Service groups fight to stay vibrant in tough economy
The last meeting of the Tavares Woman's Club this month was a bittersweet occasion. Lunch was served, followed by a brief musical presentation. Finally, there were long faces and hugs all around. After 96 years, the club — formed when Woodrow Wilson was president and Europe was embroiled in World War I — was disbanding because of declining membership. "It's a sign of the times," said club President Charlene King, 80. Across Central Florida, membership numbers for many social and service groups — including the Shriners, Elks, Moose and Civitan clubs — also are declining. Some club officials say the miserable economy has accelerated a decline in membership that has been going on for years because most members are retirees on fixed incomes. Membership in the Bahia Shrine Temple in Orlando, for example, has fallen from about 3,100 members in 2005 to about 2,100 today. The average age is about 67. Nationally, membership in Shriners clubs has fallen from a peak of nearly 1 million in 1979 to 434,000 in 2005 to about 325,000 today. "If you lost your job and your house is getting foreclosed, making the decision to make that $75 payment [for annual membership dues] is tough," said Gary Bergenske, a Shriner and past potentate of the Bahia Shrine. [Source: Orlando Sentinel]
Gov. Rick Scott threatens veto of college construction projects
Worried about Florida's debt, Gov. Rick Scott warns he may veto more than a hundred million dollars in college construction projects in the new state budget. Scott said Tuesday he's considering vetoing the projects because the added debt of $134 million could jeopardize the state's strong credit rating and drive up costs of future borrowing. "I'm clearly focused on the amount of debt the state has," Scott said. "I'm clearly focused on the debt rating." The $69.7 billion budget that the state Legislature approved May 6 and that reached Scott's desk Tuesday includes dozens of construction projects at campuses all over the state. Vetoing government spending would reward tea party activists who were among Scott's earliest supporters. By far the biggest recipient of new money would be the fledgling University of South Florida Polytechnic campus in Polk County, which stands to receive $46 million. The project's champion in the Legislature is Senate Budget Chairman J.D. Alexander, R-Lake Wales, who said he would discuss the issue with Scott. "I'm not sure he understands the decisions he's making, but he has the right to make those decisions," Alexander said. [Source: Times/Herald]
Development: Indiantown Post-Post
Tiny Indiantown in western Martin County, home to Old Florida residents and Guatemalan Mayans who work the nearby fields, serves as the county's industrial hub, with egg and flour processing facilities and a Florida Power & Light plant, with its new solar farm. For decades, Bob Post Jr. touched every resident's life through holdings that included the local telecom, waste hauler, real estate, the water company and bank.
Post built an early cell phone company that he sold for $44 million in 1998. A visionary, he brought cutting-edge tech to his customers while bringing his dog to the office. "It's very rare when you find someone who owns the utilities, owns the land, owns the bank. I don't see any town where everything's owned by a particular individual or family ever again," says auctioneer Elliott Paul. After Post died in 2007, his plans for Indiantown went into limbo. But as of February, with the sale of Post's final holding, the bank, Indiantown's direction has become clearer. Continue reading.
 J. Hal Roberts is among a group that bought First Bank and Trust from the estate of Bob Post Jr., the last of Post's holdings. [Photo: Matt Dean] |
Smucker buys Café Pilon, Café Bustelo for $360 million
The Miami-based owner of the popular Hispanic coffee brands Café Pilon and Café Bustelo has sold to J.M. Smucker Co., marking the end of an era for the homegrown Cuban company. The $360 million all cash deal covers the acquisitions of the brands and business operations of Rowland Coffee Roasters, founded by Jose Angel "Pepe" Souto in 1961 as a door-to-door espresso sales effort in Miami after he immigrated from Cuba. Souto, who died in 2007, and his three sons eventually grew the business into the largest Hispanic coffee company in the U.S., with annual sales of more than $115 million last year. The Souto family had not been looking to sell, but was approached with an offer by Smucker and spent about five months in negotiation, said Jose Enrique Souto, who ran the company with his brothers Jose Alberto Soto and Angel Soto. The family's history in the coffee business dates back to 1865 in Cuba. The Miami company had at one time employed three generations of family members. "It's the all-American dream to start a little business, sell it to a big company and then go enjoy life," Jose Enrique Souto said. "The price was right and the buyer was right. The future of our brand is assured with this deal." [Source: Miami Herald]
JQC brings charges against 'Taj Mahal' judge
The appellate judge who orchestrated the construction of the elaborate "Taj Mahal" courthouse was charged Tuesday with abusing his authority as a judge, destroying public records and conduct that demonstrates he is unfit to hold office.
The charges against 1st District Court Judge Paul M. Hawkes were leveled by the Judicial Qualifications Commission after an investigation that focused on his push for a new $50-million courthouse in the midst of a budget crisis.
Hawkes conduct and behavior "demonstrated a pattern of conduct that can only be characterized as intemperate, impatient, undignified and discourteous,'' the JQC alleged. That conduct has "brought the entire judiciary of the state of Florida into disrepute, has inflicted substantial harm upon the entire state court system and has therefore demeaned the entire court system of the state of Florida.''
In an 11-page notice filed with the Florida Supreme Court Tuesday, the Commission centered its scathing accusations on Hawkes' conduct toward others at the court and toward state officials involved in overseeing construction of the new courthouse in Tallahassee, which was completed in December. Many have dubbed the lavish building a "Taj Mahal.''
[Source: St. Petersburg Times]
ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:
› Gerdau Ameristeel drops 'Ameristeel' from its name
Tampa-based Gerdau Ameristeel is dropping the "Ameristeel" part of its name as part of a global rebranding that embraces the name of its Brazilian parent company: Gerdau.
The name change was announced throughout the company —including to the company's 450 employees in Tampa — as the steelmaker celebrated its 110th anniversary Tuesday.
"We saw this anniversary as an opportunity to consolidate the image of the Gerdau brand across the globe and particularly for North America, which has always been an important market for our company," Gerdau CEO André B. Gerdau Johannpeter said in a statement.
Going forward, Gerdau Ameristeel's long steel operations here will be known as Gerdau Long Steel North America.
› Gainesville Job Corps Center show off its strengths
With faint tattoos on his neck, Demeyon Griffin -- a 6-foot-plus, rail-thin 23-year-old -- seems far from Capitol Hill.
But when Mayor Craig Lowe's assistant suggested Griffin, the student body president at the Gainesville Job Corps Center, might one day be in Congress, Griffin smiled.
"You going to Congress, Demeyon?" a fellow student asked.
He smiled again.
"I think about a lot of stuff, man," he replied.
Griffin is one of about 350 teenagers and young adults who attend the center, a federally funded academy with high school courses and vocational training for low-income students that -- like its counterparts across the country -- is at risk of steep budget cuts.
A House subcommittee recently released a budget of $139 billion for labor and health and human services, $41 billion less than President Barack Obama's budget and $18 billion less than last year, according to the national Job Corps organization, a part of the Department of Labor.
With its funding on the chopping block, the Job Corps has started a nationwide campaign for advocacy from local, state and federal lawmakers, hence Lowe's visit Tuesday.
› Does a stretch of South Beach rate a "10?"
Manhattan has the Meatpacking District. Chicago has the Magnificent Mile. And Miami Beach — already home to Ocean Drive, Lincoln Road and the neighborhood known as South of Fifth — is getting its own new designation: SoBe 10.
As in this line, tucked into Wikipedia's entry on South Beach: "The ten blocks along Collins Avenue, from 15th Street to 24th Street, also known as the SoBe 10 or Power Mile, are considered to be the epicenter of South Beach nightlife and entertainment."
That might be news to nightclubs on Ocean Drive or Washington Avenue, but don't blame Gregory Rumpel and his staff of commercial brokers for trying.
Eager to pump up investment interest in the properties on the northern end of South Beach, Gregory Rumpel of Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels in Miami, is trying to launch a new brand to mirror the successful "South of Fifth" repositioning of the blocks between Fifth Street and Government Cut.
› Key West aims to prevent dengue fever outbreak
In a massive effort to prevent another outbreak of dengue fever in Key West, the island city's protectors of public health are battling the mosquito-caused epidemic with a big dose of education.
In January, the Monroe County Health Department instituted "Keys ABCD: Action to Break the Cycle of Dengue," a partnership with other government agencies, mosquito control, the schools, the military and law enforcement to help reinforce the simple message.
"No bugs, no dengue," said Bob Eadie, administrator of the Monroe County Health Department. The virus — which can cause great pain, severe illness and even death — is transmitted through the bite of an infected female Aedes aegypti mosquito. There have been 93 confirmed cases of dengue fever in Key West since 2009, and more than 100 million cases occur worldwide each year.
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› Survey: Florida is third-best state in which to do business
Here's the sort of news Gov. Rick Scott wants breaking on his watch: Florida was just ranked the third-best state in the nation in which to do business.
In its annual survey, Chief Executive magazine cited the state's low taxes, business-friendly regulations and quality of life. Florida finished third behind Texas and North Carolina. The state moved up three spots, having ranked sixth in 2010.
For Scott, who has promised to make the state the most business-friendly in the country, it's something to wave in the face of detractors — an affirmation of his "Let's Get to Work" campaign slogan.
Scott and many GOP lawmakers ran last year pushing the idea that the state had become overrun by regulations that stymied entrepreneurs and choked economic growth. Most of the just-completed legislative session was spent looking for ways to make doing business in Florida easier.
But before the administration gets too excited — and what exactly would it look like if the reserved guv got too excited? — it's worth examining where Florida has placed historically in the Chief Executive survey.
In 2010, it finished sixth. The year before that, third. In 2008, it was third. in 2007, third. In 2006, it finished fourth, and in 2005, it placed third.
› 5 Southwest Florida real estate brokerages on national list of 500 largest
Five real estate brokerages in Southwest Florida were included on a list of the 500 largest in the nation produced by Real Trends, a Castle Rock, Colo.-based real estate consulting and communications company.
Highest placed in terms of dollar sales volume was the newly created Premier Sotheby's International Realty, a product of the merger of Signature Sotheby's International Realty in Sarasota and Premier Property of Southwest Florida.
Premier Sotheby's came in at No. 54. The $1.46 billion in transactions -- which includes business from within both Manatee, Sarasota and Charlotte counties and Collier County -- did not have a year-over-year comparison because of the merger.
The brokerage transactions, or "sides," were listed at 229th, totaling 1,946.
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› Growth conference will offer new strategies for small businesses
Local entrepreneurs and small business owners can learn about the strategies and resources available to bolster their performance by attending Thursday's growth conference co-hosted by the local chamber.
The free event will take place from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Greater Hernando Chamber of Commerce at 15588 Aviation Loop Drive in the Airport Industrial Park near Brooksville. It is being organized by the Small Business Development Center at the University of South Florida.
Among the "town hall" speakers will be U.S. Rep. Richard Nugent, R-Brooksville, and Matthew Mucci, a regional director for U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio. They will take questions from attendees during the working lunch from 11:45 a.m. to 1:15 p.m.
There will be two seminars in the morning and two in the afternoon, said SBDC consultant Jerry Karp.
"In one week we do about 10 of these events," said Karp. "It's really a way to reach as many small business owners as we can and teach them about all the services available to them."
The SBDC at USF hosts the free conferences in honor of National Small Business Week, which runs May 16-20.
› Lockheed Martin's Orlando units receive $70 million for missiles, training systems
Lockheed Martin Corp.'s Orlando operations have received two new contracts together worth nearly $70 million to produce advanced cruise missiles and armored-vehicle gunnery training simulators, the company confirmed Tuesday.
Lockheed Martin Missiles & Fire Control in Orlando recently received a deal worth nearly $45.8 million to produce the advanced cruise missiles for the Air Force, a Lockheed spokeswoman said. Terms call for Lockheed to build 75 additional missiles for the Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile, or JASSM, program.
It is the latest order involving the advanced cruise missile work, which is potentially worth billions of dollars in sales for the local Lockheed unit. The new contract is also an addition to a larger deal worth $211 million, which the Air Force awarded Lockheed earlier this year.
› South Florida's top women business leaders optimistic
Women business leaders in Florida are more optimistic about the economy as they see sales grow and losses on the decline, according to a new survey of the top 50 women-led businesses in Florida, ranked by revenue.
More than 80 percent of the companies forecast sales increases this year and only 14 percent are expecting a sales decline. That compares with 43 percent that reported revenue declines in the past two years, during more troubled economic times.
The top 50 list reveals the strength of South Florida's entrepreneurial community. More than two-thirds of the top women are in South Florida and many are business owners.
With faster-growing revenue, these business owners, CEOs and presidents say they plan to hire more permanent and temporary employees this year — good news for South Florida's job seekers.
› Scott signs sweeping property insurance changes into law
The insurance industry celebrated Tuesday after Gov. Rick Scott signed a sweeping property insurance bill into law.
Consumer advocates lamented the move, which came just six days after the governor received the bill. He had until May 26 to sign it.
"No one is shocked that Gov. Rick Scott would sign an anticonsumer bill that raises rates and hurts our economy, but his eagerness is telling," said Sean Shaw, founder of Policyholders of Florida. "There was growing and overwhelming opposition to this bill, which is probably why the governor rushed to sign it into law, to avoid more bad press about rate impending rate hikes in a bad economy."
Among other things, the bill allows insurance companies to pass on reinsurance costs to policyholders, shortens the window for filing sinkhole and storm-related damage claims, and limits claims for damage caused by sinkholes to primary structures.
› Broward teachers beg for their jobs
On the day letters went out to more than 1,400 teachers whose contracts weren't being renewed, the Broward Teachers Union and several educators begged the School Board to reconsider.
"I want my job back,'' pleaded Everglades High band director Marcos Rodriguez, who has been with the Broward school district two years. "My first kid is on the way. I don't know what I'm going to do.''
Schools Superintendent Jim Notter said the district has no choice as it tries to close a $144 million gap in its $1.9 billion budget.
"We're well into the bone marrow,'' he said, adding there is not enough money to maintain the same staffing levels.
Notter blames the Legislature for not properly funding public education.
"They are shirking their constitutional responsibility of adequately funding public education,'' he said.
› Florida port workers likely to need just one background check soon
Gov. Rick Scott is expected to sign legislation that will eliminate multiple criminal background checks for truck drivers and other workers at Florida seaports. For years, ports and maritime business griped over the added hassle and expense of requiring separate checks for workers to obtain port and federal IDs to enter Florida seaports. Florida is the only state that requires workers to have both badges.
› Fort Lauderdale condo market: A shining example for South Florida
Who'd have thunk it: A developer actually praising the city of Fort Lauderdale for its slow-growth strategy during the housing boom.
"I complained in 2005," said Fernando Levy Hara, managing partner of McKafka Development Group. "Now, in perspective, I find that they (city leaders) were very, very intelligent."
Where other cities happily approved condo construction (read: Miami), Fort Lauderdale moved much more slowly. That approach then has led to a stable condo market now in downtown Fort Lauderdale and near the beach, say Levy Hara and Peter Zalewski, principal at CondoVultures.com, a consulting firm.
Of the nearly 5,000 units built or converted during the housing boom, only 84 are still unsold, according to a CondoVultures analysis. That's the fewest unsold units of any market east of Interstate 95 in South Florida, Zalewski said.
"Fort Lauderdale's condo market really is an anomaly," Zalewski said.