BOCA RATON —
» Office Depot (NYSE-ODP) agreed to have M.H. Alshaya Co. sell its products and services under the Office Depot name at four new retail stores in Kuwait City and Dubai. Office Depot also won Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council for its first “green” retail store in Austin, Texas, and for its green prototype.
» Biotest Pharmaceuticals, a unit of Dreieich, Germany-based Biotest AG, will proceed with an expansion of its research and development work and plasma protein production and hire 50 employees following approval for a tax incentive of up to $200,000. Biotest employs 181 in Boca.
BOYNTON BEACH —
» Sunrise-based GL Homes, citing favorable factors in its niche, began selling homes in its 1,100-home Valencia Reserve, a 55-and-older community.
CORAL SPRINGS —
» CD and DVD distributor Alliance Entertainment is laying off 462 as parent Source Interlink consolidates such operations in Kentucky.
DELRAY BEACH —
» World-renowned artist Enrique Martinez Celaya has moved his studio from Los Angeles.
FORT LAUDERDALE —
» Software company Citrix Systems (Nasdaq-CTXS) says it plans to cut 10% of its 5,000-member global workforce after announcing a drop in 2008 profit to $178 million from $214 million in 2007. Citrix employs 1,800 in south Florida.
FORT PIERCE —
» Jupiter-based J.J. Taylor Cos., the second-largest beer distributor in Florida, plans to move 70 jobs to its new facility in Fort Pierce.
GREENACRES —
» Financial services company Settlement Benefits Association moved its headquarters from Tampa and will hire three employees.
INDIANTOWN —
» New York investor Wilbur L. Ross bought a majority stake in First Bank and Trust Co. of Indiantown, which has $83 million in assets. Ross acquired the shares from Linda M. Post, widow of the bank’s former chairman. American Banker magazine reports that Ross also belongs to a group that may buy BankUnited of Coral Gables, the largest Florida-based bank.
» Through a $140,000 grant from the Community Foundation for Palm Beach and Martin counties, the largest in foundation history, future affordable housing projects built by Indiantown Nonprofit Housing will be constructed to green standards.
INDIAN RIVER COUNTY —
» Deryl Loar, 41, a former Florida Highway Patrol captain elected in November, took over as Indian River County sheriff, succeeding Roy Raymond, who retired. Carole Jean Jordan, former chairwoman of the Florida Republican Party, also took over as Indian River County tax collector after Charles Sembler retired.
JUNO BEACH —
» The name of FPL Group’s FPL Energy subsidiary has been changed to NextEra Energy Resources to better reflect its mission of generating power, including solar and wind power, at facilities in 25 states and Canada. It also made an agreement with International Speedway Corp. (Nasdaq-ISCA) to become the official renewable energy provider of the Daytona 500 and 19 other motorsport events held at ISC’s Daytona International Speedway and Homestead-Miami Speedway. ISC will buy renewable energy certificates from NextEra to fund renewable energy plants.
LANTANA —
» Jupiter-based Seven Kings Holdings, a marina development company, reopened Loggerhead Club & Marina-Lantana after upgrading facilities. There are now 12 marinas under the Loggerhead brand.
NORTH PALM BEACH —
» EIG Services, a unit of Reno, Nev.-based workers’ comp insurance and services company Employer Holdings, plans to lay off 87 beginning this month as part of a corporatewide 14% workforce cut.
| Education - School Numbers for Southeast Florida | ||||
| County | Avg. Teacher Salary | Avg. Years of Experience | Per-Pupil Spending | Dropout Rate |
| Broward | $47,962 | 12.44 | $7,634 | 2.0% |
| Palm Beach | $48,529 | 9.98 | $8,177 | 3.9 |
| Martin | $45,646 | 11.86 | $7,978 | 0.5 |
| St. Lucie | $43,399 | 13.14 | $7,137 | 1.3 |
| Indian River | $43,162 | 11.71 | $7,708 | 1.3 |
| Okeechobee | $41,809 | 14.90 | $7,397 | 5.2 |
| Sources: Department of Education “Staff Database 2007”; “Profiles of Florida School Districts, 2005-06”, “Education Information & Accountability Services” | ||||
PLANTATION —
» Motorola plans to lay off 77 workers this month.
POMPANO BEACH —
» Tri-Rail reported a 23% increase in ridership in 2008 to a record 4.3 million riders, the third consecutive year of double-digit growth.
PORT ST. LUCIE —
» One of St. Lucie County’s largest employers, Liberty Medical Supply, a subsidiary of Franklin Lakes, N.J.-based Medco Health Solutions, plans to hire up to 800 employees, mostly for call center work, at four facilities in the city.
» Torrey Pines Institute for Molecular Studies, one of the biosciences firms recruited to Florida along with Scripps Florida and the Burnham Institute in Orlando, became the first of the three to move into its permanent location — at the Florida Center for Innovation at Tradition research campus — with a grand opening celebration in January.
VERO BEACH —
» Vero Beach Municipal Utilities says falling fuel costs will lead to a 5% reduction in customer electric bills.
WEST PALM BEACH —
» Administrative and academic software products and services company Campus Management in Boca Raton will add 60 jobs after being awarded up to $300,000 in tax and job incentives from the state and Palm Beach County.
» Rochoet, a precious metals trading, manufacturing and supply company, relocated its headquarters to West Palm Beach from New York, moving two employees and hiring 12 locally.