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MONDAY, APRIL 14, 2008
TALLAHASSEE:
Do Boys and Girls Learn Better Apart?
Proponents say: Girls and boys learn differently, so they should have an option to be taught separately.
Tests scores for both genders can improve by also using various teaching methods. Opponents say:
Boys or girls can get less of a quality education if they don't have access to the same resources.
The financial cost for schools can rise by having to offer duplicated resources to separated classes. It's a debate likely to grow hotter now that the Legislature has approved a bill giving students the option of attending all-girl or all-boy classes and schools.
[Source: Florida Times-Union]
SOUTH FLORIDA:
Banks Auction Homes at Fire-Sale Prices
Another sign of desperation in the South Florida housing market: banks tired of paying taxes and upkeep on foreclosed homes put 200 up for auction Saturday in Fort Lauderdale.
Ranging from the most modest one-bedroom efficiency condos to five-bedroom houses worth close to a million dollars at the height of the market, these once-dignified symbols of the American dream were reduced to tiny thumbnail photos in an auctioneer's guidebook.
''It's very bittersweet,'' said Realtor Renee Dworkin, who accompanied several clients to the sell-off. "Each one of these homes represents heartache for someone.''
A three-bedroom house in Miami Shores that sold for $460,000 two years ago, went for $177,500.
A two-bedroom house in Coral Gables that sold for $670,000 in September 2005, fetched a bid of $300,000.
[Source: Miami Herald]
BOCA RATON:
FAU Hopes to Build State's First Eco-Certified Dorm
Florida Atlantic University is building its first ultra eco-friendly dormitory as part of a national promise school officials made to promote environmental responsibility.
The 600-bed residence hall, which will cater to older students with kitchens and private bedrooms, also will include low-flow shower heads and toilets, waterless urinals and Energy Star appliances that reduce electrical needs. The goal is to meet national environmental standards of the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program. New College of Florida, in Sarasota, used the program's guidelines to build five residence halls for 213 students, but decided not to go through the certification process, which officials said would have cost $100,000.
[Source: Palm Beach Post]
More on this topic from Florida Trend:
ORLANDO:
Darden Carves into a New Market With LongHorn
When Darden Restaurants purchased LongHorn Steakhouse last October, it made a big-time bet.
The Orlando-based restaurant company wagered it could turn the chain into the biggest player in the crowded and hyper-competitive steakhouse business.
After all, Darden executives reasoned, they had found a recipe for success with Olive Garden and Red Lobster. But with LongHorn, which Darden snapped up when it acquired Atlanta-based Rare Hospitality International for $1.4 billion, Darden must find a way to make it stand out amid a sea of similarly styled steak chains. And it has to do this in a nasty economic climate that has bitten off a good percentage of casual-dining companies' sales.
To improve their chances of success, company executives say, they are conducting extensive consumer research into every aspect of the chain's business, from individual menu items to the look and feel of its restaurants.
[Source: Orlando Sentinel]
More on this topic from Florida Trend:
ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:
›Air Controllers Fear Peril in Radar Move to Miami [Palm Beach Post]
Air traffic controllers sitting in Miami soon may be the ones guiding airplanes through the skies above Palm Beach County and Stuart.
›Property Tax Plan May Lead to Hikes [Palm Beach Post]
Despite promises to avoid raising property taxes that pay for schools, a plan from state House Republicans would hit property owners in Palm Beach, Miami-Dade, Hillsborough and 17 other counties with tax increases, according to a Palm Beach Post analysis.
›There's Gold for Some in the Mortgage Mess [Miami Herald]
Viewed differently, is the subprime glass actually half full?
For some people, apparently, it is. As it turns out, there are actually fortunes to be made on the mortgage mess. And the money is already pouring in -- for the companies that kick people out of their homes.
›Citrus Tree-Cutting Lawsuit Finally Lands in Court [Miami Herald]
In the first of five class-action lawsuits to go to trial, more than 60,000 Broward County homeowners on Monday will wage a high-stakes showdown against the state of Florida for destroying their orange, lemon, grapefruit and other citrus trees in its aggressive quest to eradicate citrus canker.
›Pundits Split on Crist's VP Shot [Miami Herald]
Republican presidential candidate John McCain will never pick Gov. Charlie Crist to be his running mate. Or maybe he will.
›Tax Reform or Ruin? Panel to Vote Today [Sentinel]
When it comes to tax caps, Colorado's story has been a Charles Dickens-like tale of the best and worst of times.
Florida supporters of imposing a similar cap on state- and local-government growth here see an economic boom that occurred after Colorado's voters passed what's known as the Taxpayer Bill of Rights in 1992.
›More S. Florida Obstetricians Stop Delivering Babies, Cut Services [Sun-Sentinel]
More physicians in Florida than in the rest of the nation are ending the long marriage between obstetrics and gynecology.
›Syd Kitson Brought All the Right Tools at Babcock Ranch [Sarasota Herald-Tribune]
Syd Kitson paid $700 million for the 92,000 acres of Babcock Ranch, a property five times the size of Manhattan Island.
That figure puts into perspective the $350 million that Florida taxpayers paid for the lion's share of the property: 73,000 acres of cypress swamps, wetlands and other environmentally sensitive land.
›In Tallahassee, Sharing House and Home [Sarasota Herald-Tribune]
For two months during the state legislative session, some of Florida's top elected officials live like college students -- if college students had a tinge of maturity and their own money.
›Lawmaker Wants 'I Believe' License Plates [Miami Herald]
Honk if you love Jesus. It might become more than just a bumper sticker in Florida.
The Florida Legislature may create a new license plate that features the words ''I Believe'' and the image of a cross in front of a church stained glass window. The measure is moving in both the House and Senate.
›'Dr. Phil' Intervenes in Beating Case [Lakeland Ledger]
Staffers for the TV psychologist help teen charged in gang attack bail out of jail.
›PowerPoint and Podcasting: A Teacher's New Tools [Florida Today]
Students are choosing PowerPoint presentations rather than handwritten essays. They're recording podcasts in place of book reports.
›Should Florida Hold Open Primaries? [St. Petersburg Times]
Nearly 2-million Florida voters were barred from casting ballots in Florida's presidential primary Jan. 29 because they have opted to register with no party affiliation. State Rep. Rick Kriseman and Sen. Paula Dockery have filed bills to open Florida's primaries and let unaffiliated voters weigh in on the presidential choices.
›Agency That Controls Fla. Growth Could Lose Popular Grant Program [SP Times]
It's called the Florida Communities Trust, a nationally recognized feel-good program that doles out grants to cities and counties to buy parks.
Now the Florida Legislature wants to take it away.
›FAU Site to Boost Research Start-Ups [Palm Beach Post]
The Florida Institute for Commercialization of Public Research - a one-stop shop to hawk the best of Florida's technology - will be based at the Florida Atlantic University Research & Development Park, officials said Friday.
›Grouper Baby Booms Can Spawn Regulatory Cuts [St. Petersburg Times]
Catches took a big jump, so regulators shut down commercial fishing for two years and slashed the recreational bag limit. Tourists hankering for grouper sandwiches switched to landlubber's specials.
As it turned out, the restrictions were probably unnecessary.
›Keys Businesses Unite to Draw in Tourists [Miami Herald]
One example: Beachside Resort and Conference Center, a new upscale waterfront property in Key West, is offering Florida residents a $50 gas card and free parking when booking a two-night stay through December.
›Florida's Hospital Care Falls Below U.S. Norm, Studies Show [Orlando Sentinel]
Hospital care in Florida was rated "weak" relative to the rest of the country by the congressionally mandated Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Two days later, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services posted patient-satisfaction scores on its Web site, hospital compare.hhs.gov, for virtually every U.S. hospital.
›GAO Report Touches Harris Corp. [Orlando Sentinel]
The Melbourne-based company is "responsible" for communicating clearly with census officials about work orders, GAO official David Powner told the House Oversight Committee. "I don't think they're completely off the hook here," he said referring to the failed attempt for the U.S. Census to go all digital.
›School Science Bill Evolves to Squelch Religion Angle [Tampa Tribune]
The complaints continue from opponents who argue that the changes still leave open the door to religiously motivated attacks on evolution.
›Crist's Health Insurance Plan Faces Rocky Road at Legislature [Orlando Sentinel]
Budget cuts could undermine the governor's bid to reduce the state's uninsured population.
›Official Says Fla. Should Manually Recount All Close Votes [Miami Herald]
The Republican-controlled state House has included the recount change in an elections bill approved by a House panel Friday. But the Senate has not gone along so far.
›Column: How to Save? Think About Vampires [Chicago Tribune]
Here are some ideas centered on saving energy and water, along with some other fun and easy tips.
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