Friday's Daily Pulse

Will Short Gorham | 4/8/2011

Despite slump, more turn to real-estate careers

Selling houses in today's distressed market takes triple the time it did at the peak of the home buying frenzy, and reduced commissions inspire Budweiser toasts more than Dom Perignon celebrations. And yet more people are entering the real-estate business. "I know I'm entering a market that's had its challenges, to say the least," said Tony Crawford, former general manager of Eagle Creek Country Club, who recently took 60 hours of real-estate classes. He hopes to use the contacts he made in the golf business to help him transition into rental-home-property management. Florida's pool of licensed real-estate agents and brokers has been shrinking since hitting a high of more than 305,000 people in mid-2007. By last summer, the number was down about 13 percent from that figure. But in recent months it has begun to edge up, with 268,257 registered brokers and agents as of the end of February, according to data from the state Department of Business and Professional Regulation. [Source: Orlando Sentinel]

Related:
» A Niche in the Wreckage of Florida Real Estate [New York Times]

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NASCAR program gives hands-on marketing experience

A team of University of Florida students is discovering there's a lot more to a NASCAR race than just left turns.

Interactive Map Paving the Way for Growth Featured in the 2011 Economic Yearbook, this Regional Statistics Map includes snapshot data on Florida's population, median age, population growth and income, by county. » Regional Statistics Map » View the full 2011 Economic Yearbook

Five University of Florida sports management students are participating in a challenge called NASCAR Kinetics: Marketing in Motion program. The program exposes college students to the NASCAR brand and gives them a hands-on learning experience in the world of sports marketing, said Brad Klein, from NASCAR's marketing department. Twelve schools are participating in the program and must complete case studies and projects based on challenges and opportunities now facing NASCAR and its official partners. This is the first year that UF is participating in the program, Klein said. Juniors Ashley Alford, Ralph Perrone, Cameron Powell and sophomores Samantha Ellman and Courtney Kramer make up the UF team. The winning team will receive a free trip to Charlotte, N.C., for the All-Star Race, and get a corporate office tour, Perrone said. "This program stands out on your resume," Kramer said. "We're not just kids who are doing some busy work; we actually get to say we worked for NASCAR." [Source: Gainesville Sun]

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Government shutdown Q&A

The threat of a federal government shutdown comes less than two weeks till tax day. But don't expect a reprieve. You're still on the hook — even though the IRS might not be able to answer your questions or process your refund. One thing it would still do? Cash your checks. If budget talks in Washington fail and the federal government is forced to shut down this week, Office of Management and Budget officials report that a broad spectrum of services would be affected. Other services deemed important to public safety would continue. Read answers to all the FAQ about the looming government shutdown:

» Shutdown Q&A [St. Petersburg Times]
» What to expect from shutdown 2011 [Washington Post]
» What would a federal shutdown mean? [LA Times]
» Washington Wire [Wall Street Journal]
» States, territories anxious about long U.S. shutdown [Reuters]

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ACLU challenges Fla. foreclosure courts as biased

The ACLU challenged foreclosure courts in southwest Florida Thursday, claiming they are biased against homeowners and don't provide the same rights as regular civil courts.

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The American Civil Liberties Union filed court papers in state appellate court in Lakeland asking for a review of the procedures used in foreclosure courts covering southwest Florida. The petition was filed on behalf of Georgi Merrigan, a Lee County homeowner in the middle of a foreclosure fight who wants her case taken out of foreclosure court and heard in regular civil court. Merrigan was unable to continue payments on a $335,000 loan in 2008 after she left her job as a paramedic to care for her husband, who had suffered a heart attack and was in a car accident. Merrigan and her husband built the house with an inheritance she had received from her grandmother. The foreclosure courts were set up all over Florida last year to prevent foreclosure hearings from clogging up the regular circuit court system. They usually are run by retired judges and involve cases between homeowners who have defaulted on their mortgage payments and banks trying to claim the properties. The ACLU claimed in court papers that procedures in foreclosure courts are set up to push through cases as quickly as possible, despite the fact that many cases have troubled paperwork. The emphasis on clearing cases puts homeowners at a disadvantage because it limits their opportunity to develop their cases or present a defense, the court papers said. [Source: AP]

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Florida House approves economic development 'superfund'

An economic development "superfund" won approval from the Florida House on Thursday, fueling an effort that proponents of Jackson Laboratory's biomedical village see as the best chance to win state money for the project in Sarasota County. Bills to create the fund, which initially would have $427 million, and to continue funding it beyond its first year passed the Florida House on a pair of 81-38 votes. Democrats complained that the rules regarding the use of the proposed State Economic Enhancement and Development Trust Fund -- also known as the SEED Fund -- gave Gov. Rick Scott too much control over the money. The effort to reorganize the state's economic development, tourism and growth management agencies into a single entity under Scott also has drawn sharp criticism from the tourism industry. But State Rep. Doug Holder, R-Sarasota, a member of the committee that drafted the House bill, sees this first major vote on the fund as potentially giving Jackson a legitimate shot at winning state funding this year. "That is exactly what the SEED fund is for, entities like Jackson Laboratory," he said. "It certainly makes me more excited about getting Jackson Laboratory in Sarasota County." [Source: Sarasota Herald-Tribune]

Legislative Roundup
» Polk Hospitals Say They'd Lose Millions Under Senate Budget Plan [Lakeland Ledger]
» Safety-net hospitals: Cut budget with scalpel, not ax [Gainesville Sun]
» Bill would raise insurance rates 15% a year [Sarasota Herald-Tribune]
» Budget cuts millions from aid to sickest Floridians [Sarasota Herald-Tribune]
» Plan to expand Supreme Court comes under Democratic attack [Orlando Sentinel]
» Expand 'virtual' schools, say lawmakers [Times/Herald]
» Fla. House passes business deregulation bill [AP]
» Gambling on Conventions [Gulf Coast Business Review]

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ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› Alex Sink joins investment banking firm [Miami Herald]
Former Florida Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink, who ran unsuccessfully as the Democratic candidate for governor last year, has joined Tampa-based investment banking firm Hyde Park Capital as a senior advisor. Sink, 62, will work with the firm on a part-time basis and will continue to move forward with plans to establish a non-profit policy institute based in Tampa. Sink said her role at the firm will be to help develop the company's South Florida market. "It fits really well with my love of finance and my interest in working with entrepreneurs, middle market companies and small businesses and helping them raise capital,'' Sink told the Miami Herald/St. Petersburg Times Tallahassee bureau. The company focuses on middle market companies that make between $10 million and $500 million in sales that are looking for capital as they grow. John McDonald, co-founder and senior managing director, said they are confident that Sink's business career in banking and financial "is an excellent fit with Hyde Park Capital" and they "look forward to having her as part of our team."

› Jacksonville small business owners clean up in SBA awards [Florida Times-Union]
Although an Orlando businessman took the U.S. Small Business Administration's North Florida District Office small business person of the year award, Jacksonville-area small business people swept six other award categories, the SBA announced. The North Florida district, includes 43 Florida counties from the end of the panhandle to Jacksonville and halfway down the peninsula. Orlando's Fernando C. Pereira, president of Pegasus Transportation, took the small business person of the year award for 2011, but Northeast Florida dominated other categories. Jacksonville winners included Jessica Lynn Evans, Vice President of Regions Bank, who received district and state financial services champion of the year; Arthur J. Lee, president of Lee Wesley Restaurants Inc., who won the 2011 minority business champion of the year award; Scott Shannon Hulihan, president of Hulihan Territory Inc., who won the 2011 Jeffrey Butland family-owned business of the year award; and David Moorefield, president of DAK Resources, who won the 2011 veteran small business champion of the year honor. David M. Capps, president of Yulee's Caribbean Breeze was named the 2011 small business exporter of the year; and Kathryn R. Murphy, president and CEO of Comfort Keepers of Ponte Vedra Beach was named as having won the 2011 women in business champion of the year award.

› Gainesville-based Grooveshark removed from Android Market [Gainesville Sun]
Google removed Gainesville-based Grooveshark's online streaming music application from the Android Market, following Apple's removal from its App Store in August, CNET News reported Tuesday. According to the report, a Google spokesman said the company removes apps that violate its policies but did not specify what policies Grooveshark might have violated. Grooveshark issued a statement saying they were surprised by the removal and "always had a positive relationship with Google" in its year and a half in the Android Market. Its removal came before Google Senior Vice President and General Counsel Kent Walker testified Tuesday before a House Judiciary subcommittee investigating Internet piracy. Grooveshark has been sued by major music labels that say its music-sharing service violates their copyright protections. The company settled with EMI in 2009 and agreed to license its catalog. A lawsuit by Universal Music Group is still pending.

› New Discovery Cove reef to open in early June [Orlando Sentinel]
A million-gallon saltwater reef in SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment's Discovery Cove theme park is on track for its scheduled opening in early June, company officials said Thursday. Although an exact opening date still hasn't been set, "Grand Reef" is expected to debut sometime during the first two weeks of June, said Stewart Clark, the SeaWorld vice president in charge of Discovery Cove. The 2.5-acre artificial reef is the first expansion at Discovery Cove since SeaWorld opened the limited-admission, boutique park in 2000. Planners say it will be filled with approximately 125 species of sea life, from fish and rays to sharks and urchins, among which guests will be able to walk, swim and snorkel. The feature attraction will be an underwater walking tour dubbed "SeaVenture" in which guests will don 75-pound dive helmets — though they'll weigh only about 15 pounds once submerged — and follow a themed trail through schools of fish. The experience, which will be limited to guests age 10 or older and to groups of no more than six people at a time, will cost an extra $59 per person, on top of regular admission.

› Tampa airport still waiting for Cuba approval for charters [Tampa Tribune]
Gaining landing rights from Cuban officials for charter flights from Tampa International Airport remains the primary obstacle to launch service, officials said today. No one can realistically say how long that might take, Tampa International vice president of marketing Christopher Minner told the Hillsborough County Aviation Authority board. The U.S. Customs and Border Protection in March approved Tampa as a gateway airport for charter flights serving Cuba. Airport officials are following up with the Cuban government and Havanatur, the Cuban state tour operator, to remove remaining barriers, Minner said, and plan to visit Miami to monitor how that airport handles Cuban charters. A handful of U.S. travel service agencies and charter carriers have expressed interests in operating Tampa-Cuba charter flights. Minner also said the launch of AirTran Airways and JetBlue Airways Tampa-San Juan flights this month and next is pivotal to showing airlines what kind of traffic the local community can support. "We need to recapture those who drive to Orlando, Fort Lauderdale and Miami for flights," Minner said.

› Thousands come out to sing for Simon Cowell's "The X Factor" [Miami Herald]
About 7,500 people registered to audition at the University of Miami's BankUnited Center for Fox's U.S. debut of Simon Cowell's "The X Factor." Contestants started lining up as early as 3 a.m. Thursday. They bonded and sang while in line. The winner of the singing competition will receive a $5 million recording contract. Unlike "American Idol," contestants can be young as 12 and have no upper age limit. They are also mentored by the judges. The producers say that they're looking for soloists or singing groups with an intangible star quality—"the x factor"—and are excited about the number of contestants in South Florida.

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