Citrus Estimate More Optimistic
The U.S. Department of Agriculture added 4 million boxes of oranges onto the 2010-11 Florida citrus crop estimate, but don't expect that to affect the rising price of orange juice. "We're certainly looking at higher prices through the summer, I'm sure about that," said Tom Spreen, a University of Florida economist and a leading authority on the state's citrus industry. Crop size is just one factor driving retail prices higher, he said. Petroleum products, used in packaging, processing and transportation, also accounts for a major portion of OJ retail prices. As anybody who's been to the gas station lately can attest, those prices have rocketed up with the various Middle East revolts. "I don't know what the magic number is on oil, but it's somewhere north of $100 a barrel. That can choke (the economy) off," Spreen said. The fuel surcharge levied by trucking companies, which swings with diesel prices, increased from 28 percent to 47 percent in just the past month, said Walt Lincer, vice president of sales and marketing at Florida's Natural Growers in Lake Wales, the third largest U.S. orange juice seller. "The cost of everything that uses energy has gone up," he said. [Source: Lakeland Ledger]
The Niche and the Famous: Miniaturizing the World's Celebrities
Fiancee of Prince William and soon-to-be Her Royal Highness Princess Catherine of Wales, Kate Middleton is one of the popular people right now.
Let's put it this way: The dress she was wearing when her engagement was announced last November sold out in 24 hours. The Hamilton Collection is counting on that popularity to sell out the Middleton figurine, $29.99 and wearing that same blue dress.
That's what The Hamilton Collection does. It makes and sells hundreds of collectibles, mostly figurines, but others as well, such as Prince and Kate plates. For $99, you can buy a replica of Middleton's blue sapphire engagement ring.
The company was founded in Jacksonville 40 years ago. It's now one of 10 collectible brands under the Chicago-based Bradford Group. But it's still here in Jacksonville, flying under most people's radar.
"We're kind of the Willy Wonka of collectibles," Mobley said. "We're this little secret place that sells things people don't necessarily need but enriches their lives."
[Source: Florida Times-Union]
Mapping Medicine's Horizon with Your DNA
If Jackson Laboratory succeeds in its quest to establish a biomedical research "village" here, Sarasotans may soon be asked if they want their genomes mapped, for free. Anyone using the Sarasota Memorial Health Care System — checking into the hospital for surgery or just getting a lab test — could be asked to contribute his or her singular DNA sequence to the Jackson Lab collection. What gives one person green eyes and another a lilting laugh would be analyzed to reveal why one patient lives and another dies. The resulting database of genetic information could help researchers figure out how to tailor drug therapy not to a particular disease, like diabetes, but to any specific individual who suffers from it. Within 10 to 20 years — a vital time horizon for aging baby boomers — this is expected to yield more affordable cures, with fewer grueling or dangerous side effects. It could mean the end of costly, trial-and-error medicine. [Source: Sarasota Herald-Tribune]
It Might Get Harder to Be Unemployed in Florida
Florida is a tough place to be out of work. And it could get worse.
Florida's Legislature's in Session: Meet the Freshman Class More than one-third of the new lawmakers are lawyers, and 14 of the House's 44 freshmen are millionaires. |
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Legislative Roundup:
» Controversial Pain Pill Bills Move Forward in House
» Florida Senate Passes Teacher Merit-Pay Bill
» Senate Committee Pitches Its Pension Reform Plan
» Immigration Crackdown Moves in Florida House
On the Auction Block: Lost Items at Miami Airport
Attention, trinket hounds and treasure hunters: This is your moment.
Miami International Airport is throwing its semiannual yard sale Saturday, auctioning off thousands of items abandoned by the 35 million fliers who pass through its terminals annually.
A warehouse worth of electronics, luggage, jewelry — and even an outboard boat motor — will be sold, as is, to the highest bidder.
And there's a delicious twist.
The contents of the suitcases and duffels must remain a secret until a sale is final, setting up the ultimate in speculative investing.
"It's like a lotto ticket," said Paul May, the event auctioneer. "This is a gambling town. People are always trying to figure out what's in the bag."
And while odds are a zipped-up bag will yield little more than dirty gym socks, one person's forgotten has in the past become another's fortune.
There are dozens of stories now immortalized in airport folklore, but this is one of the best: Some eight years ago, a bidder bought a suitcase for the reasonable price of $150. When it was opened, approximately 25 thousand British pounds poured out of a side pocket.
A great day, yes.
But that's not even the most valuable discovery to pass through the airport's lost and found department.
[Source: SOURCE]
ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:
› Liquidation Sales Begin Friday at Robb & Stucky Stores
Liquidation sales begin Friday at all 20 Robb & Stucky home furnishings stores in four states as prelude to the shutdown of the 96-year-old Fort Myers chain.
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› Survey: Gainesville Residents Happiest in Nation about Their Jobs
Gainesville workers have the best perceptions in the nation of their work environment, and the city is the eighth-best midsized city in overall well-being, according to the Gallup-Healthways 2010 Well-Being Index.
The survey measures the health and economic well-being of cities, states and congressional districts in six categories: life evaluation, emotional health, work environments, physical health, healthy behaviors and access to basic necessities.
Nationwide, the survey showed growing discontent within the work force -- including job satisfaction, trust and employee/supervisor relations -- mirroring high unemployment and added pressures placed on remaining employees.
The work environment index has declined for three years, starting at 50.9 in 2008 to 48.2 in 2010, with 100 representing ideal conditions. The access-to-necessities index also dropped. The other four either increased or were stagnant.
A survey of 328 randomly selected Gainesville households showed work environment perceptions here scored 65.6, the best in the nation.
› Fearful of Protesters, Fla. Chamber of Commerce Hires Security
Fearful that protestors might storm their doors during the legislative session, the Florida Chamber of Commerce is on lockdown — hiring off-duty Tallahassee Police officers to stand guard in the parking lot and establishing security codes (Red, Orange and Yellow) so employees know the threat level.
Chamber President Mark Wilson said Thursday that he ordered the precautions after hearing of protests that led to the destruction of public property in states like Wisconsin.
"We've been picketed by ACORN before,'' Wilson noted. "They brought people in on buses and pushed open our front door a few years ago.''
Their office, with about 45 employees, is about four blocks from the Capitol.
› Sarasota Ballet to Dance in D.C.
The Sarasota Ballet Company will approach its third decade by making a grand jeté onto the national stage. The organization announced Thursday that its dancers will perform in October at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., in an artistic collaboration with The Suzanne Farrell Ballet, the performing arts center's resident ballet company, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary.
"It's unbelievable that the company is getting this chance," said Iain Webb, Sarasota Ballet's artistic director. "It's an honor for our dancers and our entire community." The performances, which will take place Oct. 12-16 on the stage of the 1,100-seat Eisenhower Theater, will include two mixed programs, each featuring Sarasota Ballet dancers in George Balanchine's "Diamonds," a work the iconic choreographer created for former New York City prima ballerina Suzanne Farrell in 1967.
› Avera Motors of Rockledge Becomes Rivian Automotive
R.J. Scaringe's business plan called for setting up a manufacturing platform that produces ultra fuel-efficient automobiles.
It didn't include haggling over the legalities of his company's name with one of the world's top automakers.
So Scaringe's announcement Thursday that Avera Motors would become Rivian Automotive means he can return his focus to automobile engineering and manufacturing.
Rivian pays homage to the Indian River Lagoon and its reputation as an "estuary of national significance" in the United States, Scaringe said. It is a combination of the first three letters of "river" and the last three of "Indian."
"We selected a powerful, timeless name that illustrates who we are as a company, how we blend with the natural environment and what we seek to do within the industry," Scaringe said.
» Florida Newsmakers of the Year
» Cleared for Takeoff
› Flights to Cuba from Fort Lauderdale Approved by U.S.
The U.S. government on Thursday said it will allow charter flights to Havana from Fort Lauderdale- Hollywood International Airport — all part of the ongoing easing of travel restrictions to the island by the Obama administration.
It's unclear which charter carriers will offer the flights, but the Broward County airport now has permission to schedule them.
In recent years, only charter flights from Miami to the island have been allowed.
"We still don't know exactly when the flights will begin, but they have been approved,'' said Greg Meyer spokesman for the airport. "We asked for permission on Jan. 28 and were optimistic they would be approved."
This week, the government approved flights to Cuba from eight other U.S. airport, including Tampa, Chicago O'Hare, Baltimore, Dallas/Fort Worth, New Orleans, Pittsburgh, Atlanta and Luis Muñoz Marín in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Go to page 2 for more stories ...
› Bright House Networks Plans Regional Spanish-Language Station
Bright House Networks is launching a regional Spanish-language news and information network called InfoMás.
The new 24-hour station will combine Orlando's Central Florida News 13 en Español and Tampa's Bay News 9 en Español, ending their separate broadcasts.
Bay News 9 en Español's anchor Lydia Guzman will serve as InfoMás' main news anchor. The network will have reporters based in both Tampa and Orlando.
Bright House officials are still reviewing the details but may add more local political, medical and entertainment commentators.
› Feds to Probe Ouster of Florida's Nursing-Home Watchdog
The federal Administration on Aging will investigate the dismissal of Florida's top nursing-home watchdog, who left his post last month after what patient advocates say was illegal interference by Florida Gov. Rick Scott.
The federal agency sent a letter this week to Voices for Quality Care, a Maryland-based consumer-rights group that had called for the investigation. The letter confirmed there will be a review of Florida's long-term-care ombudsman program, "including the circumstances surrounding [the] resignation" of the former head of that program, Brian Lee.
Lee, who had held the post for seven years, was considered a strong champion of residents' rights. In recent months, though, he had had an increasingly contentious relationship with the industry and said he was ultimately told Feb. 7 that the governor had ordered him to resign or be fired by day's end.
He chose to resign.
› Miami-Dade Schools Chief: We Are on a Collision Course
The Miami-Dade school system is bracing for unprecedented cuts to its $4.3 billion budget — reductions that could mean teacher and counselor layoffs, and the elimination of some arts and magnet programs.
"At stake now is the viability, the quality and the breadth of public education in Miami-Dade County," Miami-Dade Schools Superintendent Alberto Carvalho said Thursday.
Carvalho is expecting between $100 million and $200 million in cuts.
If his prediction bears out, this will be the fourth consecutive year the Miami-Dade district, like others across Florida, has had to cut back dramatically on spending.
Miami-Dade has thus far been able to prevent teacher layoffs and protect arts and music programs. But this year, Carvalho said, nothing is guaranteed.
› Florida to Get $4M in AstraZeneca's $68.5M Settlement
Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi announced Thursday that AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals LP will pay $68.5 million as part of a multistate settlement over allegations that the drug developer promoted its blockbuster psychiatric drug Seroquel for insomnia, Alzheimer's and other unapproved uses. Florida and 36 other states will share in the settlement, and Florida's share is just over $4 million.
› Water Managers Call for Voluntary Cutbacks
South Florida residents should voluntarily reduce landscape watering and prepare for tougher, mandatory cutbacks if drought conditions worsen, South Florida water managers decided on Thursday.
The South Florida Water Management District's board approved a "water shortage warning" that calls for starting with voluntary cutbacks for the entire region stretching from Orlando to the Keys.
The district board went a step further for central and eastern Palm Beach County, requiring utilities and agricultural operations there to reduce water use by 15 percent due to water supply concerns.
In addition, the district's board gave its executive director the authority to shift to mandatory emergency restrictions that could ultimately affect all farms, homes and businesses if water levels continue to drop.
› HSN Teams with Kraft Foods in Multiyear Deal
If the recipes on HSN cooking shows seem to be getting cheesier, know that the TV shopping network has signed a multiyear marketing partnership with Kraft Foods.
The deal with the world's second-largest food products maker becomes the St. Petersburg e-commerce company's first long-term link to a consumer packaged goods manufacturer. It's part of a strategy to get beyond its own broadcast to attract first-time customers.