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WEDNESDAY, AUG. 13, 2008
EVERGLADES:
Reservoir Puts Sugar Deal at Risk, Judge Told
 Florida Trend is...
16 YEARS AGO:
October 1992
Hurricane Andrew was blamed for a surge in South Florida unemployment, adding 30,000 to the rolls. However, it’s estimated that it created 100,000 construction jobs.
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For decades, environmental groups have pushed to speed up Everglades restoration but on Tuesday they urged a federal judge in Miami not to step in and force the state to resume work on a key project halted in May.
The reason for the change in tune: Paying for a $700 million reservoir the size of Boca Raton could threaten state financing of a deal they consider even bigger for the Everglades -- the proposed $1.75 billion buyout of U.S. Sugar.
In a split with the Miccosukee Tribe, lawyers for several of the state's biggest conservation groups argued the wait was worth it to secure a ''monumental'' purchase of 187,000 acres of sugar fields. Dexter Lehtinen, the tribe's attorney, called the land buy the latest state ''excuse'' to delay deadlines for cleaning up pollution damaging the Everglades.
He argued the deal could push back the reservoir and other projects to restore the flow of clean water back 15 years or more.
[Source: Miami Herald]
TALLAHASSEE:
Florida Reins in Mortgage Brokers
Gov. Charlie Crist and the state Cabinet on Tuesday barred white-collar convicts jailed for financial crimes from becoming mortgage brokers in Florida, imposing the state's toughest-ever rules in reaction to a scandal over lax licensing standards that allowed criminals to push home loans.
Also, the state's top mortgage regulator, Office of Financial Regulation chief Don Saxon, announced his resignation under pressure from Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink and Crist.
Amid Florida's recent real-estate boom, more than 10,000 mortgage brokers and loan peddlers were allowed to sell home loans despite having criminal records that included convictions for bank robbery and drug trafficking, according to a Miami Herald investigation. The newspaper found some of those brokers bilked consumers for millions of dollars while state regulators did nothing.
[Source: Orlando Sentinel]
STATEWIDE:
More College Students Turn to Food Stamps
In a down economy, some Florida college students have found a new form of financial aid: food stamps.
The number of Sunshine State students receiving stamps was up 44 percent in July compared with the same time in 2007.
That's about twice the rate of increase for food-stamp recipients in the population as a whole.
Statewide, 54,116 students were receiving the stamps, including 10,506 in Miami-Dade County alone. There's even a Facebook group for them: ''I Ain't Ashamed to Be on Food Stamps.'' [Source: Miami Herald]
CAPE CANAVERAL:
Russian Invasion Imperils Space Station
U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson said he fears Russia's aggressive action against Georgia may have some serious consequences on the American space program.
If Russia fails to hold back military action in the former Soviet republic, it could hurt U.S. chances of accessing the International Space Station once NASA retires the space shuttles in 2010, the Democrat from Orlando said Tuesday.
The Russian Soyuz vehicle will be the only option available for NASA to send crew and cargo to the space station until the shuttle's replacement becomes available for manned missions in 2015. Nelson fears deteriorating U.S.-Russia politics may result in "Russia denying us rides or charging exorbitant amounts for them."
[Source: Florida Today]
More on this topic from Florida Trend:
ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:
›Broward Teachers Union Walks Away From Salary Talks [Sun-Sentinel]
Union leaders were upset that the district continued to insist that there is no money for teacher raises for the next year, and on Tuesday declared an impasse. That means the negotiations that started in June will stop for now, and teachers will start the school year Monday without the raise they wanted.
›Tax 'Mess' Muddles Short Sales of Homes [Tampa Tribune]
As Florida's coffers shrink in the face of a dour economy, confusion over a tax statute threatens to choke the flow of home sales at a time when the state is struggling under the burden of millions of unsold properties.
The problematic statute mandates how much tax people pay when they sell a house.
›FIU Network Aims to Help Businesses Recover After Hurricanes [Miami Herald] Florida International professors and students have developed a web-based computer network that works like an air-traffic control system for business managers and employees, helping them find answers they need to reopen after a storm.
›State Panel Grills State Farm [Palm Beach Post]
State regulators appear poised to reject State Farm Florida's proposed homeowner rate hike of almost 50%, announcing at the close of a hearing Tuesday that the insurer had made a series of miscalculations in determining its premium needs.
›News-Journal Corp. Officially for Sale [Daytona Beach News-Journal]
The sale includes the Daytona Beach News-Journal newspaper, The Complete Phone Book and six Pennysavers.
›Settlement Gives 10 Million Drivers $1 Credit [AP]
About 10 million Florida motorists will get $1 off their annual vehicle registration renewals in 2009-10 as the result of a federal lawsuit settlement approved Tuesday by Gov. Charlie Crist and the state Cabinet.
›Florida Takes Over Care at 3 Nursing Homes [Miami Herald]
The affected facilities include the Alexander ''Sandy'' Nininger State Veterans Nursing Home in Pembroke Pines and similar homes in Springfield and Port Charlotte.
›Moonlighting Pays Off for CEOs Past and Present [Orlando Sentinel column]
Beth Kassab: It's a topic that doesn't get as much buzz as executive compensation, though it should considering the same board members who set executive salaries also decide on their own pay.
›4 Years After Meeting Charley, Punta Gorda Gets a Face-Lift [Herald-Tribune]
Blue tarp roofs -- a symbol of life after Hurricane Charley came ashore here on Aug. 13, 2004 -- have become a fading memory.
›Permitting Process Slows Flagler Beach Erosion Project [News-Journal]
A project that promises to combat beach erosion is months behind schedule because of state permitting issues, a city official said.
›Mortgage Lender Sues Hillsborough Elections Supervisor [St. Petersburg Times]
A mortgage lender has filed a lawsuit against Buddy Johnson to foreclose on a $381,396 loan he used to buy a luxury high-rise condo in downtown Sarasota in 2006.
›Raytheon to Start Groundwater Cleanup Within 90 Days [St. Petersburg Times]
Since the 1991 discovery of toxic contamination at the St. Petersburg plant, the plume has slowly spread beneath a neighborhood, reaching at least the edge of an elementary school.
›Green Refunds Sought From FPL [Miami Herald]
A petition filed with state regulators says some Florida Power & Light customers should be entitled to refunds for participating in a discontinued green energy program.
›Martin OKs Business Incentives to Draw More Industry [Palm Beach Post]
Martin County watched for years as counties to the north and south doled out incentives to lure high-wage companies to their back yards.
Now it plans to dangle its own carrots to get in the game.
›Frito-Lay Orlando Receives EPA Recognition for Conservation [Sentinel]
Orlando's Frito-Lay plant is using less water and electricity to make the snack chips that roll off its factory conveyors each day on Silver Star Road.
›Auctions Booming as Buyers Bid for Bargains [Florida Times-Union]
Several First Coast area auctioneers note that they've always been busy - even before the economy drove people to shop for good deals.
›Jim Moran Institute for Global Entrepreneurship Receives $1.8M Gift
A gift to the Jim Moran Institute will bolster the FSU College of Business’ services, especially to entrepreneurs in economically disadvantaged communities in South Florida.
The donation given by Jan Moran, JM Family Enterprises, Inc. and The Jim Moran Foundation will provide $600,000 annually for the next three years.
›'Dance' Moves Could Reduce Airport Checkpoint Hassles [St. Petersburg Times]
Starting Saturday, security officers will let travelers keep laptops inside "checkpoint-friendly'' bags during X-ray screenings. The TSA contacted companies in March with standards for bags to receive the new designation. Also, taking shoes off may soon be a thing of the past.
›HSN Begins Trading Its Own Stock [St. Petersburg Times]
There will be no stock certificates issued for the St. Petersburg TV shopping network until Aug. 21 when parent IAC/InterActiveCorp completes the spinoff formally splitting Barry Diller's e-commerce empire into five pieces, each with its own stock.
›Alico Swings Quarterly Profit [Naples Daily News]
Belle-based grower and land manager Alico Inc. swung to a profit in the third quarter of its fiscal year.
The company reported net income of $5 million, or 68 cents a share.
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