Florida consumers' funk hurts economy
Florida's consumers are financially queasy. For two years, they have bobbed along in a sea of anxiety. Shaken by job losses and sagging home values, their unease is reflected in the monthly consumer confidence reports produced by the University of Florida's Survey Research Center. The numbers reveal a population stuck in a recessionary funk. For 24 months, the index has hovered near 70, well below the 80s and 90s registered during good times. Three times in the past two years the index rose briefly into the high 70s — suggesting Floridians were finally beginning to feel better — but those gains proved as durable as a soap bubble. Now the figure is back down to 66, after falling to 68 in April and May. "We're sort of stuck," said Chris McCarty, the survey's director. "There's no clear direction yet for this." And that's bad news for everyone, because consumers drive the Florida and overall U.S. economy. [Source: Orlando Sentinel]
'Crowdfunding' websites help raise funds to support your big idea
Day by day, the clock is ticking on Jacksonville residents Casey Ayers and Patrick Duffy. They are in the midst of a fundraising campaign on Kickstarter.com to collect $15,000 for the launch of Trubador, an invention they designed for holding the iPad so people can have both hands free while using the device. The duo are one-fourth of the way toward the goal. They have three weeks left to make it. Like others who have turned to "crowdfunding" sites like Kickstarter, the campaign by Ayers and Duffy is based on gathering small contributions - most fall in the $40 range - and lots of them. "Sometimes a few days can go between backers, so it can get nerve-racking," Ayers said. [Source: Florida Times-Union]
Related:
» Online fundraisers gain traction with Jacksonville bands
CompUSA executives reported a $17million theft of electronics equipment to the Miami-Dade Police Department, the latest fallout in a scandal that has already claimed the company's chief executive and recently led to an investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission.
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Salary setbacks test teachers' love for the job
John Russo knew he would never make a fortune teaching, but he never expected to struggle. At an age when most professionals hit their peak earning years, the 45-year-old is now trying to figure out if he can still afford basic cable TV, Friday night pizza and the cellphones that keep him in touch with his teenage daughters. Russo is among the thousands of teachers who will return to school to slimmer paychecks after state lawmakers and district leaders targeted teacher pay and benefits to plug budget deficits. This month, the Brookside Middle School teacher began paying 3 percent of his salary toward his pension. When his family members go to the doctor, they will pay higher deductibles and copayments. And insurance premiums will likely go up in January. [Source: Sarasota Herald-Tribune]
Related:
» Smaller checks for government workers
Brazilian tourists spending time, money in Florida
Powered by a roaring economy, Brazilians have emerged as Florida's fastest-growing group of overseas visitors and by far the biggest spenders.
Brazil could dethrone the United Kingdom this year as the state's biggest source of overseas visitors; in 2010, the 1.07-million Brazilians who visited Florida trailed the U.K. total by just 232,000.
But those Brazilians spent $1.4 billion in Florida last year, nearly twice the level of their counterparts from the U.K. (Canadians, not included in the overseas tourist numbers, remain No. 1 in terms of both foreign visitors and spending.)
[Source: St. Petersburg Times]
ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:
› Orange County expected to lead Florida growth
Emptiness is what people see today when they drive through the monogrammed iron gates of Lake Drawdy Reserve in east Orange County. There are paved cul-de-sacs, lakefront lots and fancy frosted-glass streetlights. But nobody lives there.
Thirty years from now, they will likely see 28 upscale homes occupied by young families, residents from abroad, refugees from coastal counties, in-migrants from other states and well-to-do retirees. Orange County is expected to lead the state in growth for the next 30 years, adding nearly 670,000 residents by 2040, according to the latest projections from the University of Florida.
› Reverse osmosis helps towns dodge the drought
When the rest of Palm Beach County is forced to turn off the sprinklers and watch drought-parched lawns turn brown, residents in Highland Beach are free to water.
The small seaside town is the only area in the county where residents are not required to follow water restrictions imposed by the South Florida Water Management District. All of the town's water comes from the brackish Floridan Aquifer, which is not affected by drought.
The utility is one of six in Palm Beach County that have tapped the deep Floridan. The water is then treated using a reverse-osmosis system that removes salt and other impurities.
Jupiter, the first government in Palm Beach County to use the technology, now has one of the largest reverse-osmosis systems in South Florida.
› Making roads ready for Tampa's GOP convention
The 2012 Republican National Convention promises to be the biggest thing to hit Tampa since Teddy Roosevelt brought the Rough Riders through town on the way to San Juan Hill.
So local and state officials are working with the city to make sure that half-finished road projects won't create gridlock and 40,000 annoyed visitors the week of Aug. 27, 2012.
"We want to make sure they can get there and get home and have a happy memory of Tampa," said Leo Folsom, community relations and special events manager for the Florida Department of Transportation's Tampa office. "Our construction projects in the Tampa Bay area will essentially be shut down for the week of the convention itself."
› Inmate labor rankles
For seven years, the Canaveral Port Authority used an eight-man inmate work crew from the Florida Department of Corrections for basic lawn maintenance and other menial tasks around the popular port.
The practice never attracted attention, much less controversy.
But with the space shuttle program ending and local unemployment in double digits, that anonymity, it appears, has disappeared along with thousands of Brevard County jobs.
› Flying the Spirit Way
Spirit Airlines is unapologetically not filet mignon. The company prides itself on keeping costs low, offering the cheapest fares around and charging high fees for extras as basic as carry-on luggage and agent-printed boarding passes.
That low-cost ethos trickles all the way up to the company's humble headquarters in Miramar, where there is no receptionist, employees take out their own trash and the overhead lights operate on a minimum number of light bulbs when they're even used.
Go to page 2 for more stories ...
› Are new Florida dental schools needed?
At a time when securing state funding is much like pulling teeth, three Florida universities want to start their own expensive dental programs.
The state has only one dental school — at the University of Florida in Gainesville — so officials at colleges in Orlando, Tallahassee and Boca Raton say there's plenty of room for them to get in on the action.
"For us, it's a good fit because not only are we responding to students' needs and requests, we're creating jobs," said Zenaida Kotala, a spokeswoman for the University of Central Florida.
But numbers tell a different story.
› Rookies feel NFL lockout's financial pinch
Running backs Daniel Thomas and Jamie Harper should have filled out lucrative deposit slips by now and sprinted to the bank.
Thomas, a former standout at Kansas State and Hilliard High School, was selected by the Miami Dolphins in the second round of April's NFL Draft with the 62nd overall pick. The Tennessee Titans chose Harper, who played at Clemson and Trinity Christian, in the fourth round with pick No. 130.
As the only players with Jacksonville-area ties selected in the first 200-plus picks of this past draft, Thomas and Harper are the two local players arguably hurt most by the lockout.
Instead of signing and starting promising NFL careers, the two have had to wait while owners and players come to a deal on a new collective bargaining agreement.
› Reverse mortgages begin tapering off
Reverse mortgages allow homeowners 62 or older to tap into the equity in their homes to get cash to supplement their incomes. Borrowers can opt to receive either lump-sum payouts or monthly checks. While interest accrues, homeowners don't have to make any payments while living in the house. Lenders are repaid when the houses are sold, either after the borrower dies or moves out. Any extra money after the sale goes back to the borrower or his or her heirs.
Nowhere in the country have the loans been more popular on a per capita basis than in Florida. Homeowners in the Sunshine State account for about 70,000 of the 542,000 reverse mortgages nationwide.
» Related: What you need to know about reverse mortgages
› Yoga teacher stretches to build healthy business
Rosa Santana's yoga studio is lined with mats, topped with students struggling to wrap a foot around their necks or wrestle themselves into the groaning Astavakrasana, aka, the dreaded Crooked Man's pose.
"Wait. Everyone's just looking around. It's a spectator sport now?" Santana taunts them before dropping to the floor, easily folding herself into the pose. She continues to issue instructions as she holds her legs, laced up and over one shoulder and twisted to the side, in a handstand about five inches off the ground, then untwists to resume helping the students.
When one succeeds, Santana's joyfully screams "You got it! Woo Hoo!"
A dedicated teacher, she has been struggling since 2001 to make her yoga studio successful. Over time, she has collected a steadfast following of yogins hooked on her practice of the classic Iyengar yoga, one of only a few such studios in South Florida.
› Big names bidding to design St. Petersburg Pier
The architect of New York City's ground zero wants to design the $50 million Pier project.
World-renowned architect Daniel Libeskind's firm is one of 16 firms to notify city officials that they are bidding on the design competition portion of the project. They have until 5 p.m. Friday to register for the contest, which will conclude next year.
Libeskind is considered in the top tier of world-class architects but he's not the only big name in competition for the project.
› State work-force agencies gave board members contracts worth millions
Florida's 24 regional work-force boards pride themselves on helping unemployed Floridians get back on the job.
But they're also pretty good at finding work for their board members.
From July 2008 to April 2010, the taxpayer-funded agencies awarded at least $7.7 million in contracts to companies controlled by or linked to their board members.