|
WEDNESDAY, DEC. 26, 2007
STATEWIDE:
Florida Businesses Wish for More Tax Relief
Business owners were among the first to call for reform, but a proposal does little for them. Research shows that the main provision aimed at businesses -- capping annual growth of a property's taxable value at 10 percent -- would rarely be triggered for commercial properties. The cap also applies only to taxes that fund local government; school taxes, which make up 40 percent of a bill, are not subject to the restriction. [Source: St. Petersburg Times]
More on this topic from Florida Trend:
JUPITER:
Condo Crash Burns Big, Sophisticated Investor, Too
It's not just schoolteachers, bartenders and other real estate amateurs who got burned by the condo crash.
Condo converter Tarragon Corp. of New York just unloaded the 311-unit Floresta Apartments at 400 Via Royale in Jupiter for a hefty 28 percent loss. Tarragon bought the complex for $83.95 million in February 2006, just after the condo boom ended. It sold the apartments this month for $60.25 million, according to property records. [Source: Palm Beach Post]
More on this topic from Florida Trend:
YANKEETOWN:
Old Florida Fights Back
When developers and local officials get too acquainted, residents take control. A majority of Yankeetown's voters passed a charter amendment making it the second municipality in Florida to require voter approval of any comprehensive plan changes.
The idea has been picking up steam as residents around the state see their local representation getting too cozy with developers.
[Source: St. Petersburg Times]
PANAMA CITY:
Corps Suspends Airport's Wetlands Permit
The St. Joe Co. has agreed to donate 4,000 acres for the airport as part of a plan for building thousands of homes in addition to commercial and industrial buildings. But environmentalists say the airport, at a cost of $331 million, isn't needed and that the permitted destruction of wetlands will harm West Bay. A spokeswoman for the Clean Water Network of Florida said the Corps of Engineers action is a step towards killing the project. [Source: Tallahassee Democrat]
ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:
›Paper Ballots Go High Tech [St. Petersburg Times]
In the new system, they'll be printed on demand, reflecting your precinct and party.
›Look, Up in the Sky! Tourist Wave Due [Miami Herald]
South Florida's winter tourist season is expected to get a boost from Europeans flying in to enjoy the sun -- and the weak dollar.
›Die-Hard Gators Could Get Campus Urns [Miami Herald]
The University of Florida might build a columbarium for Gators alumni to place loved ones' ashes on campus -- next to Lake Alice and its roaming gators.
›Top Orlando Home Builders Rise Above Slump; Still $1B Short [Sentinel]
The biggest home builders sold nearly $1.8 billion worth of homes in Orange, Seminole and Osceola counties during the first three quarters of 2007.
›Big Businesses Pouring Thousands into Tax Measure [Tallahassee Democrat]
The group that supports a $9.3 billion property tax cutting measure on the Jan. 29 ballot, and is backed by Gov. Charlie Crist, had a busy holiday week.
›Unnamed Major League Team Will Move in When Dodgers Depart
[TC Palm]
Indian River County Administrator Joseph Baird said more details of the agreement, including the name of the team, possibly could be revealed once the Dodgers' have a firm date for their departure from Vero Beach.
›He's Obama's Political Muscle in Florida [St. Petersburg Times]
A brassy Miami lawyer wrings $4.5-million from Floridians.
›Rockets Lift Big Easy [AP]
NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility boosts New Orleans' struggling economy
›How a Development Became a Housing Debacle [St. Petersburg Times]
The sales tactics were like nothing Tampa had ever seen.
"A lot of food, a lot of dessert, a lot of liquor," said Fred Caldwell, who attended a party at Saddlebrook Resort. "They had a band. They had dancing."
Transeastern Homes also had 800 future houses and townhouses to sell, next to the Hillsborough-Pasco County line in booming New Tampa.
›High-Tech Firm May Set Up Shop in Port St. Lucie [Palm Beach Post]
The Economic Development Council of St. Lucie County will make an announcement at its Jan. 8 meeting, and the muffled word on the street says a high-tech manufacturer - perhaps in the medical-device industry.
›Term Limits Limit Leaders [Tallahassee Democrat]
Quick, what do term-limited Florida legislators have in common with Britney Spears?
An inability to learn from mistakes, says House Minority Leader Dan Gelber.
›Orlando Landlords Shift to Apartment Rentals After Condo Bust [Sentinel]
Condo conversions still have impact, and it's all about location.
›SW Fla. Restoration Study: 5 Years Late, Costs $5M More [Naples Daily News]
A map of the ecological restoration needs of Southwest Florida won’t emerge until the end of 2009, nearly five years past its original due date, a South Florida Water Management District official said.
›PIP Required Again as of Jan. 1. Do You Have It? [Naples Daily News]
There will be little leniency if you're caught driving without it.
›Two Cities Brace for Enlarging of Casinos [Miami Herald]
The cities of Hollywood and Coconut Creek are willing to work with the Seminole Tribe on expansion, as long as the tribe doesn't try to put its land into federal trust.
›Column: Restraint Called for in Recapping Year in Housing [St. Petersburg Times]
James Thorner: First of all, I won't make tasteless jokes about the misfortune of owning a home in a region where housing values have fallen up to 20 percent the past year. If I were, I'd say: "If we took this housing bust's measurements, it would wear a size 42D."
›Progress Energy Shedding Three Divisions [St. Petersburg Times]
The sale, says CEO Bill Johnson, strengthens Progress Energy's bottom line and reduces "the overall risk profile of the company."
›Time To Set Company Resolutions [AP]
Assessing how you did in 2007 and setting goals for the coming year will increase your chances of success, and might even help you lower your stress levels a little.
|
