MONDAY, SEPT. 28, 2009
STATEWIDE:
More Bank Failures Expected
Late last year, Florida bank expert Ken Thomas forecast about 100 U.S. bank failures in 2009. With three months to go, Thomas is just five shy of his mark. How many more will fall? Bank analyst Dick Bove predicts 150 to 200 additional bank failures during the cycle, while analyst Meredith Whitney believes more than 300 will go down. Eight Florida banks have failed in the past 13 months -- half of them in Sarasota and Manatee counties. Industry analyst BauerFinancial now carries 40 Florida banks on its critical list, nearly double the total from just three months earlier. [Source: Herald-Tribune]
- Second Florida credit union fails, taken over by regulators
- Is yours trouble? Florida's zero-star banks
ORLANDO:
Disney, Universal Go Interactive
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Print Ads: A Bargain for Buyers
If you're thinking about promoting your business through print advertising, you've picked a good time. Most newspapers and magazines are hungry for revenue. Here are some tips. |
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Rollins MBA Ranks First in Florida and 22nd in Nation |
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Feds Set Contract Record; Still Short of Small-Business Goal |
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The Best Industries for Starting a Business Right Now |
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Event: State of the Venture Capital Industry |
Elaborate sets where guests can dance with princesses and a wand shop where the souvenir wands choose their buyers mark the latest efforts by Disney and Universal to make their parks more interactive with visitors. Read on ... [Source: Sentinel]
TALLAHASSEE:
Where Sunshine and Circuitry Collide
The image of smoke-filled rooms where politicians gather to plot in secret has been replaced by the blur of fingers flying on handheld devices sending text messages between lawmakers, lobbyists and others trying to do the public's business in private. While state laws requiring elected officials to maintain records of any documents related to their governing work are among the nation's strictest, they they did not anticipate the new range of instant messaging, from Twitter "tweets" to PIN-to-PIN exchanges between BlackBerrys. The law has not been updated since 1995. "Technology moves so fast; laws move so slow," said Barbara Petersen, the executive director of the First Amendment Foundation. [Source: Herald-Tribune]
- State getting tough on open record violators
- Open government laws go beyond the computer, says attorney
TAMPA BAY:
Lehman Brothers Fallout Still Ripples Through Neighborhoods
Laid off in the meltdown, an ex-Lehman Brothers executive now invests in gas stations and carwashes. He considers himself lucky. Read on ... [Source: St. Petersburg Times]
ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:
› UM Researcher's HIV Vaccine Latest Lift in Fight vs. AIDSA Miami researcher says she is well along in the development of a vaccine to help those already infected with HIV.
› Waldorf Astoria Orlando: Our Taste of Big Apple Luxury
Hotel resort opens Thursday near Walt Disney World.
› Investors, Utilities Fear Wide Fallout if State Rebuffs FPL
Financial experts are anxiously awaiting the Public Service Commission's decision, now scheduled for Jan. 11, because they fear no increase or one too small would affect not just FPL's profitability but possibly the rest of the state's utilities. Also: FPL Group, Duke Energy switching to hybrid, electric fleet
› Charlie Crist: Barack Obama Will Be One-Termer
"I think the people wanted a change. They wanted a change back in 1976. You remember? Richard Nixon had been president. That ended. Gerald Ford took over. The people decided they wanted a change. They got one-Jimmy Carter. Four years later, they took care of business-Ronald Reagan. It may happen again."
› Sarasota Developer Suing His Former PartnerNow, with loan defaults totaling $9.5 million, Gary Moyer is suing Zeb Portonova, his much younger and wealthier former partner, who latched onto Moyer's ideas as a way to make a name for himself on the local development scene with the $1-billion Proscenium development. Bonita: Teed-off residents drive developer to brink of ruin
› New Jobs in Brevard on Line as Air Force Tanker Bidding Renews
The Pentagon has tried and failed twice to award a contract to replace its Eisenhower-era fleet of tankers that refuel military planes in flight. Related: Date of shuttle program's final flight remains flexible
› McCollum's Role in State Investment Fund May Be a Conflict
Ethics watchdogs say it's an inherent conflict of interest: The state's top law enforcement officer and top legal adviser cannot provide independent legal advice to a board that he sits on.
› Drilling Camp Making Inroads
A three-pronged effort to open Florida's Gulf Coast to oil drilling has quietly been gaining strength and appears set to become a major battle later this fall. A series of skirmishes over the last two weeks offers a prelude of what is to come ...
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Everglades Canal Overhaul Faces Obstacles
By the multibillion-dollar measuring stick of Everglades restoration, the construction work is simple and cheap. But the first step toward fixing the C-111 still faces myriad challenges, making it a microcosm of the broader effort to revive the River of Grass.
Go to page 2 for more stories ...
› Gun-Control Group Catches Heat
Lobbyist Marion Hammer takes aim at Mayors Against Illegal Guns. Icon: Marion P. Hammer
› Churches Feel Pressure as Foreclosures Soar
Even the fact that religious institutions are a unique type of borrower - one that considers repayment of a loan a moral obligation - can't make up for shortfalls in their cash on hand.
commentary
› Coquina Coast Desalination Project a Disaster in the MakingWenonah Hauter: Desalination creates a litany of economic and environmental problems and is primarily an opportunity for private companies to act in their own self-interest while harming the communities they claim to help.
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Role of Community Colleges Growing
Community college leaders say the two-year degree programs commonplace in their schools no longer meet the needs of employers clamoring for more-skilled workers -- or the needs of students facing rising costs and stiffening admission requirements at four-year colleges.
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Miami Science Museum Envisioned as a Natural Wonder
Newly released conceptual plans depict a striking, high-tech home for the Miami Science Museum, whose environmentally friendly downtown building would be an exhibit in and of itself.
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Darden Foundation Administrator to Retire
Patty DeYoung, executive administrator of the Darden Restaurants Foundation, will retire from the job at the end of next month.
The Darden Restaurants Foundation gives grants to a variety of organization. Also: Darden headquarters to open Wednesday in Orlando