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Miami-Dade Business Briefs - March 2008
» A report issued by the University of Miami’s Institute for Cuban and Cuban American Studies was named one of “The Top 10 Stories You Missed in 2007” by Foreign Policy magazine. While most news outlets featured the declining health of Fidel Castro, the UM report highlighted the “real story,” namely the record number of Cubans — 77,000 — who entered the United States in the last two years.
Key West —
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The Florida Keys ranked as one of the “fastest-growing winter beach destinations” by Orbitz Insider Index. In the U.S., Maui scored the top ranking, based on hotel bookings. But Florida claimed five of the top 10 U.S. winter vacation spots, with a strong showing from south Florida: Daytona Beach ranked No. 2, followed by Key West (No. 4) and Fort Lauderdale/Miami (No. 7). Sarasota ranked eighth, and Fort Myers was 10th.
Miami —
» A multiagency government task force that included the Miami U.S. Attorney’s Office indicted a Colombian citizen on charges of running a computer-based identity fraud case that victimized more than 600 consumers. Mario Simbaqueba Bonilla, 40, pleaded guilty to using software to capture keystrokes on public computers in hotels in the U.S. and abroad.
» City Commissioner Marc Sarnoff wrote an unusual memo to himself in which he accuses Commissioner Michelle Spence-Jones of demanding payoffs from developers for her associates. As a result, the Miami-Dade state attorney’s office is investigating Spence-Jones. Meanwhile, Sarnoff’s memo has raised ethical questions about his operating style and accusations that Sarnoff framed his colleague.
» Lennar Corp. (NYSE-LEN) and Morgan Stanley Real Estate have launched a land investment venture that will acquire, develop, manage and sell residential real estate. The joint venture purchased 11,000 home sites from Lennar in various stages of development in 32 communities in California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada and New Jersey with a book value of roughly $1.3 billion and a sale price of $525 million.
» Perry Ellis International (Nasdaq-PERY) plans to buy the C&C California and Laundry brands from Liz Claiborne for $37 million. The businesses are expected to generate about $60 million in revenue in 2009.
» Ryder System (NYSE-R), a transportation and supply chain management solutions company, has completed its purchase of the full-service truck leasing, commercial truck rental and contract maintenance businesses of Lily Transportation Corp., a regional transportation services company in Needham, Mass. The acquired assets will add an estimated $30 million in annual revenue to the fleet management solutions business unit of Ryder.
MIAMI BEACH —
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Best Beach Real Estate has added two independent real estate agencies with a total of 30 real estate agents: Arellano Realty and Oceanfront Realty, both in Miami Beach.
» Starz InBlack, a premium movie channel targeting African-Americans, has launched a monthly live concert series called “Hip Hop: Raw & Uncut” that will be shot in South Beach.
