Florida Trend articles from November 2003

Florida Trend archives from November 2003

Tax collectors: ahead of the curve.(corner office)
November 1, 2003... Political columnist Mark Shields has said: "The story about what local governments are doing for their citizens may be the 'greatest story never told.'" Having judged the Davis Productivity Awards, a private-sector program that awards...

Real estate.(readers)
November 1, 2003... I found FLORIDA TREND'S September cover article, "What Will $200,000 Buy?" to be silly and pointless. In any rural or remote area nationwide, homes and property values are much less than a crowded major metropolitan area. The current home price...

Education.(readers)
November 1, 2003... Editor Mark Howard has pinpointed another reason why some students in Florida's public school system do not experience academic achievement ["Content," September, FloridaTrend.com]. Howard has focused on the fact that many teachers are more...

Florida's fashion hotbed.(Fashion)
November 1, 2003... At last count, there were more than 343 fashion and fashion-related businesses in Miami-Dade--and that was in 2001. Many credit the late Gianni Versace for bringing credibility, even fame, to Miami's fashion district. "Versace...

Noteworthy.(Fashion)(includes multiple articles )
November 1, 2003... Known for its off-beat chic, Barney's New York opened a store in South Beach earlier this fall, the sixth outside of its NYC flagship store.... Miami made the short list (along with San Francisco, Beverly Hills and Atlanta) when Saks Fifth...

Read all about it.(Fashion)
November 1, 2003... South Florida is a "hub" of sorts for fashion publishing with Ocean Drive, Florida International Style and Selecta magazines. Ideas Publishing, purchased by Conde Nast a year ago, publishes Vogue en Espanol and Glamour en Espanol. Another Conde...

Made to measure.(Fashion)(Damiani Men's Apparel )
November 1, 2003... Damiani Men's Apparel is one of the places in south Florida where the well-heeled gent goes when he wants a custom suit. The store offers made-to-measure dress shirts and suits. The items are custom-made in Italy and shipped back to Damiani,...

Designer names.(Fashion)(Rene Ruiz)
November 1, 2003... Miami boasts a cadre of young designers, many of them with Cuban or Latin American roots, who are quickly making a name for themselves. One is Rene Ruiz. He was seen most recently at the Latin Grammys, where hostesses wore his designs and he...

Getting personal.(Corporate Gift Giving)
November 1, 2003... When it comes to corporate gift giving this season, Jon Clark of Port Charlotte-based Palm Tree Promotions says companies are spending less per item but giving more personalized gifts. "Personalizing customer gifts continues to trend up as...

Gift of charity.(Corporate Gift Giving)
November 1, 2003... One year, Patricia Thorp's public relations firm spent the whole month of December buying and wrapping gifts for clients and business associates. Thorp figured there had to be a better way to show her appreciation. "Who needs another pen...

Handheld help.(Corporate Gift Giving)
November 1, 2003... Santa Clara, Calif.-based Think Outside Inc. is set to announce another version of its "Stowaway Keyboard"--this one for Blackberry handhelds--just in time for the holiday season. The folding keyboard is not only functional, but its design has...

'Very, very proud'.(EDSA)
November 1, 2003... Somewhere at Nova Southeastern University in Davie there's a lady who made Kona Gray's day. The landscape architect spotted the woman eating lunch on a plaza he worked on at the university library. He wanted people to do just that--gather, eat,...

An education in efficiency.(Schenkelshultz Architecture)(school construction)
November 1, 2003... In August, architect Thomas Chandler attended his first meeting of a council advising the state on making school construction more efficient. He knows something of the subject. Chandler is president of SchenkelShultz Architecture, whose...

Award winners.(Architects Association)
November 1, 2003... The Florida Association of the American Institute of Architects in August honored Florida architects for work deemed as excelling in design and addressing sustainability, preservation, education and community development--all important issues...

F.N.B. Corp.(Banking)(First National Bank of Florida)
November 1, 2003... BANKING--Naples-based First National Bank of Florida, a subsidiary of F.N.B. Corp., has promoted Brian P. Keenan to Tampa Bay market president and CEO, a new position. Keenan was most recently Orlando market president for the bank.

SouthTrust Bank.(Banking)
November 1, 2003... Roy McCraw Jr. has been tapped as CEO of SouthTrust Bank's Tampa/St. Petersburg market. McCraw was most recently president of Lakeland-based Allen and Co. of Florida, a financial services company, and replaces Lee E. Moncrief, who left to head...

Florida Department of Law Enforcement.(Law Enforcement)
November 1, 2003... LAW ENFORCEMENT--Bay County Sheriff Guy M. Tunnell has been named commissioner of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Tunnell has more than 30 years' experience in law enforcement and had been sheriff of Bay County since 1988. He...

Darden Restaurants.(Restaurants)
November 1, 2003... RESTAURANTS--Orlando based Darden Restaurants has named Dick Rivera president of its Red Lobster chain. Rivera is also COO and president of Darden, He replaces Edna Morris, who left the seafood restaurant after an all-you-can-eat crab promotion...

Shells Seafood Restaurants.(Restaurants)
November 1, 2003... Guy C. Kathman has been tapped as vice president of operations for Tampa-based Shells Seafood Restaurants. Kathman was most recently an executive with Posados Cafe, a Texas Mexican restaurant chain. He replaces John Ritchey.

Pratt & Whitney.(Technology)
November 1, 2003... TECHNOLOGY--West Palm Beach-based Pratt & Whitney has promoted Tom Haack to general manager of its West Palm Beach propulsion facility. Haack, who has 35 years' experience in the aerospace industry, was most recently general manager of...

LaserSight.(Technology)
November 1, 2003... After just five months on the job, Richard R. Confessore is out as CFO at financially struggling LaserSight, a Winter Park-based supplier of technology solutions for laser vision correction. The company is searching for a replacement.

Obituary.(players)(Hugh Lee Culbreath Jr., TECO Energy Inc.)(Obituary)
November 1, 2003... Hugh Lee Culbreath Jr., former chairman of TECO Energy, parent company of Tampa Electric Co., died Sept. 25 at age 82. Culbreath, a Tampa native whose ancestors helped establish the city, graduated from the Naval Academy in 1944 and was the...

Acquisition mission: prison operator Wackenhut Corrections has $100 million burning a hole in its pocket.(Privatization)
November 1, 2003... The clock is ticking for Wackenhut Corrections Corp. The Boca Raton-based operator of private prisons has until April to reinvest some $52 million it got from the sale of a British joint venture, or it will be required to band over the money to...

Rail splitters: a group of Miami Beach residents hopes to stop a proposed light rail system in its tracks.(Transportation)
November 1, 2003... To some Miami Beach residents, the proposed Bay Link plan is a no-brainer: A light rail line linking their city to downtown Miami, drawing tourists and commuters out of their cars in one of the nation's most densely populated areas. With...

Esslinger-Wooten-Maxwell Realtors.(Coral Gables)(HomeServices of America Inc.)(Embassy Financial Services Inc.)
November 1, 2003... CORAL GABLES -- In Warren Buffett's first foray into south Florida real estate, Minneapolis-based HomeServices of America, a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway, has purchased Esslinger-Wooten-Maxwell Realtors (EWM) and its related...

Performing Arts Center.(Miami)
November 1, 2003... MIAMI -- County officials overseeing the $265-million Performing Arts Center in downtown Miami say the project has been plagued by construction flaws that could affect acoustics and delay the opening by months. By one estimate, correcting the...

Badia Spices.(Miami)
November 1, 2003... Badia Spices has announced plans for a $3-million expansion of its Miami headquarters, creating 20 jobs.

2007 Super Bowl.(Miami-Dade)
November 1, 2003... MIAMI-DADE -- National Football League officials have announced that Pro Player Stadium, home of the NFL's Miami Dolphins and baseball's Florida Marlins, will host the 2007 Super Bowl. It will be the eighth time Miami-Dade has hosted the event...

Housing market.(Miami-Dade)
November 1, 2003... A recent study reports that Miami-Dade's housing market is the third-most "overvalued," ranking behind Portland, Maine, and Denver. The figures compiled by Fidelity National Information Solutions suggest that housing prices in the county are...

Novartis Pharmaceuticals.(Miami-Dade)
November 1, 2003... In response to the ailing Argentine economy, Swiss drug maker Novartis Pharmaceuticals is relocating its Latin American headquarters from Buenos Aires to Miami-Dade. The company plans to hire 28 people locally.

Brazilian Business Bureau.(Miami-Dade)
November 1, 2003... The Brazilian Business Bureau, in partnership with the American Chamber of Commerce of Sao Paulo, has opened an office in Miami to assist Brazilian firms seeking to expand into south Florida, About 50 jobs will be created.

Miami International Airport.(Miami-Dade)
November 1, 2003... Miami International Airport celebrated the opening of its fourth runway. Officials say the $120-million project--part of a $5-billion, 10-year expansion plan--will allow the airport to increase capacity by 25%.

Office of Countywide Healthcare Planning.(Miami-Dade)
November 1, 2003... Removing some authority from the county's Public Health Trust, the Miami-Dade Commission has created a new department--the Office of Countywide Healthcare Planning--to oversee healthcare delivery to the county's neediest residents. A recent...

Air Jamaica.(Miami-Dade)
November 1, 2003... Beleaguered air carrier Air Jamaica has closed its Miami sales and marketing office.

U.S. Census.(Miami-Dade)
November 1, 2003... According to figures from the U.S. Census, Miami-Dade is the only large county in the nation where a majority of residents were born outside the U.S. Just over 50% of Miami-Dade's 2.3 million residents are foreign-born. Within the city of...

Beacon Council.(Miami-Dade)
November 1, 2003... The Beacon Council assisted 37 companies that have expanded or relocated in the county this year. Those companies pledged to spend $181 million in capital improvements and add 1,700 jobs by 2006.

New-look Herald.(Publishing)
November 1, 2003... MIAMI -- In an effort to reach a younger audience more accustomed to a computer screen than a page of newsprint, the Miami Herald has redesigned its look and content, promising readers the chance to "read the full paper at a glance." A Page One...

Driving design: a regional council's in-house design studio finds a following creating town centers.(Municipal Planning)
November 1, 2003... As executive director of the regional planning council in the late 1980s, Daniel Cary was responsible for distilling the growth and development plans of the entire Treasure Coast into the meticulously detailed reports required by Florida's...

ADT Security Services.(Boca Raton)
November 1, 2003... BOCA RATON -- ADT Security Services will lay off 400 people and close a Bradenton alarm-monitoring system this month.

Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.(Broward County)
November 1, 2003... BROWARD COUNTY -- County officials say work on the $1-billion Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport expansion will proceed despite threats by the city of Fort Lauderdale to force construction to stop. Fort Lauderdale residents fear...

The Florida Attorney General's Office has charged three business supply companies operated by Jeffery W. and Lisa H. Meyer.(Deerfield Beach)
November 1, 2003... DEERFIELD BEACH -- The Florida Attorney General's Office has charged three business supply companies operated by Jeffery W. and Lisa H. Meyer with deceptive and unfair trade practices for allegedly luring customers with promises of discount...

Moody's Investors Service.(Fort Lauderdale)
November 1, 2003... FORT LAUDERDALE -- Moody's Investors Service placed the city on its "watchlist." The designation has no impact on the city's current bond ratings--considered high grade--and will be reevaluated after three months.

City Manager Floyd Johnson.(Fort Lauderdale)
November 1, 2003... A divided City Commission has voted to seek the resignation of City Manager Floyd Johnson amid a budget crunch that will likely mean residents will pay higher taxes and fees and see some services cut.

Lojeta Group.(Hollywood)
November 1, 2003... HOLLYWOOD -- The city has given developer Lojeta Group final approval for an $80-million mixed-use development on beachfront property. The project includes town homes, condominiums, restaurants and shops.

SunCruz V.(Hollywood)
November 1, 2003... The 165-foot SunCruz V gambling boat has moved from its Intracoastal dock in Hollywood Beach to Jacksonville, following a long battle with residents who disliked the noise and traffic generated by the boat and a court battle with city...

Commissioner Susan Valliere.(Martin County)
November 1, 2003... MARTIN COUNTY -- Commissioner Susan Valliere has sued a former commissioner, a commission candidate, two citizens and their attorney over the lawsuit they filed against her last year alleging she wasn't a resident of the district to which she...

Palm Beach lands Scripps Institute.(Research)
November 1, 2003... PALM BEACH -- Scripps Research Institute, the top-funded research institute by the National Institutes of Health, plans to build a major research facility in Palm Beach County, The institute will eventually employ up to 2,800 and add $3.2...

Plane gains.(Aviation)(New Piper Aircraft Inc.)
November 1, 2003... VERO BEACH -- New Piper Aircraft has added 40 employees and introduced two new plane models--the Piper 6XT and the Piper 6X--its first new designs in three years. The company, which was sold to Bethesda, Md.-based American Capital Strategies in...

Former Perkasie, Pa., City Manager Paul A. Leonard is in line to replace Dennis Kelly.(North Palm Beach)
November 1, 2003... NORTH PALM BEACH -- Former Perkasie, Pa., City Manager Paul A. Leonard is in line to replace Dennis Kelly, who resigned in February after 13 years as manager.

County government spending.(Palm Beach County)
November 1, 2003... PALM BEACH COUNTY -- County government spending has swelled out of proportion to the population it is serving, a local tax watchdog group charges. Citizens for a Sound Economy told the Palm Beach Post that while the county budget grew from $1.8...

Criminal and traffic court records.(Palm Beach County)
November 1, 2003... Dallas-based Affiliated Computer Services will convert all criminal and traffic court records to an internet-based system in a deal worth $6.8 million.

School district.(Palm Beach County)
November 1, 2003... The school district has failed to reach new contract terms with the county's 10,000 teachers and has asked for state help in resolving the impasse. The district had offered teachers a 4% salary increase.

Groundwater contamination.(Palm City)
November 1, 2003... PALM CITY -- Groundwater contamination from old gas station sites is threatening residents in hundreds of homes that draw from private wells, Martin County health officials say. The county hopes to use state funds to connect all the affected...

150,000-sq.-ft. industrial park.(Port Salerno)
November 1, 2003... PORT SALERNO -- Construction has begun on a 150,000-sq.-ft. industrial park on a 20-acre Superfund site last occupied by Solitron Microwave, which moved to Riviera Beach in 1987. Though 1999 groundwater tests revealed the presence of...

Stuart Land Holdings.(Port St. Lucie)
November 1, 2003... PORT ST. LUCIE -- Wayne Huizenga's Stuart Land Holdings is seeking to build a 158-acre mixed-use development east of Florida's Turnpike. The project includes 680 homes, a hotel and 95,000 square feet of commercial space.

Port of Palm Beach.(Riviera Beach)
November 1, 2003... RIVIERA BEACH -- Port of Palm Beach commissioners and county commissioners have launched an effort to boost shipping and tourist business at the port and perhaps lure some smaller cruise lines.

Downtown eateries.(West Palm Beach)
November 1, 2003... WEST PALM BEACH -- A dozen restaurant owners who say city officials are too focused on CityPlace have organized to lobby for more promotion and assistance for downtown eateries. The owners say downtown restaurants are struggling with a drop in...

Paving the way: a Lee County group gets regulators, developers and county officials on the same page.(Development)
November 1, 2003... For three years the Alico Road expansion project in Lee County had been stalled, caught in the center of a bitter fight among environmentalists, developers and regulatory agencies. The Environmental Protection Agency worried that pollution...

FindWhat.Com.(Fort Myers)(Miva Corp.)
November 1, 2003... FORT MYERS -- Internet marketer FindWhat.Com (Nasdaq-FWHT) has acquired San Diego-based Miva Corp., an e-commerce software supplier, for $5.5 million plus $2.5 million in debt.

Edwards Systems Technology.(Manatee/Sarasota)
November 1, 2003... MANATEE/SARASOTA -- Edwards Systems Technology is building a 100,000-sq.-ft. corporate office in Lakewood Ranch, a master-planned community on the Manatee/ Sarasota county line. EST, which has 170 employees, is relocating from Bradenton. The...

Ave Maria University.(Naples)
November 1, 2003... NAPLES -- The newest Catholic university in the nation opened its doors to its first class of 100 students in September. Ave Maria University, which opened temporarily on a seven-acre campus near the Vineyards area of Naples, is building a...

Maxxim Medical.(Oldsmar)
November 1, 2003... OLDSMAR -- Maxxim Medical, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in February, is selling its assets to New York-based Lightyear Capital, a private equity investment firm. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed and must be approved...

New traffic signals.(Pasco County)
November 1, 2003... PASCO COUNTY -- New traffic signals that can detect the amount of traffic on a road and adjust accordingly are being installed in Pasco County for use starting next month. Paid for and designed by the state Department of Transportation, the...

Pinellas County Environmental Foundation.(Pinellas County)
November 1, 2003... PINELLAS COUNTY -- The Florida Wildlife Federation has named the Pinellas County Environmental Foundation its Conservation Organization of the Year. The foundation's mission is to protect and restore fish and wildlife habitats in Tampa Bay.

Englewood Bank.(Sarasota)
November 1, 2003... SARASOTA -- Wauchula-based Crews Banking Corp. bought Englewood Bank for an undisclosed amount. Englewood, with six branches and $149 million in assets, had been independent for 15 years. Crews also owns Charlotte State Bank in Port Charlotte.

Wi-Fi hub.(St. Petersburg)
November 1, 2003... ST. PETERSBURG -- Downtown St. Petersburg may soon be the first Wi-Fi hub in the Tampa Bay area. The St. Petersburg Downtown Partnership has hired Information Management Specialists, a St. Petersburg computer networking and telecommunications...

Reptron Electronics.(Tampa)
November 1, 2003... TAMPA -- Tampa electronics manufacturer Reptron Electronics (OTC-REPT.OB) was delisted from the Nasdaq SmallCap Market in late September for failure to meet minimum requirements. It is now traded on the Bulletin Board.

TECO Energy.(Tampa)
November 1, 2003... Financially struggling TECO Energy (NYSE-TE) sold 11 million shares of its common stock for $129 million to funds managed by San Mateo, Calif.-based Franklin Advisers. TECO plans to use the money to pay off short-term debt.

WebMD Medical Manager.(Tampa)
November 1, 2003... FBI agents raided the Tampa and Alachua offices of WebMD Medical Manager in September. The FBI is investigating the physician software company's recent acquisitions and its 1999 $5.5-million financial restatement.

Desalination plant.(Tampa Bay)
November 1, 2003... TAMPA BAY -- The builder of the much-anticipated $110-million desalination plant on the banks of Tampa Bay has failed to meet its latest deadline of Sept. 30. New Jersey-based Covanta faces $32,500 a day in fines and has until this month to...

Permit protest.(Environment)(wetlands development permits)
November 1, 2003... COLLIER/LEE COUNTIES -- Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility and several national and southwest Florida environmental groups have petitioned the Environmental Protection Agency to veto 10 wetlands development permits issued by the...

Power to the people: fed-up Winter Park residents vote to oust Progress Energy.(Utilities)
November 1, 2003... Winter Park voters sent a resounding message in September that the people want power. Reliability problems with Progress Energy led 69% of voters to approve a nearly $50-million measure that puts the utility's service in the city's hands. ...

NASCAR.(Daytona Beach)(National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing)
November 1, 2003... DAYTONA BEACH -- Bill France Jr. stepped down as chairman and CEO of NASCAR, yielding the titles to his 41-year-old son, Brian.

Empire Financial Group.(Longwood)
November 1, 2003... LONGWOOD -- Empire Financial Group says it was among the securities firms being interviewed by regulators in connection with the trading-scheme scandal centered on Canary Capital Partners of New Jersey. Empire executives say that while the...

Orange County Convention Center.(Orange County)
November 1, 2003... ORANGE COUNTY -- The $748-million expansion of the Orange County Convention Center opened for business, doubling the facility's convention space and making it the second-largest in the nation. With 2.1 million square feet of exhibit space, the...

Sunshine Network.(Orlando)
November 1, 2003... ORLANDO -- The Sunshine Network moved its studio production from Tallahassee to Universal Studios. The move was made in part because of the network's decision to launch a live sports-talk show and a fishing show.

Central Florida Home and Garden Show.(Orlando)
November 1, 2003... London-based DMG World Media has acquired the Central Florida Home and Garden Show from the Home Builders Association of Metro Orlando.

Wilhelmina Scouting Network.(Orlando)
November 1, 2003... The Florida Attorney General's Office advised customers of Lou Pearlman's beleaguered model-scouting agency, Wilhelmina Scouting Network, to keep an eye on their credit card statements for potential fraud. An internal shake-up at the company...

William and Chantal McCorkle.(Orlando)(commercial crimes)
November 1, 2003... Telemarketers William and Chantal McCorkle lost bids to have their prison sentences reduced when a district judge let stand their 24-year sentences. The pair was convicted in 1998 of scamming $36 million from more than 2,000 customers through...

Kane's Furniture.(Ormond Beach)
November 1, 2003... ORMOND BEACH -- Kane's Furniture will build a 45,000-sq.-ft. distribution warehouse at the Ormond Business Center.

Omni Hotels.(Osceola County)
November 1, 2003... OSCEOLA COUNTY -- Omni Hotels of Irving, Texas, plans to build a 732-room, $175-million luxury hotel at Champions-Gate at the Osceola/Polk county line. The property is scheduled to open in late 2004.

American Management Services.(Osceola County)
November 1, 2003... American Management Services will move its headquarters from Waltham, Mass., to Orlando, based in part on the success of a pilot operation it established in Orlando two years ago. The move will double local employment to 100.

Wolfgang Puck's Grand Cafe.(Osceola County)
November 1, 2003... Levy Restaurants has taken over day-to-day operations of Wolfgang Puck's Grand Cafe in Downtown Disney. The restaurant will retain the Puck name and menu. Terms of the deal were not released.

Hotel woes.(Hospitality)
November 1, 2003... ORLANDO -- Four Points Sheraton, across from downtown's Lake Eola, is shutting down this month. The property's owners reportedly are considering other uses, possibly converting the 281-room hotel into condominiums. The former Harley Hotel has...