Sarasota and two counties on Florida’s southwest coast plan to take advantage of federally subsidized economic recovery zone and Build America Bonds when they issue more than $100 million of debt for the spring-training facilities of two Major League Baseball teams. The financing allowed under the federal stimulus law is being used by Lee County to build a new spring-training stadium for the Boston Red Sox. The team has played in a smaller facility in the county seat of Fort Myers since the early 1990s. Sarasota and Sarasota County plan to use bonds to renovate an existing sports complex for the Baltimore Orioles, who are moving from Fort Lauderdale for newer digs. The first sale is next week when Lee County will price $80 million of tourist development-tax revenue bonds. [Source: Bond Buyer]
Jacksonville Pays for $400,000 Study on Relocating Fair
The digging, engineering and site work near the Jacksonville Equestrian Center is what the city is banking on as the first phase of moving the Greater Jacksonville Agricultural Fair away from downtown. But first the city and fair — who are working against a 2014 deadline — need to make sure the move will work. That’s what a city-funded $400,000 engineering study that should be started in coming weeks will eventually determine. A company managed by former city chief administrative officer Sam Mousa, JBC Planning and Engineering, will provide the city with estimates of how much it would cost to install utilities and prepare the land, as well as which parts of the 195-acre parcel would be best for the fair. [Source: SOURCE]
Boeing, Space Adventures to Market Commercial Orbital Flights
If the initiative is successful, many customers flying on Boeing's seven-person Crew Space Transportation-100 spacecraft, of CST-100, would likely launch from Cape Canaveral. The capsule is being designed to launch atop United Launch Alliance's Atlas V and Delta IV rockets and SpaceX's Falcon 9, which have pads at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The companies see a market for flying tourists, companies, government agencies and astronauts from other countries to the International Space Station or other destinations. [Source: Florida Today]
Tourism Isn't Enough: Economy Demands Diversification
BP’s Deepwater Horizon oil spill laid bare Northwest Florida’s heavy dependence on tourism, and experts from several fields say the region should diversify its economy. Finding ways to lessen the region’s reliance on vacationers was a major topic Wednesday at the Gulf Coast Recovery Summit at the Emerald Coast Conference Center. “We are seeing the importance of having industry opportunities to go beyond the relatively narrow strips some areas are operating on,” said Edward Smith, a special adviser to the federal government’s National Incident Command’s Economics Solutions Team. “Some areas we visited completely depend on tourism.” [Source: Northwest Florida Daily News]
Four Candidates for TIA's Top Job Begin Interviews
The four men contending to be the next executive director at Tampa International Airport agree on a few things. They all like the airport.
"It's a world-class facility; you're a leader,'' said Kent George, who runs Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.
"An excellent customer service rating that I envied," said Lester Robinson, former boss at Detroit Metropolitan Airport.
But they also unanimously identify a well-publicized weak spot: recruiting airlines to start new routes, especially to international destinations.
[Source: St. Petersburg Times]
ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:
› FAO Schwarz to Make Mall Comeback This Holiday Season
The legendary FAO Schwarz brand, known for its high-end and unique toys, is coming back to the malls this holiday season.
Toys ``R'' Us announced Wednesday that it will open temporary FAO Schwarz stores in 10 key shopping malls around the country, including Aventura Mall.
``FAO Schwarz is one of the top brands in retail; everyone has heard of it,'' said Jerry Storch, chairman and chief executive officer of Toys ``R'' Us, which acquired the exclusive rights to operate the FAO Schwarz brand in May 2009. ``We believe it will appeal to kids all over the country.''
The Aventura store will open later this month and will remain operational until mid-January 2011. It will be the only Florida location.
› Behold the $7,000 Keyboard
Ocala generally is not considered a city for national debuts — the movies of the Travolta family a notable exception. Wednesday, however, the Brick City hosted the U.S. premiere of Yamaha's newest top-of-the-line electronic keyboard — or “digital workstation,” as company reps refer to it.
How? Sales. Mark Bouvier of Bouviers Music in Sears at the Paddock Mall “is the top seller in the nation, if you compare market shares,” said Terry Stockton, Yamaha's southeastern district manager. He did not provide figures, but did say Yamaha enjoys a 60 percent to 70 percent market share nationally of upper-end electronic keyboards.
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› Sen. Leader Intervenes in Prison Contract, Brother Gets Contribution
One week before Senate Majority Leader Alex Diaz de la Portilla, of Miami, sent a letter to help a kidney dialysis company in a bitter contract dispute over prison medical services, his brother's campaign received a $15,000 check from the head of the company, state campaign finance reports show.
Diaz de la Portilla's letter, on Senate majority office stationary, was used by lawyers for Miami Beach-based Orion Medical Enterprises to persuade a state Department of Corrections officials to halt the bidding process.
› Florida Wants to Ban 'Legal Weed'
Florida officials want to ban so-called "legal weed," packs of herbs treated with chemicals that mimic the high of marijuana and have sent a rising number of smokers to emergency rooms.
The herbs are sold as incense in head shops and hookah bars under brand names such as K2 and Spice. They've become popular in the past year among teens and young adults who want legal substitutes for pot.
› State Can't Get Hands on A/C Rebate Money
Florida's residential air-conditioner rebate program that began Aug. 30 has no money, and it's not because the $14.9 million designated for it has been disbursed.
The rebate program, offering a maximum of $1,500 per household, is designed to encourage homeowners to replace their old heating and cooling systems with properly sized energy-efficient systems and to ensure home duct systems have minimal leakage.
Now the funds, as well as $13.9 million in solar rebates, are in jeopardy and might be addressed by the Florida Legislature in November.
› Home Building Quality Rises, Number of Builders Drops
“To builders, a JD Power win is better than an Olympic gold medal."
So blogs the Wall Street Journal on Wednesday about JD Power and Associate's annual new-home builder customer satisfaction survey. Overall, the poll finds home builders earning higher marks for quality. That's good news but may simply mean builders have fewer houses and more time to build compared with the boom times of 2003-2006, when slapdash construction was more of a problem.
JD Power's "gold medal" in the Tampa Bay market this year goes to Standard Pacific Homes. The home builder received a score of 885 out of a possible 1,000, well above the Tampa Bay average of 831.
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› Clay County Chamber Recognizes Business Excellence
The Clay County Chamber of Commerce announced the recipients of the 2010 Business Excellence Awards during a luncheon Wednesday at the Thrasher-Horne Conference Center in Orange Park. The selection criteria for the awards are based on innovation, ingenuity, leadership and community involvement.
› Giant CVS Warehouse Sells in Orlando
CB Richard Ellis negotiated the sale Tuesday of the 713,585-quare-foot CVS Warehouse near West Oak Ridge Road, marking the largest sale of an industrial building in Orlando in the last decade.
Orlando CBRE Senior Vice President David Murphy, along with the firm's Atlanta Investment Sales Team of Frank Fallon, Chris Riley, and Brian Budnick, represented Pacific Life Insurance Co. in the sale of the distribution warehouse distribution facility on Chancellor Drive in Orlando.
The property, which was fully leased at the time of sale, was purchased by Liberty Property Trust.
› JEA Spends Millions Taking Back Ash Stored in Georgia
Four years after JEA delivered mountains of power plant ash to road crews in Charlton County, Ga., the utility is spending millions to haul what’s left of that to a landfill.
The county an hour from downtown Jacksonville has covered about 20 miles of dirt roads with ash that JEA markets as a construction material called EZBase.
But that work has stalled since Georgia’s Department of Natural Resources started questioning whether EZBase could leach metals or other pollutants into soil and groundwater more than two years ago.
And it turns out that huge stacks of ash piled up in Georgia carried expiration dates.
› Orlando Theme Parks, Businesses Accommodate Plus-Size Customers
Theme-park rides, turnstiles and restrooms can fill plus-sized guests with fear or anger.
The average Americans' growing weight and girth have been an issue with some businesses, such as airlines, for years now. And from specially engineered rides at SeaWorld Orlando to bigger seats in the new, soon-to-open Amway Center, many others are designing or installing equipment that can handle the extra pounds or inches.
Universal Orlando's recent tweaking of the overhead restraints on its new Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey ride, after some fans complained they couldn't fit into the seats, is only the latest example of an ongoing process by theme parks and many other companies to accommodate larger customers.
› St. Augustine Airport Going Tax-Free for Residents
The airport is responsible for nearly 2,000 jobs and hundreds of millions of dollars of economic impact, and starting soon, it will be responsible for its own bills, too.
The Northeast Florida Regional Airport, formerly the St. Augustine Airport, is the home to almost 25 local businesses, and has been supplemented by county tax revenue.
According to the St. Augustine - St. Johns County Airport Authority, a plan from 2004 to get off the tax rolls is coming to fruition.
› Mom Sues Hospital over Baby's Accidental Circumcision
Vera Delgado says she was shocked when she learned last month that her infant son, Mario Viera, was accidentally circumcised without her consent at South Miami Hospital when he was 8 days old. The case of the accidental circumcision quickly created controversy: Delgado's attorney was invited to speak at a national conference on crime victims and has been contacted by media as far away as the United Arab Emirates and anti-circumcision groups, including a local organization planning a demonstration at the hospital Friday.
› McCann to Step Down as Jacksonville University Business Dean
Joseph McCann is stepping down as dean of Jacksonville University's Davis College of Business at the end of the school year in June 2011. But he will remain on the faculty as the McGehee Chair of Business Strategy and Entrepreneurship.
McCann became dean in 2008, coming from the same position at the University of Tampa's John H. Sykes College of Business. During his tenure at JU, the college of business received its first accreditation from The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business International, the oldest global accrediting body.
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