of a home's value in south Florida tell the story of the state's broader real estate market over the past decade.
  • A return to standard mortgages: Borrowers are finding it tougher to qualify for a mortgage, but experts say banks are simply returning to historic standards.
  • Price Points: Compare properties around the state in our interactive photo gallery.
  • Investment Sounding Board: Where are you advising clients to invest while still remaining cautious?

» You'll find all these stories first on the Daily and Afternoon Pulse e-mails.

Eternal Trend
photo Restoring Woodlawn

A cherub angel seems to hover over the forgotten grave of an infant son lost almost a century ago. Only rebar remains of the concrete legs which used to anchor it to the ground at Woodlawn Cemetery, wind and rain and pounding sun freeing it from its earthly ties. And with each passing day of abandon, the statue — one of countless sculptures that could easily reside across the street at the Norton Museum of Art instead of adorning this historic centenarian cemetery in West Palm Beach — is withering away just as the families of those interred here join it. But salvation may be near. Full story and photo gallery from the Palm Beach Post.