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TUESDAY, JUNE 26, 2007
No Surprise: Home Sales Down Everywhere [St. Petersburg Times]
State sales figures have fallen to their lowest levels since 2002. In Florida, sales of existing homes fell 34 percent from a year ago. Ocala and Miami were the only locales whose home sales fell harder than Tampa Bay's.
Related articles:
TALLAHASSEE:
Mounting Complaints Led to FAMU Scrutiny [Tallahassee Democrat]
Days after Florida A&M University was placed on probation because of chronic management problems, several hundred faculty members and students received assurances from a school official Monday that FAMU would survive "this very sensitive time." But without improvements, the college faces losing its accreditation.
TAMPA:
Citizens' Business Booms [St. Petersburg Times]
The insurer of last resort may cover half of the state's total property risk by year's end. It's hard to ignore the explosive rise in exposure since all property owners in Florida would have to bail out Citizens if it can't pay claims from a catastrophe.
Related article:
More on this topic from Florida Trend:
SARASOTA:
Why City May Spurn Baseball [Sarasota Herald-Tribune]
A top-of-the-line baseball stadium looked like a hit during the top of the real estate boom, but in today's plunging market it seems more like a luxury Sarasota cannot afford.
ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:
›Correction: Utility Coffers Leak with Limits [Palm Beach Post]
This story link was omitted in Monday's Daily Pulse.
›Speculation Has Diller Putting HSN Up for Sale [St. Petersburg Times]
Liberty Media Corp. is seen as a likely buyer for the Home Shopping Network. From Florida Trend: TV Chopping at HSN
›Seminoles Plan Aggressive Hard Rock Expansion [Bloomberg News]
The Seminole Tribe of Florida is planning an aggressive expansion of the Hard Rock brand all over the world.
›Science Fiction into Reality for NASA [St. Petersburg Times]
NASA's Dawn space probe, built in Titusville, will use a revolutionary ion engine reminiscent of Star Trek to reach two asteroids.
›Biotech Lesson: Money's Still the No. 1 Drug [Miami Herald]
This ethereal bio-tech campus, like so much of Liberty City's publicly financed affordable housing, exists only as a lovely brochure and political rhetoric.
›Briny Study Touts Benefit [Palm Beach Post]
The project will mean more than 1,300 jobs, a $35 million local payroll, nearly $15 million a year to the municipality, and $36.3 million to Palm Beach County, plus $25 million to the school district, the study said.
›Reaping the Fruits of the Farm Bill [Palm Beach Post]
This year, as the 2007 Farm Bill is being shaped to replace the 2002 bill that expires Sept. 30, Florida growers and other specialty crop producers across the nation are demanding their fair share.
›Perks for Pearlman Gone as He Rides 'Jail Cell On Air' [Orlando Sentinel]
Lou Pearlman is en route home to Orlando from Guam on Monday after a U.S. Marshals Service jet picked him up during the weekend.
›Conservationists Aghast as Everglades Removed from Danger List [Sun-Sentinel]
News of the park's salvation generated few celebrations in South Florida, where scientists, government officials and environmentalists are trying to save the Everglades from pollution, water shortages and urban development.
›Audit: Tampa Utility Sends Money Down Drain [Tampa Tribune]
The water department has failed to keep up with basic maintenance of the city's water system as overtime costs soar and more water than ever is lost to leaky pipes.
›Ballot Measure Could Sink Small-Business Tax Break [Orlando Sentinel]
For years, business owners have had to inventory all of their property -- everything from desks to computers to machinery -- and pay an annual tax on those items, called the tangible-personal-property tax. The tax sometimes costs more to compute than is owed.
›Opinion: If Political Parties Can't Fix Primary Mess, Congress Should [Tribune]
"Florida lawmakers were absolutely justified in defying the national political parties and moving the state's 2008 presidential primary to Jan. 29."
›Candidate: Story On Me Is Wrong [St. Petersburg Times]
Florida's No. 2 education official is tangled in a cyber-tussle with a tiny Minnesota newspaper and a scientist who blogs about the politics of teaching evolution.
›State Could Set School Board Salaries [Florida Times-Union]
A bill awaiting Gov. Charlie Crist's signature would bring school board members back in line with all other constitutional officers, whose salaries are set annually by the Legislature.
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