Friday's Daily Pulse

› Nude Reality Show Auditions to Air Live Online from Land O'Lakes [St. Petersburg Times]
Producers of a proposed all-nude reality television show plan to stream auditions live over the Internet. Atlantic Overseas Pictures Inc. said it made the decision due to the overwhelming response from the media, networks and aspiring cast to the new nude reality TV show Nak'd Truth, the show that will feature the adventures of seven young adults who agree to spend a month in the buff at Caliente Resort & Spa in Pasco County. The audience also will get to vote on who they'd like to see on the show when the auditions take place Nov. 13 and 14 at the resort. All interviews for cast roles will be broadcast live from the pool deck. Advertisers interested in branding their products and services alongside the online casting and eventually the show may e-mail inquiries to corporate@versatilegroup.ws, said Marisela D'Baldriche, CEO of the Versatile Group, a firm in charge of advertising. The company says it is already negotiating with companies interested in providing health and beauty products as well as food and beverages for the cast.
» RELATED: Development Buck Naked

› Lowe’s Amends Settlement to Get Drywall Victims More Money [Sarasota Herald-Tribune]
Lowe’s Companies Inc. amended a controversial Chinese drywall settlement so that customers who bought tainted drywall from its stores are now eligible for up to $100,000 in cash, according to legal documents filed Thursday in Georgia state court. Previously, it was a maximum of $4,500 in cash and gift cards in the settlement, for which plaintiffs’ attorneys who negotiated the deal were paid $2.1 million in legal fees. The amendment comes two months after the Herald-Tribune and ProPublica reported that the former version of the settlement offered relatively small amounts to drywall victims, but big payouts to plaintiff’s attorneys. “This proposed amendment strongly enhances the potential benefits to Lowe’s customers,” said Gregg Weiss, an attorney who helped negotiate the deal on behalf of his client, Chris Brucker, a corrections officer who bought drywall from Lowe’s to build his three-bedroom home in Arcadia.

› Artist 'Can't Wait' to Paint Police Station Walls [Tampa Tribune]
Six concrete panels, plain and bare, line the sidewalk outside District III police headquarters on 22nd Street. But in coming weeks the first of the panels will become, in effect, a canvas for neo-cubist artist James Vann. He will paint a tribute to the first black police officers hired to patrol black neighborhoods in the 1940s, '50s and '60s. They were pioneers before and during the civil rights movement, pushing to overcome job discrimination in hiring, pay and promotion. Five more panels will follow with reflections on more of East Tampa's history. One might have a music theme; another a sports theme, perhaps recognizing the Belmont Heights Little League's legacy. Vann has been meeting with members of the East Tampa Community Revitalization Partnership's aesthetics and beautification committee to gather ideas for the panels.

› Fort Myers-based NeoGenomics Inc. Reports $1.2 Million Loss [Fort Myers News-Press]
Fort Myers-based NeoGenomics Inc., a cancer genetics testing laboratory, reported today that increased administrative and restructuring costs outweighed a 19 percent gain in revenue to result a loss of $1.2 million, or 3 cents per share, in the quarter ended Sept. 30. That loss compares to a loss of $755,000, or 2 cents a share, for the same period a year ago. "Although our financial results don't fully reflect the improvements in our business yet, we believe the company is in a stronger position today than ever before," chief executive officer Doug VanOort said in a company release. "During the last quarter, we made significant changes in our management team, successfully converted our entire laboratory information system, and implemented changes to reduce our cost structure."

› Retailers Hope for Holiday Cheer [Orlando Sentinel]
After this weekend, when the jack-o-lanterns and costumes are cleared from store shelves, the annual wallet-draining known as the holiday shopping season will be upon us. Are we in a spending mood? Some industry prognosticators say yes. They think we are tired of letting the recession hold us back. We are starting to focus again on the quality of the flat-screen television, not simply which one is cheapest. And we want to indulge in gifts that are fun rather than just the essentials. If all this is to be believed, then we are on our way to putting the recession behind us.

› Little Pink Ducks Raising Bucks [Gainesville Sun]
Hundreds of little pink rubber ducks have taken a turn over the past week floating around the three-tiered fountain in front of Gainesville Country Day School to mark Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The ducks — some light pink and others a deeper hue — were a part of the weeklong "Kindergarten Lucky Ducks" fundraising effort by the school's kindergarten class. The project, which concludes today, has raised $1,400 in donations. The goal is to reach $1,500 with proceeds being donated to the local chapter of the American Cancer Society. Mel Toran, area executive director for the North Central Florida American Cancer Society, said a number of fundraising events were hosted around the county during the month including a luncheon at the Shands Cancer Hospital featuring the American Cancer Society's national chief medical officer Otis Brawley.

› Radio Host Asks Listeners to Knit Clothes for Afghan Babies [Palm Beach Post]
After visiting a hospital in Afghanistan last year, Brant Hansen got an idea. "I thought it would be cool if folks would knit baby blankets and baby booties and hats and attach a note that they're praying for them, and to pray for them while knitting," said Hansen, host of Mornings With Brant on WAY-FM radio (88.1 FM).With Monday's mailing deadline approaching fast, people have dropped off only a few items at the station, which he will take to Afghanistan on Nov. 12. WAY-FM has about 120,000 listeners in South Florida, and the show is syndicated to about 100 other stations throughout the country. The campaign, called "Knit Pray Love," is also publicized on the website of Cure International, which runs 11 hospitals in 10 countries, focusing on training local doctors and nurses.