Gov. Scott's former company moving to Tennessee
Republican Gov. Rick Scott, who touts his ability to create jobs in Florida, said that he was "disappointed" by news that Solantic, the urgent-care, health care chain he founded, was moving its corporate headquarters to Nashville, Tenn. Solantic, which will continue to operate its 32 urgent care clinics in Florida, was sold by Scott in June for roughly $50 million. A spokesman said Scott had not had contact with the Jacksonville firm since the sale, but the governor acknowledged the move hurts. "It's disappointing that they're moving," Scott said. "I'd like to have everybody come to Florida. I believe we've put ourselves in a position where this is the best state to do business." Read more from the Palm Beach Post and the Associated Press.
See also, the report from The Tennessean and background on Scott and Solantic from the St. Petersburg Times.
More jobs, higher wages predicted for South Florida in 2012
More jobs, higher wages and a lower unemployment rate are projected for a recovering South Florida in 2012, according to a new study. Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties are "expected to show strong growth in 2012" -- the best since the recession hit, the University of Central Florida predicts in its quarterly report of statewide economic trends. "I think South Florida, like much of the state, has been recovering in slow motion, but next year we will start to build momentum,'' said Sean Snaith, director of the university's Institute for Economic Competitiveness. [Source: South Florida Sun-Sentinel]
Restaurants in Florida offer Southern comfort
The eternal comfort of down-home cooking, whether called Southern or soul food, is not new. Just look at Beach Road Chicken Dinner in Jacksonville, selling boxes of fried chicken, biscuits and cream peas on Atlantic Boulevard since 1948. It's also been a staple of small-town family restaurants and chains from Cracker Barrel to Florida's Lee Roy Selmon's. What's new is that Southern dishes get new respect from chefs — and new prices. Chefs in Florida and around the South who emphasized local cooking, slow food and back-to-the-farm values had to admit that the oldest flavors and traditions didn't all come from California and sushi bars. Read more about Florida's Southern Comfort
 Yardbird's fried chicken, citrus pepper watermelon and cheddar and chive waffles |
See also:
» Chris Sherman's November 2011 Drink Picks
Casinos face opposition from religious community
A coalition of religious and anti-gambling groups said they are launching an aggressive lobbying campaign to convince the Legislature to reject a plan to allow massive luxury casinos in two South Florida counties.
See video from WCTV:
Related:
» Gambling problems increase as Floridians gain wagering options
Website offers Powerball tickets, and it's legal
Heather Sutton bought five Powerball lottery tickets this week, hoping to win the $245 million jackpot so she can live in paradise.
"Move to the Keys, go be with my dad and make all my dreams come true," she said after she bought her tickets at the store.
Waiting in line to get tickets can now be an option for Sutton and Florida residents. The launch of a website called LottoGopher.com lets customers purchase Powerball tickets using a credit card with a Florida billing address.
[Source: Tampa Tribune]
ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:
› Expedia settlement makes tourist tax collections soar
Orange County's hotel taxes for the month of September soared by 99.4 percent over a year earlier, after including a big boost from a secret settlement the county received from online-travel company Expedia.
Orange County reported that it collected $19.3 million for the month from the tax, which is charged on short-term rentals, mostly hotels and motels, or nearly double the $9.7 million collected for the same month a year ago.
› Food trucks add flavor to Spady Day in Delray
A convoy of food trucks is set to invade Delray Beach's historic Northwest Fifth Avenue on Saturday when the Spady Cultural Heritage Museum celebrates annual Spady Day with a street festival. The gastro vessels, serving a range of foods, are new to the party this year.
› Transitions Optical to cut ties with Innisbrook Golf
The PGA Tour will be looking for a new title sponsor to keep its tournament at Innisbrook in Palm Harbor. Transitions Optical won't renew as the title sponsor when its four-year contract expires after the 2012 tournament in March. Tour spokesman Ty Votaw declined to speculate on the bay area's future, but on Wednesday he sounded optimistic the tournament would find a replacement.
› Divers take dead aim at invasive lionfish
Manny Menendez and Juan Comendeiro of South Miami displayed a deeper-than-average commitment one Saturday to ridding the South Florida marine ecosystem of venomous, exotic lionfish.
Despite breaking a steering cable on their boat less than two hours into the inaugural Biscayne Bay Lionfish Smash, the two freedivers managed to spear 49 of the candy-striped invaders from the Pacific, topping 27 other two-person teams.
Menendez, president of South Florida Freedivers, and Comendeiro, a club member, won two spearguns for their tournament prowess.
Go to page 2 for more stories ...
› North Florida Herald shuts down
The North Florida Herald has given away thousands of dollars of free advertising this year to help businesses on the verge of closing, according to publisher and editor Ronald Dupont Jr.
Now Dupont is closing the Herald as paid advertisers have reduced the size and frequency of their ads or gone out of business over the past two years, he said.
The last issue of the weekly Herald came out last Thursday. Dupont said he made the decision to shut down Friday and said he has been physically ill about it.
› New Florida water rules could end feud with feds
After years of feuding between Washington and Tallahassee, federal officials may be ready to approve water standards Florida drafted to control potentially dangerous algae blooms.
If that happens, the Environmental Protection Agency will withdraw federal standards for nitrogen and phosphorus in rivers and lakes, EPA's acting assistant administrator Nancy Stoner wrote in a letter to Secretary of Environmental Protection Herschel Vinyard.
» Related: Environmentalists cry foul on state's water quality proposals
› Naples film festival can be boost to area filmmakers
The red carpet will unroll and silver screens will flicker today in Naples as a budding festival helps boost the area's economy and film reputation.
The Naples International Film Festival last year injected more than $250,000 into the local economy, board President Tim Rowe said. Ticket sales increased 32 percent, with about 10,000 people attending over four days.
The 3-year-old festival — along with an even younger film festival in Fort Myers that debuted this year — could help entice filmmakers to aim their lenses at Southwest Florida.
› Hollywood gives Holocaust center a 90-day reprieve from foreclosure suit
The city of Hollywood voted unanimously Wednesday to give the Holocaust Education & Documentation Center a 90-day reprieve from a foreclosure lawsuit for failing to pay more than $200,000 in loan payments.
Instead, the City Commission, acting as its redevelopment board, told the center to get three appraisals and seek a mortgage through a private lender.
› Independent banks see spike in business
The public outcry over extra charges to use debit cards caused larger banks to back-pedal. But smaller, local banks are benefiting from the PR mess.
At Florida Gulf Bank, customer traffic is up as they opened four times as many new accounts as compared to last year.
Bankers say people are moving bank accounts locally because they don't charge the monthly debit card fees.
› Orchid group moving to Fairchild
An orchid invasion is coming to Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden.
On Wednesday, the Coral Gables institution announced that the 90-year-old American Orchid Society is relocating its international headquarters from Delray Beach to Coral Gables.
The society's move, expected to be completed by the end of March, comes with more than 15,000 varieties of orchids that will find new homes in trees and special sections of Fairchild.