Friday's Top Stories

FRIDAY, NOV. 21, 2008

CLEWISTON:
Second Suitor Woos U.S. Sugar

A Nashville company is trying to buy out U.S. Sugar before the state can get its hands on the land, but for far less than what Gov. Charlie Crist is willing to pay. The Lawrence Group, which ranks among the country's largest owners of farmland, announced Thursday that it wants to buy U.S. Sugar by offering shareholders a bid of $300 per share — cash. That translates to about $588-million, far less than the $1.34-billion that Crist announced last week. But the Lawrence Group contended its offer was better than the state's because it's in cash and it's immediate. [Source: St. Petersburg Times]

MIAMI:
Miami Condos Finding Buyers

Miami's latest building boom is creating 22,000 condominium units in the city's urban core, more than double the number built in the past 40 years. But a long-standing question remains: How long will it take for all the condos to actually sell? The answer: 70% have found a buyer, according to a new study by condovultures.com, a real estate consultancy. So far, 17,299 condos have been delivered with 12,169 closed at an average price of $405,966 per unit. It amounts to a sales total of nearly $5 billion. [Source: Miami Herald]

More on condos from Florida Trend:

• Condo Associations Caught in the Squeeze

MAYPORT:
Virginia Slams Aircraft-Carrier Homeport Decision

Angry Virginia politicians blasted the idea Thursday of Mayport Naval Station serving as the homeport for a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, although the Florida delegation remained confident the move would be made. Calling the plan "ill-timed, ill-advised and not supported by economic logic or strategic logic," U.S. Sen. John Warner took to the stage at the U.S. Capitol with Sen. Jim Webb, Sen.-elect Mark Warner and Virginia Gov. Timothy Kaine to push for the carrier decision to be put off until the new administration is sworn in January. This news come on the heels of Warner and Webb, both former secretaries of the Navy, sending a letter to the secretary of defense arguing that building the necessary infrastructure -- costing $500 million -- at Mayport was not in the best interest of taxpayers. [Source: Florida Times-Union]

The city of Gainesville moved one step closer on Thursday to adopting a solar energy incentive plan that would be the first of its kind in the nation. The plan would allow Gainesville Regional Utilities to purchase energy produced by solar panels at a rate calculated to be profitable to the owner of the panels. Commissioners and leaders from GRU were optimistic that the plan -- known internationally as a feed-in tariff -- would create a blossoming solar industry in Gainesville and attract investment in the renewable energy. [Source: Gainesville Sun]

ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:



› Governor, Ex-Governor Square Off Over Tuition Hike [St. Petersburg Times]
Gov. Charlie Crist's plan to let state universities raise tuition by as much as 15% annually may also have drawn a potent foe at Thursday's unveiling, the state's first self-styled education governor, Bob Graham. Other Republican and Democratic lawmakers are concerned, too. Also: Fla. university panel continues enrollment limits

› Orlando Red-Light Cameras: 6,025 Tickets So Far Mean $750,000 [Orlando Sentinel]
The success of Orlando's system is being watched by officials across Florida who want to install cameras in their cities, despite opposition from state lawmakers and privacy advocates.

› DayJet to Fold After Filing for Chapter 7 [Gainesville Sun]
DayJet Corporation's assets will be sold off to pay its creditors after the company filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy last week, nearly two months after grounding its fleet of 28 air taxi jets and eliminating most of its 160 jobs.

› New House Speaker Hired by College He Helped With Money [Post]
On the day he was sworn in as the top lawmaker in the Florida House, Republican Ray Sansom was also hired to an $110,000-per-year job as a vice president of Northwest Florida State College.

› Crist Urges a Ban on Softshell Turtle Harvesting [St. Petersburg Times]
"According to many of the turtle biologists, if the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is not vigilant and does not act swiftly, we could be in grave danger of irreparable damage to our turtle population," Crist said.

› Lease Dispute Could Send 'Burn Notice' Out of Miami [Herald]
Michael Westen isn't the best tenant: He makes bombs in his apartment and people tend to shoot at him. But Miami's effort to get him off public property by August has erupted into a tense showdown between city officials and South Florida's production industry. From Trend: Small Screen Florida: 50 Years of TV

Small Business Advice
› Things Are Going to Get Better! [Florida Trend]
While the economic news is not good now, concentrating on the negatives that are bombarding us daily is not good for you or for your employees.

Go to page 2 for more stories ...

› AdSurfDaily Loses a Round in Federal Court [St. Petersburg Times]
AdSurfDaily has failed to show it's a legitimate business and not an illegal Ponzi scheme, a federal judge ruled this week. As a result, the North Florida Internet company will not get access to seized cash it says it needs to survive.

› DCF Worker Gets 17 Years for Stealing Millions [AP]
Police say Violet Jones was able to cover up money transfers she made to electronic cards linked to accounts for welfare recipients. She approved cash payments on 1,725 separate occasions, sometimes as often as four a day.

› Website to Help Authorities Confiscate Crooks' Assets [Herald]
A Miami attorney and entrepreneur plans to turn the arcane topic of asset forfeiture into a budding business.

› Some Against Shortened Rural Growth Plan Review [Naples Daily News]
Collier's Environmental Advisory Council and Planning Commission have criticized a proposal by large rural landowners to consolidate what was to have been two rounds of reviews by each committee into one review.

› St. Petersburg Adds a Sweetener on Tierra Verde Annexation [Times]
Trying to build last-minute support for their controversial Tierra Verde annexation plan, city officials offered a new bargaining chip late Thursday: If the annexation is not challenged, they will limit development on the island to eight stories.

› Hall of Fame to Induct Outback, Publix Founders [SP Times]
The founders of Outback Steakhouse, Tim Gannon, Bob Basham and Chris Sullivan, and Publix Super Markets, George Perkins, are among six people who will be inducted into Junior Achievement's U.S. Business Hall of Fame on March 5.

› Tampa Billboard Settlement Is Reached [Tampa Tribune]
Tampa Attorney Chip Fletcher said the settlement will require CBS Outdoors and Clear Channel Outdoors to take down billboards from so-called "view corridors" -- high-view areas where the city wants to maintain aesthetics.

› McCain Won Fla. on Election Day, Lost Overall [SP Times]
A study shows that McCain beat Obama by almost 5 percentage points on Nov. 4, but Obama beat him by 11 percentage points in early and absentee balloting.

› Owner of St. Pete's Baywalk Says Foreclosure Is Near [SP Times]
BayWalk's owner is in default on his mortgage loan and anticipates that foreclosure will follow for the downtown St. Petersburg entertainment complex.

› Tampa Bay Harbor Pilots Get 6% Pay Increase [St. Petersburg Times]
The state Pilotage Rate Review Board approved a 6% raise over the next two years, a far cry from the 27% pilots sought over three years.

› Inflation Rate Down in South Florida [Miami Herald]
The inflation rate for Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties was 4% in October, down from 5.8% in August, according to the bimonthly survey produced by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

› State Economists to Announce $2 Billion Budget Deficit [Sentinel]
Democrats, social-service groups, the AARP and others are calling on policymakers to bridge the gap by tapping some $3 billion sitting in various trust funds and/or raising revenue with something like a higher cigarette tax.