As Stadium Rises, Neighborhood Waits
Inside the former Orange Bowl, construction of a new baseball stadium moves forth in a blizzard of activity, the ballpark more than one-third done and racing for a 2012 grand opening. But outside the stadium, East Little Havana has felt little impact yet from the $642 million project, funded mostly by public dollars and pitched to residents with a promise that if you build it, they will come. [Source: Miami Herald]
Experts Hatch Plan to Save Sea Turtles
To save a generation of sea turtles from being wiped out by the Deepwater Horizon disaster, state and federal biologists have hatched a daring but risky plan. They plan to excavate the 800 or so nests that the turtles have dug along Florida's Panhandle beaches and the Alabama coast, and carefully move all the eggs about 500 miles to the east — most likely to a climate-controlled warehouse at Kennedy Space Center. [Source: St. Petersburg Times]
Florida Trend Named the Nation's Best Regional Business Magazine
In presenting the top "Gold Award" in its annual competition, the Alliance of Area Business Publications said Florida Trend "reflects Florida's rich diversity in population and endeavors" with "impeccable reporting, clear and accessible story lines and compelling narratives." The magazine also won eight other awards. [Source: Florida Trend]
Kicking Kilowatts: Stimulus Helping Businesses Save Energy
Businesses interested in shaving their energy costs are getting a nudge from local government thanks to federal economic-stimulus funds. Kick the Kilowatt is an energy-tracking-and-saving program developed by the Central Florida Energy Efficiency Alliance, created last summer with money from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Operated by Orange County's Environmental Protection Division, the program is open to any business in Central Florida. [Source: Orlando Sentinel]
» BP's Fix-it Man: Calm in Storm [AP]
» Spill Hits Housing Market [Miami Herald]
» Panhandle Hotels Full But Not Happy [Orlando Sentinel]
»
Rubio Backs $20 Billion BP Fund [WUSF]
ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:
› Tampa Overtakes Miami as Fla.'s Staged Accident Capital
Tampa's Ron Poindexter, the multistate operations director for the National Insurance Crime Bureau, must feel like he's playing the world's biggest game of Whac-A-Mole. Fraud in Florida is popping up all over. And the deep recession is only encouraging more of it as a way to make some money, despite the risks, in unusually tough times.
› FPL Won't Give Up on Rate Case
Florida Power & Light Co. may have been given just a sliver of the $1.2 billion rate increase it sought last year, but the rate case isn't over yet. Not only that, the company expects to file another rate hike request between now and early 2013, FPL President and CEO Armando Olivera said at a meeting Monday with The Palm Beach Post's editorial board.
› Baseball Companies Lobbying North Port
Two baseball-related firms are jockeying for millions of North Port dollars behind the promise of jobs, tourism and attractions that they say will put North Port on the map. Snowbird Baseball, a North Port-based company, wants the city to spend $4.5 million on Astroturf fields suitable for college play, similar to tournaments that are played in Charlotte County. Big League Dreams, a California-based company, is selling replica Major League ballfields as a tourist draw that could net the city money through a public-private partnership.
› IRS Probing Casino Payouts
The IRS is investigating allegations that the Miccosukee Tribe used armored vehicles to deliver up to $10 million in cash from its gambling operations to hundreds of Indians four times a year -- without anyone reporting the money as taxable income, according to federal court records. The investigation into the West Miami-Dade tribe has generated a related IRS probe of its former chairman, Billy Cypress. He is suspected of charging at least $3 million on tribe credit cards for personal travel to casinos in Las Vegas, Foxwoods and other glitzy gaming venues between 2003 and 2005, records show.
› 1 in 5 Choose to Default, Though They Can Pay
Nearly one in five delinquent mortgages through the first half of 2009 was owned by someone who could afford to pay, but decided defaulting was a smarter financial play. The decision to walk away, called "strategic default," was studied by crediting agency Experian and international consulting group Oliver Wyman.
› Florida Home Buyers Could Lose Tax Credits
About 14,830 home buyers in Florida are at risk of losing their tax credit barring a last-minute extension of the home sales stimulus plan by Congress. Only California and Texas have more pending home sales at risk of forfeiting the tax credit, according to an analysis released Monday by the National Association of Realtors.
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› Some Entrepreneurs Enjoy Early Start
"I think it is extremely important to cultivate young entrepreneurs," said Donn Miller-Kermani, director of the Women's Business Center at Florida Tech. "Small business is the backbone of the American economy. Now more than ever, we need to have innovation and entrepreneurship take the lead." Three Floridians share thoughts on launching businesses.
› Marketing to Men
Since time immemorial, retailers catered to women in ads, store design and organization because they make three-quarters of all purchases. But the primary shopper in 32 percent of all households today is a man, more than double the 14 percent of two decades ago, according to Nielsen and NPD Group. Credit divorce, rising numbers of both singles and single male parents, and changing gender roles linked to more women working.
› Cooperation at Heart of New Space Policy
Expanding international cooperation in space, boosting commercial companies and increasing Earth observations are priorities the Obama administration released Monday as United States space policy. "In short, this policy, while new, reflects the standards of leadership we have set since the dawn of the space age, and ideals as old as America itself," President Barack Obama said in a statement accompanying the 18-page policy. "We do not fear the future. We embrace the future."
› Gun Ruling Draws Mixed Reaction from Florida Pols
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday that no matter where you live in the United States you have the right to keep a handgun in your home. That decision didn't change the rules in Florida, where that right already existed statewide. But the issue of gun rights is a visceral one, no less in an election year and especially in Florida, which historically has more guns than it has residents.
› Mercedes-Benz Opening Jacksonville Facility
Mercedes-Benz USA Monday announced it is opening a 415,000-square-foot facility near the Jacksonville International Airport that will house several of its business units. New Jersey-based Mercedes-Benz USA is responsible for distribution, marketing and customer service for all Mercedes-Benz and Maybach automobiles in the U.S. It will employ 160 people at the newly constructed Jacksonville facility.
› Lightning Researchers Nab $9.8 Million Defense Grant
Just in time for Florida’s summer lightning season, a $9.8 million grant will greatly expand research operations at the University of Florida and Florida Institute of Technology International Center for Lightning Research and Testing. The grant, which began this month, will allow the center to hire new engineers and buy cutting-edge equipment — including a high-speed camera capable of photographing triggered lightning at the rate of 3 million frames each second, Uman said.
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