Friday's Top Stories

What You Need To Know About Florida Today

| 9/26/2008

FRIDAY, SEPT. 26, 2008

STATEWIDE:
Support, Criticism for Plan to Rewrite Mortgage-Loan Terms

Florida Trend is...

39 YEARS AGO:
Sept. 1969
By the late '60s, Florida produced 20% of the beef it consumed. In 1969, state ranchers sold $120 million worth of cattle. In 2006, it was $484 million.

A plan by Democrats to allow bankruptcy judges to rewrite mortgage-loan terms for struggling homeowners as part of the proposed $700 billion Wall Street bailout has the support of some Florida jurists. The judges say the proposal would let them lower the interest rate on home loans for borrowers who enter Chapter 13 bankruptcy because of a pending foreclosure. A Chapter 13 allows individuals to reorganize their debts. Right now, bankruptcy judges can modify the terms of all kinds of loans except those on a first home. ''Since we can't help [homeowners], they end up losing their home and that may mean breaking up their family and putting them out on the street,'' said U.S. Bankruptcy Judge A. Jay Cristol in Miami. Added U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Laurel M. Isicoff: ''Every bankruptcy judge I've spoken with feels strongly that this is a tool that they should be given.'' She has talked with about 30 judges, she said. [Source: Miami Herald]

Your Turn to Speak Up:
» Should the government bailout the trouble financial institutions? What are your thoughts on the mess on Wall Street? What's the solution?

TALLAHASSEE:
Florida's Budget May Be Cut Again

Even after $7-billion in spending cuts, raids on cash reserves and salary freezes for state workers, the Florida budget is not back in the black: Another $800-million in red ink must be erased this year. That raises questions of whether a 4% across-the-board spending holdback imposed on state programs by Gov. Charlie Crist will have to be made permanent for the second year in a row by the Legislature, forcing deeper cuts. Normally, agencies receive 25% of their annual budget each quarter to spend. Crist's order means agencies are receiving just 24% to save money. The second quarter begins Wednesday. Agency officials say, so far, they have absorbed the reduced funding by leaving jobs vacant and cutting travel and purchases. Over a full year, the 4% holdback amounts to about $900-million, of which $419-million would be in education alone. [Source: St. Petersburg Times]

ORLANDO:
Holland & Knight Law Firm to Open Office in Abu Dhabi

Holland & Knight, a firm rooted in Florida for 40 years, added to its worldwide reach with a new law office in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The office will be led by Donald Moore, a partner from the firm's Miami office. The new office will help the firm reach out to the increasing number of clients it has in the region, including the Al Masaood Group, a conglomerate that includes hotels, development, construction and other interests, the law firm said. "Abu Dhabi is a dynamic and vital center of world commerce, and it is important for us to be able to offer our clients a presence there," said Steven Sonberg, managing partner of Holland & Knight. [Source: St. Petersburg Times]

More on this topic from Florida Trend:

Legal Elite 2008: Top Attorneys in Their Field

MIAMI:
Developer Wants Casinos in Miami Beach, Downtown Miami

The developer of a massive project in downtown Miami is quietly considering a campaign to amend Florida's Constitution to allow Las Vegas-style casinos in the city and open the door for a similar casino at Miami Beach's famed Fontainebleau Hotel. A political committee financed by Marc Roberts, who along with Art Falcone is developing the 25-acre Miami Worldcenter, has spent more than $850,000, hired 13 petition gathering companies and has lawyers working to write an initiative for possible placement on the 2010 ballot. A key selling point: taxes on the new casinos would go to benefit all Florida schools, just like the successful slots initiative before it. Read on for more ... [Source: Miami Herald]

ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

›Realtors Get Pep Talk [St. Petersburg Times]
Nearly three years into an unprecedented real estate slump, hundreds of Florida Realtors convened in Orlando on Thursday preaching steely resilience tempered by a little Disney magic. Also: Real estate recovery in 2009 seen as doubtful

›Foreclosure Cases Put on Lee County Courts' Fast Track [News-Press]
Aim is to eliminate foreclosure backlog.

›Florida Water Czar Idea Rejected -- Again [St. Petersburg Times]
The Florida Water Congress -- the first statewide gathering of its kind in more than 30 years -- killed the idea because it represented the creation of a new layer of bureaucracy at a time when every level of government is facing major budget cutbacks.

›Fla. Official: Keep Enrollment Cap [AP]
If the board unfreezes the cap, which now limits new freshman enrollment to 38,500 annually at all 11 public universities, the situation only will get worse, Mark Rosenberg said. Also: Florida Board of Governors seeks more money

›Kohl's Ready to Take on Bealls [Sarasota Herald-Tribune]
On Wednesday, the Menomonee Falls, Wis.-based Kohl's will formally open 15 new department stores, adding to the 23 stores it already has in the Sunshine State. But perhaps the most significant for its competitor will be the one opening in Manatee County, the birthplace of Bealls.

›Waves Take Bites Out of South Florida's Shoreline [Sun-Sentinel]
After high waves pounded Fort Lauderdale beach and reached State Road A1A on Thursday night, a four-block section of the road was closed to traffic. Chunks of seaweed made it to the street, clogging some flood drains, authorities said.

›Options Media Buys 1Touch for $1.5 Million, Stock [Palm Beach Post]
The Hallandale-based company has also agreed to issue 10 million shares of common stock.

›Orlando Boat Dealer Sails Away from Correct Craft Line [Sentinel]
Orlando-based Correct Craft Inc., the oldest family-owned boat maker in the nation, has finally changed hands — and the former chief executive's local dealership is now selling a rival brand. Walter N. Meloon — a third-generation owner, major shareholder, and former president and chief executive officer — said Thursday he sold the last of his stock in the boat manufacturer at the end of August.

›1 Fired, 4 Suspended in Botched Drug Sting [AP]
An investigator was fired Thursday and four other Tallahassee police officers were suspended for two weeks without pay for their roles in a botched drug sting that led to the death of a young informant from Pinellas County.

›Times Are Tough for Car Dealers [St. Petersburg Times]
Sudden auto dealer failures like the collapse of the Bill Heard Chevrolet chain Wednesday will increasingly become part of the business landscape, especially in boom-and-bust states like Florida.

›Metro Orlando Economy Ranks 27th [Orlando Sentinel]
The four-county metro area's gross domestic product -- the combined value of all its finished goods and services -- was $97.4 billion in current dollars in 2006, compared with $90.3 billion in 2005 and $80.7 billion in 2004.

Small Business Advice
›Credit Crunch [Florida Trend]
With so much happening in the financial world, each firm must protect its ability to acquire the funds it needs to operate. Firms in need of additional financing will find that there are three alternatives.

A Florida health provider says better building design can help patients heal

FHSAA to potentially sanction esports in Florida schools

Florida home values have more than doubled in the past decade

Sunshine State manufacturing is a powerhouse, rivals tourism