Florida Trend articles from March 2006

Florida Trend archives from March 2006

New look.(Letter to the editor)
March 1, 2006... Kudos on the redesign. The magazine enjoys a long history of excellence, and you've managed to make it even better. Congratulations! MaryAnn Kwader Public relations program manager Florida Farm Bureau Federation Gainesville...

Construction.(Readers)(Letter to the editor)
March 1, 2006... Did I miss something or did FLORIDA TREND drop the ball? You failed to include the second-largest industry in Florida in your 2006 Industry Outlook... construction [January, Florida Trend.com]. Not only is the construction industry hot in...

Voting.(Letter to the editor)
March 1, 2006... The "No Vote" brief in the Statewide Around the State section about the Supreme Court not reviewing Florida's archaic lifetime voting ban on felons contains some very misleading information [January, FloridaTrend.com]. Rather than being in the...

Executive lifestyles: executives at home.
March 1, 2006... Work of Art George Herbst likens his Winter Park home, which he named Lugano Vista, to a classic modern architectural sculpture. He worked closely with architect John Cunningham of Winter Park-based ACi Architects and custom homebuilder...

Eye opener: researchers are making advances in treating age-related eye diseases.(Executive Lifestyles: Health: Eye Research)
March 1, 2006... As the U.S. population ages, researchers are racing to find cures for the most common eye conditions people face in their later years, including cataracts and macular degeneration. Cataracts "Cataracts are exceedingly common,"...

Off the 'beachy' path.(Executive Lifestyles: Travel: Trends & Retreats)(The Shores at Daytona Beach)(Hotel Review)
March 1, 2006... Leisure travelers heading to Daytona Beach this month for Bike Week and Black College Reunion will find a new luxury resort on State Road A1A in place of the former Hilton. After a $35-million renovation, The Shores at Daytona Beach held its...

Bravo for Bova.(Executive Lifestyles: Dining and Spirits)
March 1, 2006... * Ristorante Bova 1450 N. Federal Highway, Boca Raton 561/362-7407 Boca Raton's storied Tom's Place (for barbecue) moved to West Palm, and after seven years Wolffe Cohen's Rascal House in Boca was sold ($6.4 million), while...

Clyde Butcher: environmental photographer, 63.(Icon)(biography)(Biography)
March 1, 2006... In the 20 years I've been walking around Big Cypress, I've never met another person. We go places where most men don't tread. There's no path. The only thing you get in your pants is a little muck. When the water's high, there's hardly any...

International Bent.(Trendsetters: Financial)(biography of Frances Aldrich Sevilla-Sacasa)(Brief Article)(Biography)
March 1, 2006... Currently: President, U.S. Trust, since November. She oversees 32 offices, 2,337 employees and $108 billion in assets under management at the Charles Schwab subsidiary. Languages: Spanish from family; French from school and as a student...

The fast track.(de novo bank applications were filed)
March 1, 2006... There are de novos--new banks with usually around $15 million in startup capital--and there are super de novos like 2002's U.S. Century Bank, with its then Florida-record $30 million in startup capital, and Great Florida Bank, with $60 million...

Full plate.(Trendsetters)(Edward P. "Ned" Grace III)(Biography)
March 1, 2006... Edward P. "Ned" Grace III began his working career at a Connecticut country club as a caddy and 12-year-old dishwasher. "My mother said, 'You never did the dishes at home.'" He moved up in the field as he grew up--to busboy, grill operator and...

Financial lessons.(Trendsetters)(Ciccarelli Advisory Services founder Kim Ciccarelli Kantor and his beliefs)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2006... Kim Ciccarelli Kantor Ciccarelll Advisory Services President, Naples At the Ciccarelli home near Buffalo, N.Y., father Frank would ask a child who wanted to buy a bike, "Have you done your homework?" What was the price of the bike? If...

Coming & going.(populations in Florida increase as a result of work-related commuting)(Illustration)(Brief article)
March 1, 2006... City planners say that a healthy downtown depends on having a strong residential component along with the commercial center: Cities where high percentages of workers commute in from outside the city limits may look vibrant during the day but...

Publix Super Markets.(Player-)
March 1, 2006... Laurie Zeitlin is the new senior vice president and chief information officer for Publix Super Markets, making her the highest-ranking female executive at the company. She previously served in the same role at FedEx Kinko's and replaces Danny...

Florida Home Builders Association.(Player-)
March 1, 2006... John P. Wiseman, president of CORE Construction of Florida, will serve as president of the Florida Home Builders Association in 2007.

PGA Tour.(Player-)
March 1, 2006... Ty Votaw, former commissioner of the Ladies Professional Golf Association, has joined the PGA Tour as executive vice president, international affairs, a new position.

National Federation of Independent Business.(Player-)
March 1, 2006... The National Federation of Independent Business has hired Allen Douglas as its Florida director. Before joining NFIB, Douglas was state executive director and governmental affairs director for the Florida Associated General Contractors Council....

Gov. Jeb Bush has named Katherine Wilson chairwoman of the Workforce Florida board of directors.(Players)
March 1, 2006... Gov. Jeb Bush has named Katherine Wilson chairwoman of the Workforce Florida board of directors. Wilson, an assistant vice president of CSX in Jacksonville, takes over from Tramm Hudson.

SAFE farms.(AGRICULTURE)
March 1, 2006... The Redlands Christian Migrant Association and the Florida Fruit & Vegetable Association have established an independent organization that aims to encourage fruit and vegetable growers to follow an established employer code of conduct. The...

Fast facts.(Around the State: Statewide News)
March 1, 2006... $101.3 million in homeland security grants Florida received in 2005--No. 5 among 50 states 1.7 million veterans living in Florida (2003)--No. 2 97 Floridians killed in Iraq (as of Jan. 8, 2006)--No. 6 Source: Department of Defense

Citrus.(BUSINESS BRIEFS)(U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences at the University of Florida project that citrus canker affect an additional loss)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2006... HURRICANES AND CANKER--Scientists at the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences at the University of Florida project that citrus canker could affect an additional 169,000 to 183,000 acres this year as...

National security.(BUSINESS BRIEFS)(Federal security policies )(Brief article)
March 1, 2006... PAYING THE PRICE--Federal security policies are depressing tourism from Caribbean markets, foreign student enrollment and port activity, according to a Florida TaxWatch report. The report cites exclusionary visa policies and practices, new port...

Florida's economy.(BUSINESS BRIEFS)
March 1, 2006... INSOURCING--Florida ranks fifth in the number of employees working here for foreign companies, according to a report by the Organization for International Investment based on Commerce Department figures. According to the report, 248,900...

Terminal Illness?(MIAMI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT)(Brief article)
March 1, 2006... Times are tough at Miami International Airport: Traffic is declining, costs are sky-high, customer service complaints are up, construction overruns are common and the airport has gained a reputation as one of the least passenger-friendly in the...

Out of bounds?(city councils)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2006... Miami-Dade County Commission Chairman Joe Martinez is in disfavor with civic and environmental groups after booting Commissioner Katie Sorenson off the influential South Florida Regional Planning Council just days after she voted against...

Florida Bankers Association.(Players)
March 1, 2006... Premier American Bank President and CEO William A. Herrera has been elected to the Florida Bankers Association board of directors.

Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce.(Players)
March 1, 2006... The Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce has named Barry E. Johnson president and CEO. He replaces George W. Foyo, who resigned after less than two years to oversee the southeast Florida operations of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida.

El Portal Mayor Audrey Edmonson will serve out the term of County Commissioner Barbara Carey-Shuler.(Players)
March 1, 2006... El Portal Mayor Audrey Edmonson will serve out the term of County Commissioner Barbara Carey-Shuler, who resigned abruptly last fall.

George Feldenkreis.(Players)
March 1, 2006... George Feldenkreis, chairman and CEO of Miami-based Perry Ellis International, has received the Beacon Council's Jay Malina Award, given annually to the local executive who has clone the most to enhance the county through "professional success...

Making a dent.(MURDER)
March 1, 2006... Once labeled the murder capital of America, the city of Miami last gear recorded its lowest number of homicides in nearly 40 gears. Number of Homicides (Per year) 1980 244 1995 110 2000 66 2004 69 2005 56 ...

Burger King.(CORAL GABLES)
March 1, 2006... CORAL GABLES -- Struggling to stem falling sales, Burger King announced what has long been expected: It plans to go public by the end of the first quarter, which ends this month. Three private equity firms, Texas Pacific Group, Bain Capital and...

ABC Distributing.(HIALEAH)
March 1, 2006... HIALEAH -- Mail-order giant ABC Distributing, one of the city's largest private employers, will shut down this summer, laying off close to 1,000. Company executives say a restructuring plan transferred operations out of state.

National Healthcare Staffing.(MIAMI)
March 1, 2006... MIAMI -- Continuing its consolidation trend, National Healthcare Staffing, which provides staffing services in the nursing field to healthcare facilities, has acquired North Carolina's VITA Medical Staffing and MedStaff Carolinas.

Planeta Networks.(MIAMI)
March 1, 2006... Planeta Networks has merged with Greensboro, N.C.'s Batanga. The new company, to be headquartered in Miami, will operate as Hispanic Media.

Free Trade Area of the Americas.(MIAMI)
March 1, 2006... Ecuador, Peru and El Salvador are the latest countries to endorse Miami's bid for the headquarters of the Free Trade Area of the Americas. But ratification of FTAA is still in question. U.S. officials had hoped CAFTA, a Central American treaty,...

Smurfit-Stone Container.(MIAMI)
March 1, 2006... As part of a companywide restructuring, Chicago-based Smurfit-Stone Container will close its Miami box-making facility, laying off about 80.

Florida International University.(MIAMI)
March 1, 2006... Florida International University has broken ground on a $45-million expansion to its graduate and undergraduate business schools. The new facility will house classrooms, student services, and faculty and administrative offices.

SFBC International.(MIAMI)
March 1, 2006... SFBC International (Nasdaq-SFCC), a Miami firm that provides human testing and other drug development services to the pharmaceutical industry, will relocate to Princeton, N.J. The company has been under scrutiny recently from county code...

Former Hamilton Bank CEO Eduardo A. Masferrer.(MIAMI)
March 1, 2006... With the jury deadlocked, a federal judge has declared a mistrial in the high-profile bank and securities fraud trial of former Hamilton Bank CEO Eduardo A. Masferrer

Royal Caribbean.(MIAMI)
March 1, 2006... Miami-based Royal Caribbean has ordered the biggest and most expensive cruise ship yet, a $1.24-billion behemoth with a 6,400-passenger capacity. The ship will weigh 220,000 tons and measure 1,180 feet long, 154 feet wide and 240 feet high....

Doral Resort & Spa.(MIAMI)
March 1, 2006... MIAMI-DADE -- Hoping to boost convention trade, the Doral Resort & Spa has broken ground on a 60,000-sq.-ft. conference center and 24,000-sq.-ft. ballroom. The expansion, doubling its existing meeting space, will be complete by 2007.

Mount Sinai Medical Center.(MIAMI-DADE)
March 1, 2006... Citing a glut of hospital beds at nearby facilities, state regulators have rebuffed a plan by Mount Sinai Medical Center to build a hospital in northeast Miami-Dade.

Bois & Chiffons.(NORTH MIAMI BEACH)
March 1, 2006... NORTH MIAMI BEACH -- French furniture maker Bois & Chiffons has opened its first U.S. store here. The company expects to open three more Florida stores by the end of the year.

Upping the ante.(Broward County Bar Association)(Brief article)
March 1, 2006... After Broward County voters approved Las Vegas-style slot machines at the county's four pari-mutuel locations last year, the state Legislature set regulations on the higher-payout, high-profit machines. The result: A bill authorizing 1,500 slot...

Power upgrade.(UTILITIES)(Florida Power & Light Co.)(Brief article)
March 1, 2006... Florida Power & Light Co. has announced a 10-year multimillion-dollar plan to upgrade its system and protect it from hurricanes. Plans call for adding and improving power poles, aggressively trimming trees, improving some components of...

St. Lucie County Economic Development Council.(Players)
March 1, 2006... John E. Donahue of the civil engineering firm LBFH Inc. has been elected president of the St. Lucie County Economic Development Council.

Broward County Medical Association.(Players)
March 1, 2006... Ronald Giffler has been named president of the Broward County Medical Association.

Siemens AG.(Players)
March 1, 2006... Germany's Siemens AG has named Berndt Baumgartl president and CEO of its Boca Raton-based telecommunications products and services affiliate, Siemens Communications.

Lady of America Franchise Corp.(Players)
March 1, 2006... Gerald Weber, a former top executive with Blockbuster, Nations Rent and AutoNation, has been named president and COO of Lady of America Franchise Corp., a Fort Lauderdale-based women's fitness center franchise.

Office Depot.(Players)
March 1, 2006... Chuck Rubin has been named president of Office Depot's North American retail division. Rubin was Office Depot's executive vice president, chief merchandising/marketing officer,

Urban League of Broward County.(Players)
March 1, 2006... Germaine Smith Baugh has been named acting president and CEO of the Urban League of Broward County.

Increasing presence.(MINORITY POPULATION)
March 1, 2006... Mirroring statewide and national trends, Hispanics are now the largest minority group in Palm Beach County, increasing 26% since 2000. Palm Beach County's Largest Minorities Non- Total ...

Nabi Pharmaceuticals.(BOCA RATON)
March 1, 2006... BOCA RATON -- Struggling to revamp after the unexpected failure in clinical trials of a potential blockbuster drug to fight staph infections, Nabi Pharmaceuticals has announced it will close its European operations to reduce expenses.

Sun Capital Partners.(BOCA RATON)
March 1, 2006... An affiliate of Boca Raton's Sun Capital Partners has acquired Green Bay, Wis.-based ShopKo Stores in a $1.1-billion deal. ShopKo, which competes with Wal-Mart, Target and other volume discounters, operates 137 ShopKo stores and 218 Pamida...

Bayshore Solutions.(FORT LAUDERDALE)
March 1, 2006... FORT LAUDERDALE -- Tampa-based internet development firm Bayshore Solutions has opened an office here. It also operates an Atlanta office.

Island Village Hotel & Spa.(Fort Pierce)
March 1, 2006... FORT PIERCE -- City officials have approved plans for a $100-million luxury hotel located on the Fort Pierce inlet. Officials say the Island Village Hotel & Spa will create 120 full-time jobs when it opens in 2007.

Palm Beach Gardens.(PALM BEACH GARDENS)
March 1, 2006... PALM BEACH GARDENS -- The Anspach Effort, a developer of surgical instruments that employs 200, is adding 49,000 square feet to its Palm Beach Gardens facility and creating approximately 30 new jobs.

Aetna Rx Home Delivery.(Pompano Beach)
March 1, 2006... POMPANO BEACH -- Hartford, Conn.-based insurance giant Aetna has selected Pompano Beach for the regional headquarters of its pharmacy mail-service subsidiary, Aetna Rx Home Delivery. The unit will oversee distribution operations and house a...

Lion Country Safari.(West Palm Beach)
March 1, 2006... WEST PALM BEACH -- Fearing lawsuits, Lion Country Safari has installed fences separating its lion population from drive-in visitors. Executives of the 39-year-old tourist attraction say visitors often ignored warnings to keep car windows up.

South Florida Water Management District.(WEST PALM BEACH)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2006... Three environmental groups and the Miccosukee Indian tribe have joined in a lawsuit against the South Florida Water Management District, charging the agency with violating the federal Clean Water Act by pumping billions of gallons of...

Hitting the Books.(educational finance)
March 1, 2006... Four years ago, Raymond James Financial partnered with Mount Vernon Elementary School in St. Petersburg as part of the statewide Partnership to Advance School Success (PASS) program. Under PASS, businesses provide management expertise and money...

Mobile-home victory.(RANCHERO VILLAGE)
March 1, 2006... When Herbert Kendall and Mandell Berman put their lakefront mobile home park up for sale for $60 million last September, they gave residents there the first option to buy it. By November, 407 residents of Ranchero Village in Largo agreed to pay...

Too expensive.(REAL ESTATE)
March 1, 2006... Naples ranked as the most overvalued of all housing markets in the nation, according to an analysis by National City Corp. Several other Florida cities also made the list. Metro Area % Overvalued Naples 84%...

Tech Data.(Players)
March 1, 2006... Steve Raymund, chairman and chief executive of Tech Data, plans to relinquish his role as CEO but will remain chairman. He has served as CEO of the $20-billion company since 1982.

Manatee County Port Authority.(Players)
March 1, 2006... Ron Getman, former chairman of the Manatee County Board of County Commissioners, was named the 2006 chairman of the Manatee County Port Authority.

National Cancer Institute.(Players)
March 1, 2006... H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute's CEO and director, William Dalton, was named to the National Cancer Institute's board of scientific advisers and to the NCI's cancer center directors work group.

Southwest Florida Regional Planning Council.(Players)
March 1, 2006... Moji Abimbola has joined the Southwest Florida Regional Planning Council as its first economist. She most recently worked for the Center for Urban Transportation Research at the University of South Florida.

Buchanan Automotive Group.(Players)
March 1, 2006... Vern Buchanan has promoted three executives at his Buchanan Automotive Group as he steps away from day-to-day duties at the company to pursue a U.S. House seat: John Tosch is now CEO, Dennis Slater is COO and Steve Hiteman is CFO.

Bonita Bay Group.(BONITA SPRINGS)
March 1, 2006... BONITA SPRINGS -- The volume of high-rise sales at the Bonita Bay Group nearly doubled last year, with 110 sales totaling $133 million compared to $79.5 million in 2004.

EarthWorks Environmental.(CLEARWATER)
March 1, 2006... CLEARWATER -- EarthWorks Environmental, which makes high-tech soil remediation equipment, is relocating from Sacramento, Calif., to Clearwater. Twenty employees will make the move.

Developer Uday Lele.(CLEARWATER)
March 1, 2006... Developer Uday Lele announced plans for a $200-million, 90-unit beachfront high-rise project called Enchantment.

Ginn Co.(FORT MYERS)
March 1, 2006... FORT MYERS -- The Ginn Co. has contributed $2.5 million toward construction of a school of engineering building at Florida Gulf Coast University. Also, FGCU has signed an agreement with Nankai University in Balitai, China, to offer joint...

Publix Super Markets.(LAKELAND)
March 1, 2006... LAKELAND -- Publix Super Markets will add low-cost healthcare clinics at some of its stores later this year through a partnership with The Little Clinic. The chain also plans to test an in-store Carrabba's Italian Grill takeout restaurant in...

Charlotte State Bank and Englewood Bank.(SARASOTA)
March 1, 2006... SARASOTA -- Charles Brown, former CEO of Charlotte State Bank and Englewood Bank, is joining Tim Clarke, Sam Norton and Mike Pender to start a community bank in Sarasota. Clarke, Norton and Pender were founding directors of Sarasota Bank, which...

Sterling American Property.(TAMPA)
March 1, 2006... TAMPA -- Sterling American Property, a New York-based real estate investment fund, has purchased the 36-story Park Plaza office building, also known as the Lykes building, and will renovate the downtown structure.

University of South Florida College of Nursing.(TAMPA)
March 1, 2006... The University of South Florida College of Nursing launched the state's first doctorate of nursing practice program this year, allowing nurses who want to practice, teach or manage at the profession's highest level an alternative to traditional...

Busch Gardens.(TAMPA)
March 1, 2006... Busch Gardens is extending free admission for members of the military and their families through 2006.

Wells Real Estate Investment purchased Tampa Commons.(TAMPA)
March 1, 2006... Wells Real Estate Investment purchased Tampa Commons, a 13-story office building on North Dale Mabry Highway in the Westshore business district, for $41.9 million.

CSX Corp.(WINTER HAVEN)
March 1, 2006... WINTER HAVEN -- City officials have approved plans to sell 1,250 acres to CSX Corp. for $21.8 million for a transportation hub the rail company plans to build. Plans call for 3 million square feet of warehouses, 1.5 million square feet of...

Hitting its stride.(University of Central Florida)
March 1, 2006... When John Hitt became president of the University of Central Florida in 1992, the school had 20,200 students and was mostly a local resource for community college transfers. Today, UCF is on the cusp of becoming a national force known for...

Making an impact.(NON-PROFITS)
March 1, 2006... The Rollins College Philanthropy & Nonprofit Leadership Center has partnered with www. OpportunityKnocks.org, a national job listings website, to connect area non-profits with job candidates. Facts about non-profit employment in Florida:...

Expansion of aviation, industrial and commercial development.(DAYTONA BEACH)
March 1, 2006... DAYTONA BEACH -- Volusia County has earmarked 130 acres adjacent to Daytona Beach International Airport and north of Beville Road for expansion of aviation, industrial and commercial development that might include corporate hangars, aviation...

Stirling International Realty.(LAKE MARY)
March 1, 2006... LAKE MARY -- Stirling International Realty has formed an alliance with auction house spinoff Sotheby's International Realty, giving the Lake Mary-based luxury real estate operation a worldwide brand identity to appeal to buyers outside central...

Spinal injury treatment center.(ORANGE COUNTY)
March 1, 2006... ORANGE COUNTY -- The Mentor Group plans to open a spinal injury treatment center in the Avalon Park Medical Building at Founders Square. The practice will employ more than 20.