Tax Amnesty Offered to State Residents, Businesses
If you didn't pay all your Florida state taxes, you can fess up this summer and not feel quite as much pain. Amnesty for many Florida state taxes starts today. Through Sept. 30, Florida is offering consumers and businesses a one-time chance to pay delinquent sales and use taxes, corporate income tax and a variety of other levies, according to the Florida Department of Revenue's website. The benefits for those who pay up now: No penalty and no criminal prosecution, a 2010 state law says. You'll also get a break on up to half the interest due. [Source: South Florida Sun-Sentinel]
Central Florida's Coming "Super Region"
Floridians wince at the seemingly endless sprawl of development in the Sunshine State. But regional planner and University of Pennsylvania professor Jonathan Barnett thinks Florida is well ahead of most states in smart regional planning. Barnett's Penn Design, the graduate school for arts and architecture, has done multiple regional planning projects in the state. The latest? A sweeping assessment of how Tampa and Orlando, using smart growth management, could eventually merge into one "super region." [Source: St. Petersburg Times]
Regulators Claim Ouster is Payback for Opposing Rate Hikes
Two Florida Public Service commissioners were bounced from their posts Wednesday, and they blamed their refusal to grant rate increases to Florida Power & Light and another utility for their ouster. Chairwoman Nancy Argenziano and Commissioner Nathan Skop blasted the influence of utilities and business interests on the Florida Legislature and the nominating panel that rejected their applications for reappointment. "They want commissioners who do their bidding rather than follow the law. They do not want the uncorruptible. They want the corruptible," Argenziano said Wednesday. [Source: Palm Beach Post]
Fla. Innocence Commission Moves Closer to Reality
Ask those closely involved in efforts to establish a state commission that would study the possible causes of wrongful convictions and listen carefully for a hint of doubt. Such tones are noticeably absent in present-day dialogue centered on hopes for a Florida Actual Innocence Commission, which up until two months ago existed merely as a proposal. But with $200,000 in state appropriations now bolstering its launch, proponents say they're optimistic the Florida Supreme Court will take the next official step of issuing an administrative order formally establishing such a commission. [Source: Ocala Star-Banner]
» Storm-whipped Waters Halt Protection Effort [Miami Herald]
» BP Fined $5.2M for Misreporting Colo. Gas Output [Ocala Star-Banner]
» Business Owners Blast BP's Claims Rules [Times/Herald]
» World's Largest Oil-Skimmer Heads to Gulf [AP]
ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:
› Florida Seniors a Growing Target for Scam Artists
If your parents are 60 or older and live near here, chances are they've been scammed. "Imagine Florida's [Ben Hill Griffin] Stadium in Gainesville, filled to capacity, every 11 days for the next 30 years," said Laura Lang, senior-programs coordinator for the Orange County Sheriff's Office. The numbers are so stunning that government experts and those in the legal and health-care fields are sounding an alarm.
› Jackson Execs Paint Rosier Picture on Expected Loss
Two days after bemoaning the loss of more than $70 million in federal funding, Jackson executives reported that its cost-saving, revenue-enhancing initiatives were going well -- and the overall loss this fiscal year could be as low as $50 million, a dramatic improvement from a $244 million loss last year. Some observers doubted the latest good news. "I continue to be a skeptic," said Stephen Dresnick, a physician-healthcare entrepreneur who was one of 41 civic leaders who signed a letter in May urging the county commission to fix Jackson's "broken" business model. "It's hard to understand how they can go from $240 million to $50 million."
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COLUMN: What's a Little Fraud Between Friends?
Suppose you had a contract with a guy to work on your house, and you found out he was taking advantage of you. Maybe he was overcharging, or billing for work he didn't do, or knowingly taking more money than he should. So you confront him, and the guy says: "Hey, mistakes were made. But I've changed. Let's put it behind us. "I'll even give you part of the money back." I know what I'd say. You?
› Powerful Seminole Tribal Council Member Resigns
One of the Seminole Tribe's most powerful and controversial elected leaders — David Cypress, the brother of tribal Chairman Mitchell Cypress — resigned Wednesday from the tribe's governing council. His resignation follows a June 3 federal enforcement action against the Seminoles, finding that tribal council members authorized nearly $200,000 for the purchases of jewelry, cars and other personal expenses for certain tribal members. Those purchases violated federal gambling laws because they benefited individuals, not the entire tribe.
› Donation Allows Community Radio Station to Keep Employees
WMNF-FM 88.5 announced Wednesday night that three employees who were laid off a week ago will now be able to keep their jobs, thanks in part to a large donation. The layoffs, the first in the station's 30-year history, stunned the community and the employees affected. WMNF officials said the bad economy forced them to give notice to longtime music director Lee "DJ Flee" Courtney, receptionist Julie Scheid and special events coordinator Linda Reisinger.
› Feds: Mortgage Fraud Ring Included Cops
A network of Broward County attorneys, law enforcement officers and mortgage brokers are accused of falsifying a slew of documents to obtain $16.5 million in loans that they used to buy and flip properties during the real estate boom, according to an indictment unsealed Wednesday. Federal prosecutors said the Broward-based group was organized by ex-Plantation police officer Joseph Guaracino, who recruited five other current and former cops in that city as well as a Lauderhill officer and an FBI agent. They allegedly posed as "straw'' buyers who pledged to buy and live in 38 condos and homes in Broward and Palm Beach counties.
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› Tanning Salons Say New Tax Will Drive Away Customers
A siesta under the sunlamp becomes 10 percent more expensive Thursday with the start of a new federal tax on indoor tanning. The tax, created by Congress to help pay for the national health care overhaul, worries some Florida tanning salon operators who said they can't afford to lose more customers after already taking a hit during the recession.
› Pratt Rips Deal to Build Alternate F-35 Engine
Pratt & Whitney officials came to the company's plant in northwestern Palm Beach County on Wednesday to rally the troops in the long-running war over a $100 billion jet-engine contract. Pratt & Whitney long ago won the Department of Defense contract to build engines for nearly 2,500 F-35 fighter jets. Yet Congress has continued to give GE about $500 million a year to develop a competing engine for the F-35. Pratt calls it pork. GE calls it a wise investment.
› Who Needs College?
President Barack Obama wants the United States to become the best-educated country in the world by 2020. Yet Florida is having trouble even reaching the national average for the percentage of students who go to college, according to a new state report. A sizable chunk of Florida's high-school graduates are skipping college in favor of full-time jobs, military service and trade-school training.
› State Sen. Jumps Law Firms, Says Move Unrelated to BP
Attorney and state senator Joe Negron, R-Stuart, has jumped to the Gunster law firm from the Akerman Senterfitt law firm, where he has worked for more than five years. In doing so, Negron leaves a firm that represents BP North America in civil claims arising from the Gulf oil spill. He is the second state politician to quit Akerman in recent weeks. Earlier this week, Dan Gelber, a Miami Beach state senator and Democratic attorney general candidate, announced he quit the firm after it agreed to represent BP.
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Arrow Cargo Grounded for Good
Arrow Cargo, one of South Florida's oldest and largest air freight companies, announced Wednesday it had ceased operations effective immediately. The closure marks the end of months of financial trouble for the company, which announced plans to lay off 473 workers in April in an effort to avoid going out of business. At the time, Arrow was working to secure investors, but indicated via a statement that they were unsuccessful.
› Jim Greer's Slow, Steady Downfall
The noose had been tightening around Jim Greer for weeks by the time old protege and right-hand man Delmar Johnson finally returned his calls. Law enforcement was snooping around. Rumors were rampant about imminent arrests. Blogs and newspapers featured fellow Republicans — former friends and fellow party leaders, for God's sake — trashing Greer and accusing him of illegal activity. Some of his most adamant defenders had stopped taking calls, and people whispered that even Johnson was throwing Greer under the bus to investigators. So when Johnson finally phoned on March 25, the former Florida Republican Party chairman sounded wary and relieved.
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