SHARE:
Northeast Florida Business Briefs - Sept. 2006
ALACHUA COUNTY:
? Attorney and University of Missouri professor Len Riskin, regarded as one of the top mediators in the country, is joining the University of Florida's Levin College of Law in January.
JACKSONVILLE:
? The University of Florida's new $100-million Proton Therapy Institute opened at Shands Jacksonville in August. It's the fifth proton therapy center in the country and will treat patients from Florida and the Southeast. Proton therapy is less damaging to tissues than traditional radiation and can be administered in higher doses with fewer side effects.
? Boston-based Fidelity Investments plans to open a regional customer call center by October, employing 1,200 within four years with salaries averaging $50,000.
? American Eagle will offer non-stop service between Jacksonville International Airport and New York's LaGuardia Airport beginning Sept. 6.
? Winter Park-based Taurus Souther investments has purchsed four office parks -- Greystone Park, the Meridian at Deerwood, Central Park and Central Park East -- for $70 million.
? Equity Broadcasting Corp., a Little Rock, Ark., company that owns 19 Univision affiliates, has entered into an agreement to purchase Jacksonville's Channel 39 and plans to turn it into an affiliate of the Spanish-language network.The company hopes to have it on the air by January.
? Minneapolis-based MinuteClinic plans to open between five and seven clinics in area CVS stores by the end of the year. The company operates 86 clinics nationwide, including six in the Orlando area.
? Shands Jacksonville has announced a $16-million expansion that will add 125 jobs. The project includes a 26-bed orthopedic in-patient unit.
? Winn-Dixie Stores and its creditors have reached an agreement on a reorganization plan that could have the supermarket chain out of bankruptcy by October.
? The Jacksonville Regional Chamber of Commerce will for the first time endorse political candidates. The chamber formed a new committee, JaxBiz Inc., to support local and state candidates it thinks best serve the local business community.
? Peter Rummell, chairman and CEO of St. Joe Co., has transferred 100,000 shares of stock valued at more than $4 million into a trust for his children.
? The Jacksonville Jaguars now have a waiting list for season tickets for non-premium seats for the 2006 regular football season.
? Construction has started on Berkman Plaza 2, a 23-story downtown condominium project with 222 units.
? Florida Coastal School of Law has moved into its new Southside campus.
? Marine Transport Corp., a division of Crowley Maritime's petroleum services group, is moving its office from Secaucus, N.J., to Jacksonville.
NASSAU COUNTY:
? The Fernandina Beach Municipal Airport received $152,260 from the U.S. Department of Transportation for improvements.
? The Amelia Concourse, linking Amelia National Golf and Country Club, a gated 876-acre luxury community in Fernandina Beach, with A1A, has opened. The $5-million road project was financed by a county bond issue and will be repaid by property owners along Amelia Concourse Boulevard.
ST. JOHNS COUNTY:
? The St. Johns County Council on Aging received a $750,000 federal grant for its public transportation system. Since 2003, the council has received $1.8 million in federal transportation funds to operate its two bus services.
Business Beat - Week of May 3rd
