Florida's ritzy rehab centers
In the world of addiction treatment in Florida, there are hundreds of places like the House of Hope in Fort Lauderdale, a 93-bed facility where patients with drug or alcohol addictions pay, on a sliding scale, up to $3,000 a month for a rehab stint. Patients at the non-profit get counseling, doctor visits, meals and a bedroom shared by four. Then there's SeaSide. Run by for-profit Behavioral Health of the Palm Beaches, the 18-bed center on swanky Singer Island features designer-appointed condominiums, ocean views, massage therapists, a personal trainer, a fleet of cream-colored SUVs and even "equine therapy" — caring for horses. Recovering in that style costs $49,500 a month for a shared condominium — up to double that if you want a private stay. Florida's recovery industry is still dominated by House of Hope-type operations, but most of the growth is on the for-profit side. More about Florida's Ritzy Rehab.
PRICE POINTS: ULTRA-LUXE• SeaSide, opened two years ago on
Singer Island by for-profit Behavioral Health of the Palm Beaches
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How Irene could still end up costing Floridians
Florida was spared Hurricane Irene's wrath, but that doesn't mean homeowners here won't have a price to pay down the road. The flooding could be the first problem to hit to our pocketbooks. The National Flood Insurance Program, run through the Federal Emergency Management Agency, was essentially bankrupted after 2005's Hurricane Katrina. So taxpayers across the country could be on the hook to bail out hundreds of millions, perhaps billions, of dollars in insured flood losses from the storm. Hurricane Irene caused between $3 billion and $5 billion in insured (non-flood) losses, according to early estimates from the Insurance Information Institute. That's not enough to move the reinsurance market by itself. But put together with other catastrophes this year, particularly tornadoes from Alabama to Missouri, and it means reinsurers have spent far more than anticipated. [Source: St. Petersburg Times ]
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» In hurricane season, what to do about messy neighbors?
Most popular game fish can be had by some, but not all
When snook fishing season opens Thursday for its fall term, only anglers who fish along Florida's Atlantic Coast will have access to that occasional dinner guest. Gulf Coast snook fans will be entering the second year of a snook shutout following the fallout from the fish-killing hard freeze of January 2010. State fish managers say the west coast closure is needed to offer further protection for snook stocks, one of the state's most economically important game fish. [Source: TCPalm]
There's no doubt what the F-word has come to mean in Florida during the past three years. Foreclosure. There are almost 40,000 properties now in foreclosure in the Sunshine State. Almost 30,000 more are in the short sale process, which means homeowners are underwater on their homes and are trying to sell them for less than they owe the bank. Another 56,000 are in preforeclosures — homeowners are behind on their mortgage payments and are at risk of foreclosure. These are the short sales and foreclosures of tomorrow. And this is the best it's been in four years. [Source: Lakeland Ledger]
Parcel forwarding companies cash in on internet shopping bonanza
Australians are stocking up on cheap cosmetics, discounted ski equipment and even car parts by having purchases sent to a US address that doesn't even really exist.
Instead it belongs to one of many package forwarding companies which create individual virtual addresses for shoppers, to have them delivered abroad.
John Wright, the chief marketing officer at one of the largest package companies, MyUS, said shipping revenue to Australia had increased 261 per cent between January last year and this year.
Mr Wright said the Florida-based company had ''tens of thousands'' of Australian customers who were regularly buying from US sites, with clothes and shoes, electronics and car parts the most popular items.
[Source: Sydney Morning Herald]
ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:
› As Florida drug deaths rise, Operation Medicine Cabinet sees success
The Pinellas County Sheriff's Office says it collected more than 1,000 pounds of pills on Saturday - a record breaking number during the county's sixth installment of Operation Medicine Cabinet.
The goal of the operation is to collect old, unused medications that could otherwise be thrown away or taken by someone who wasn't prescribed the pills.
› A century of ice cream, a decade in Jacksonville
Ten years ago, Texas-based Blue Bell Creameries L.P. opened a distribution center in West Jacksonville.
Starting with 16 people, it has grown to 40 employees. It also has grown from 8 percent of the market share of ice cream sold in Northeast Florida stores to 15-20 percent, said Branch Manager Doug Lipscomb.
"This was a $21 million market. We made it a $24 million market," he said. "We increased the pie." In other words, while privately held Blue Bell might have taken market share, it also increased the market for all the players.
› West Palm Beach nostalgia 'dork' brings Florida's past alive
Beautiful seaside hotels. Grinning, beckoning mermaids. Quaint amusement parks.
You won't find them on the map anymore, but for Carmen Kunze, these symbols of a Florida gone by live on in her heart. And, now, on her nostalgic website.
Kunze, 44, a West Palm mom, local rocker and part-time receptionist, refers to "Florida Fresh & Other Slices," her Tumblr blog page, as "my weird dorky hobby."
But for its fans, the images of old Florida are a fond reminder of the state's storied and colorful past.
› Publix still tinkering with its curbside pickup option
As Publix's test of curbside celebrates its first anniversary this month, the Lakeland chain is stepping up promotions in ads, in signs at nearby stores and on social media like YouTube.
Still, Publix, which lost $50 million before closing its Publix Direct online home delivery supermarket in south Florida in 2003, is taking it slow this time.
Go to page 2 for more stories ...
› How Florida lost its prison health care watchdog agency
Courts have repeatedly found that inmates in state prisons are entitled to medical care that is "responsive to contemporary standards of decency" to comply with the Eighth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which forbids the cruel and unusual punishment of prisoners. Since the early 1990s, when a court settlement allowed Florida to police its own prison health care system after years of federal intervention, the Correctional Medical Authority has served as an independent watchdog that has helped to ensure those standards are met, sometimes uncovering problems that do not get addressed by the department's internal controls. The watchdog group closed this year, with little public debate and over objections from several lawmakers, as well as the office of Gov. Rick Scott, which had been working behind the scenes to rescue the agency before finally it closed earlier this month.
› Donated ship helps Wesley Chapel charity start business in Haiti
A Wesley Chapel charity that ships care packages to U.S. troops overseas is going into the ship painting business to bolster its income, thanks to a donation of a 163-foot NOAA research vessel that will serve as a training headquarters in Haiti.
Support Our Troops founder Bob Williams said a benefactor who wishes to remain anonymous bought the ship at a government auction and donated it to his charity.
› Palm Beach County OK's zoning for wind turbine farms
Palm Beach County commissioners on Monday gave final approval to a series of development rules that could allow a wind farm to rise on thousands of acres of sugar land near Belle Glade.
The commission voted 6-0 in favor of changes to the county's land development regulations that would allow wind turbines to rise throughout the county.
› Driving Concession Golf Club from recession
The Concession Golf Club in Bradenton debuted as the best new private golf course in 2006 in a Golf Digest ranking.
Unfortunately, signs that the housing bubble were about to burst also debuted that year.
› Vans Skatepark, one of Festival Bay Mall's anchors, will close
Vans Skatepark, one of the anchors of Orlando's Festival Bay Mall, will close at the end of January.
The skatepark, in operation for almost a decade, is one of the mall's most popular attractions. It has been a place for kids to practice skateboarding, participate in contests, get lessons and attend camps. It also had a store that carried shoes, skateboards and clothing.
› Pinellas County may kill curbside recycling effort
Nearly six months ago, Pinellas County commissioners asked staff to figure out how to license garbage haulers and require them to offer curbside recycling.
They're coming back to the board today with a surprising answer. It's not worth it.