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Northeast Business Briefs - March 2008
» A jury acquitted Clay County Commission Chairwoman Christy Fitzgerald of two counts of theft, ruling that she wasn’t wrong to use county employees and materials to protect her home from a 2004 hurricane.
GAINESVILLE —
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University of Florida officials have already cut $34 million and are now trying to figure out how to trim $16 million more because of the state budget shortfall. An outcry from students and businesses squashed plans to reduce summer school; layoffs are expected this spring.
» UF spinoff ViewRay received $25 million from five blue-chip investors to help develop its radiotherapy cancer treatment technology. The company’s Renaissance technology would let radiologists pinpoint the exact dose of radiation to cancer cells while sparing healthy surrounding tissue.
JACKSONVILLE —
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A U.S. Gypsum drywall plant in northwest Jacksonville shut down its paper mill due to a steep drop in demand. The mill produced the heavy sheets of paper that go on both sides of drywall, which U.S. Gypsum sells under its brand name, Sheetrock. More than 60 mill workers lost their jobs. The plant will still have more than 300 employees but will ship in the paper from other locations.
» The University of North Florida broke ground on a new College of Education and Human Services building, part of an ongoing campus building boom. UNF also is building a new student union, a 1,000-bed residence hall and its Brooks College of Health.
ORANGE PARK —
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A controversial poker room at the Orange Park Kennel Club is set to open this month after the town council approved it last year. A majority of council members said poker will spur economic development. Hundreds of opponents, many affiliated with area churches, argued the dangers of gambling to the community won’t outweigh gains.
MARION COUNTY —
» The county building department laid off half of its staff in response to the decline in residential construction. Permitting and inspection fees have fallen to less than $200,000 a month, compared to more than $700,000 a month in 2006.
UNION COUNTY —
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The city of Worthington Springs landed a $1-million grant from Enterprise Florida to pave roads to the city’s industrial air park in southern Union County just north of Gainesville. City commission President John Rimes III says he hopes the improvements will help lure industry to the county, which has no impact fees. Next on the grant wish list: Asphalt to pave the town’s 6,000-foot grass runway.
