Tougher watering rules resisted, despite drought concerns
Despite lingering drought conditions, South Florida water managers are so far resisting environmentalists' call for tougher watering restrictions to try to stretch supplies. A drier than normal start to the November-to-May dry season already prompted the South Florida Water Management District in March to impose emergency watering restrictions limiting all residents and businesses across the region to twice-a-week landscape watering. Golf courses and agriculture were ordered to reduce water use 15 percent. But environmentalists, including Audubon of Florida, contend the district needs to go further and consider cutting landscape irrigation to once a week, along with steeper cutbacks for golf courses and agriculture. Audubon argues that more restrictions are needed to stretch water supplies for both public needs and the environment. Instead, district officials this month opted to bank on current restrictions and stepped up public outreach to try to encourage conservation. [Source: South Florida Sun-Sentinel]
Plans announced for two new buildings at Innovation Square
Planning is under way for the two newest buildings at Innovation Square, the 24/7 live/work/play research environment being developed along Southwest Second Avenue between the University of Florida campus and downtown Gainesville, UF President Bernie Machen announced.
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Awaiting funding, community of new technology promises jobs
Shadow Communications Inc. has a promising technology -- a "virtual human agent" avatar that answers students' questions, reacts to their movements and is required curriculum in four medical schools. It had research funding from the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes for Health. It has a CEO -- David Massias -- with experience as an information technology entrepreneur. What it needs is investment funding to commercialize its simulated learning technology for more uses in healthcare, public safety and K-12 education. Shadow was one of 14 companies with technology licensed from the University of Florida to present at the UF Office of Technology Licensing Celebration of Innovation Showcase Tuesday at the Hilton UF Conference Center. UF has licensed about 700 inventions, with 231 generating royalties. The office's Tech Connect program has overseen 107 startup companies in eight years that have created 800 jobs and drawn $500 million in private investments and $161 million in public funding. The early stage companies at the showcase all need investment funding to commercialize inventions in healthcare, green technology and information technology, among others. [Source: Gainesville Sun]
Panhandle businesses want to 'move on past' oil spill
Looking out over Escambia Bay, Kirk Newkirk has his fingers crossed. Sales at Key Sailing, his parasailing and kayak rental business, are up. Bookings are solid. And the weather and water are gorgeous. He's banking that this tourist season will be his comeback year, the same as he was doing last spring -- when, one year ago Wednesday, the nation's worst oil disaster in history dashed his hopes and those of his fellow business owners on Pensacola Beach. "I'm kind of ready to move on. And I think a lot of other people are, too," said Newkirk. "Let's just move on past it and keep our fingers crossed that they don't screw up again or we don't get a little storm in the Gulf to stir up the bottom and wash some oil that might or might not be out there." A year after Deepwater Horizon oil rig began spewing more than 200 million gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, the impact of the disaster remains an enigma. Exactly how much money the months-long gusher cost Florida from a drop in tourism last year, and whether the state will recoup those losses, also remains a mystery. [Source: Palm Beach Post]
Related:
» Oil spill's long-term effects worry UF experts
» Ag Commissioner: Florida seafood is safe 1 year after oil spill [AP]
First National Bank of the Gulf Coast raises $148 million in capital
First National Bank of the Gulf Coast is ready to grow. On Tuesday, the publicly-held bank announced it has struck agreements with private investors that will raise up to $148 million in new capital. The infusion of money will allow the Naples-based bank to expand locally and up the west coast of Florida.
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ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:
› Ex Taylor, Bean chief found guilty on 14 counts of conspiracy, fraud
Lee Farkas, founder and former chairman of Ocala's Taylor, Bean & Whitaker Mortgage Corp., was found guilty Tuesday of 14 counts of conspiracy and bank, wire and securities fraud. Prosecutors said his was one of the largest and longest-running bank frauds in the country. According to Bloomberg News, a federal jury in Alexandria, Va., returned the verdict after one day of deliberations. Farkas, 58, faces a sentence of up to 30 years on the conspiracy and bank fraud charges, plus 20 years or more on the wire fraud and securities fraud charges. Prosecutors said Farkas was behind a $3 billion fraud involving fake mortgage assets that duped some of the country's largest financial institutions, targeted the federal bank bailout program and contributed to the failure of Alabama-based Colonial Bank.
» Dubious Achievers
› Orlando thrill-ride park rejected by city planning board
A thrill-ride park proposed for the north end of International Drive was rejected Tuesday by an Orlando zoning board in a surprise, unanimous vote because of concerns that roller coasters filled with screaming customers would harm a nearby neighborhood.
The city's Municipal Planning Board voted 9-0, with two members abstaining, to deny the zoning and land-use changes requested by backers of Orlando Thrill Park. The decision followed an hour-and-a-half-long presentation by the developers and about two hours of public comment, during which Tangelo Park residents were generally critical of the project, though the board of the neighborhood's civic association unanimously supported it.
Residents painted a portrait of a tightly knit community "seasoned with neighbors that you know," many of whom have lived in their homes for decades. They said they were worried about how noise and traffic generated by the park would affect property values and the quality of life in the 60-year-old neighborhood.
After planning board members cast their votes, residents expressed appreciation that board members had taken their concerns to heart. "Too many times it's all about business, and it's all about the bottom line, and in general people are left out," Jana Henry, one of those who spoke at the meeting, said after the board's vote. "And I do not believe that's what happens here."
› For jobless in Detroit, it could be worse: They could be in Miami
From the department of gloomy statistics: it's still harder to find a job in Miami than it is in Detroit.
New figures from the Labor Department puts Miami-Dade's unemployment rate higher than Detroit's, a measure of South Florida's anemic hiring rebound.
"That's surprising,'' said Barry Johnson, president of the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce. "Everyone's impression is that Detroit's economic situation is much worse than Miami-Dade's, which is vibrant in many ways."
Detroit has become the poster child of America's economic downturn, in much the way Miami became the poster child for the national housing crash. With the recession over, it looks like depressed auto sales are easier to recover from than a burst housing bubble.
A year ago, Detroit was at 14.5 percent unemployment, two points higher than Miami-Dade's. Now the math has reversed. Miami-Dade is at 12.9 percent unemployment but Detroit is down to 11.1 percent. The states with the highest unemployment rates in Tuesday's federal report — California, Florida and Nevada — are also the states with the highest run-up in housing during the boom years.
A closer look at the numbers shows some encouraging signs for Miami-Dade versus the Motor City.
› Free programs help small Jacksonville businesses take next step
When Teresa Meares took over DGG Taser and Tactics Supply in 2006, the former St. Johns County Sheriff's Office patrol sergeant knew much about policies and procedures. She had no problem defining how her company placed and filled orders and dealt with billing issues.
But once the company was past its startup phase with a new store and law enforcement contracts from agencies throughout Florida and Georgia, it was time to focus for growth, she said.
But the question was how?
For that, Meares, DGG president, and her husband, Gary, its vice president, turned to GrowFL, a Legislature-funded program. GrowFL this year aims to help 30 qualified Jacksonville-area small businesses that are past their initial startup phase but facing sophomore, or second-stage, issues. So far, seven qualified area businesses, including DGG, have graduated or are still in the program.
"Business planning, management and hiring - all those I'm really good at," Meares said. "Marketing was where we really needed to take it to the next level."
› Young job seekers say they're eager for a McJob
A steady flow of job seekers, mostly teenagers and young adults, arrived at McDonald's in Boca Raton on Tuesday for the restaurant chain's first nationwide hiring event. They came with their friends, and a few with their parents.
They want to work, and they don't care whether it involves flipping burgers or cleaning floors.
"I'll do the best I can and work the hardest I can," said Alec Vergara, 17, of Coconut Creek.
McDonald's one-day hiring blitz at restaurants throughout the country was geared at recruiting about 50,000 new workers, in part to expand some restaurants to 24-hour operation. In South Florida, restaurant operators said they plan to hire 550 additional employees.
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› FPL and Scripps join forces in search of solar energy breakthroughs
In a partnership that seems fitting for the Sunshine State, scientists at The Scripps Research Institute in Jupiter are teaming with solar energy experts at NextEra Energy and its subsidiary, Florida Power & Light Co., to take solar technology to the next level.
NextEra and FPL, headquartered in Juno Beach, have a rooftop "living lab," which tests photo voltaic solar panels, but it has maxed out its space. Six miles to the north, Scripps plans to create a similar lab at its Jupiter campus.
Buck Martinez, FPL's senior director of development, said Scripps is beginning work on that technology seeking the "holy grail" of solar energy: a way to capture sunlight and solar energy and store it.
"That would be a game changer. The ability to store solar energy at a commercially cost-effective price would be phenomenal," Martinez said.
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› White House to fight prescription drug abuse
The Obama administration on Tuesday unveiled a plan to fight prescription drug abuse, warning that accidental overdoses now exceed the combined overdoses of the crack epidemic of the 1980s and black tar heroin in the 1970s.
The initiative to combat the nation's fastest-growing drug problem includes boosting awareness of the dangers of prescription drug abuse among patients and health care providers, cracking down on pill mills and "doctor shopping" and requiring drug manufacturers to develop education programs for doctors and patients.
"Too many Americans are still not aware of the misuse and abuse of prescription drugs and how dangerous they can be," said Gil Kerlikowske, the White House director of national drug-control policy.
Accidental drug overdoses are now the leading cause of accidental death in 17 states — ahead of car crashes —Kerlikowske said. They account for seven a day in Florida, one of the epicenters of the epidemic — and the source of much of the drugs. In Broward County alone, more than one million pills are dispensed every month, according to the Broward Sheriff's Office.
"The toll our nation's prescription drug-abuse epidemic has taken in communities nationwide is devastating," Kerlikowske said. "The severity of the public health epidemic requires a sustained, national effort."
› Jacksonville-based Nationwide Equipment receives national recognition
Nationwide Equipment, a Jacksonville-based mining, construction and equipment exporter, will receive an award from the U.S. Department of Commerce for its "strong record of competing in the global economy," according to an email from Congressman Cliff Stearns.
"With the unemployment rate in Jacksonville above 10 percent, it is wonderful that we can celebrate a successful business in Jacksonville that is competing globally and creating jobs," said Stearns in the email.
› Searching for shelter from the storm
A New Smyrna Beach-based startup company thinks it has a marketable housing solution for disaster victims and for those in need of stable shelter in developing nations.
World Housing Solution has designed and built a prototype of its 180-square-foot, storm-proof shelter, which can be quickly assembled for temporary use after a natural disaster but is also strong enough to serve as permanent housing for the estimated 680,000 Haitians still living in tents after last year's earthquake.
World Housing Solution President Ron Ben-Zeev and architect Kevin Schweizer also want to create jobs in Haiti by building in that country the factory that would manufacture the shelter's parts.
"Our goal long-term, particularly in Haiti, would be to create factories so we empower them today to help themselves tomorrow," Ben-Zeev said.
› CSX earnings rise in first quarter
CSX Corp. reported Tuesday first-quarter earnings of $395 million, or $1.06 per share, up from $305 million, or 78 cents, in the first quarter of 2010. The Jacksonville-based railroad company's earnings were two cents a share higher than the average forecast of analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial.
Revenue rose 13 percent to $2.8 billion, with shipments increasing across all of its major markets, CSX said.
› Shuttle Endeavour ready for final flight
NASA's oldest external tank will help its youngest space shuttle fly on a final flight a week from Friday.
Officials on Tuesday set Endeavour's launch for 3:47 p.m. April 29 after a daylong review determined the shuttle and the decade-old tank were fit to fly.
Known as the "hurricane tank" and "Frankentank," the bullet-shaped orange fuel tank needed modifications after the 2003 Columbia disaster and repairs after sustaining non-structural damage during Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
› Wanted: Tenants for AT&T Tower in Jacksonville
The task facing Elad National Properties is as tall as the 30-story AT&T Tower.
Elad, owner of the downtown Jacksonville building, is losing one of the tower's biggest tenants this month as CSX moves hundreds of employees to the 550 Water Street building, also in downtown. It's a bit of musical chairs with CSX vacating eight floors of the AT&T Tower to lease space in a building closer to CSX's headquarters, creating a campus setting for CSX on the riverfront.
Combined with other vacancies at the AT&T Tower, the CSX departure will drive up the tower's vacancy rate to 42 percent. To fill that space, Elad must reverse the trend of companies choosing the suburbs over downtown.
› Billboard vote could mean millions for Miami
Miami commissioners say they are being squeezed into settling a lawsuit by a politically connected owner of a billboard company that is using its Tallahassee influence to undermine an ordinance that could mean more than $4 million a year to city coffers.
Commissioners are set to vote Thursday to settle a lawsuit filed against the city by the billboard company South Florida Equitable Fund that would grant the Orlando-based firm the right to nine sites in Miami.
But commissioners say if they don't agree to the settlement, they've been told that a small but potent item tucked into an enormous transportation bill now making its way through Tallahassee will remain there — cutting more than $4 million in expected revenue to the city down to about $300,000 a year if it passes.
The obscure provision on page 48 of the 83-page transportation bill would limit the amount of money a city could collect for a yearly permit fee for an outdoor advertisement to $500 — gutting a recently passed city ordinance that took two years to cobble together and was projected to bring the city $4.3 million a year.
Commissioners say they've been told by the managing partners of South Florida Equitable that if the settlement is reached, the provision in the Tallahassee bill will be withdrawn.
Miami Commissioner Frank Carollo called it "blackmail."