Friday's Top Stories

FRIDAY, NOV. 20, 2009

STATEWIDE:
Swapping Carbon

With a mandatory cap-and-trade system for carbon emissions likely, some Florida businesses are looking for an edge — and profits — by trading in voluntary markets. But those markets, some say, are still in a “wild, wild west” stage. Read on ... [Source: Florida Trend]

Related:

• Florida awarded $1.25M federal grant to survey green jobs [SP Times]

TAMPA:
Hillsborough Schools Win $100M Grant from Gates Foundation

Hillsborough County schools have won $100 million to overhaul how teachers are trained and evaluated, with the hopes of increasing high school graduation rates. The funds will be parceled out during a seven-year period, with the first installment of $6 million expected by January. Hillsborough also must match the Gates money for the grant's duration and expects to pay about $32 million annually after the grant ends to sustain the program. [Source: Tribune]

Also:

• State rates teacher prep programs [SP Times]

SOUTH FLORIDA:
Discount Divorces

With the economy sputtering, South Florida couples are staying together more or attempting do-it-yourself divorces rather than paying pricey divorce lawyers. As a result, local divorce lawyers say they are facing their slowest period ever, and are discounting rates, offering sliding payment scales and military discounts and accepting credit cards. One said her business is down 35% from last year. [Source: Miami Herald]

Harris Corp. engineers worked with Federal Aviation Administration officials Thursday to understand how a $2 billion network built by Harris failed for four hours, causing widespread flight cancellations and delays for the second time in 15 months. The network was designed to give the FAA a single, more reliable network for transmitting voice, data and radar information to air traffic controllers and others at more than 3,800 airports and facilities nationwide. [Source: Florida Today]

ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› Regulators Warn West Palm Beach Bank [Post]
Federal regulators on Thursday directed Flagler Bank of West Palm Beach to address concerns about its soundness.

› Escambia Joins Travel Lawsuit [Pensacola News Journal]
Escambia County has joined other Florida counties in a lawsuit against several online travel Web sites the state attorney general says owes millions of dollars in uncollected taxes to Florida counties.

› Rothstein's Law Firm Dissolves [Sun Sentinel]
A receptionist answering a phone at the law firm's offices said Thursday that Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler no longer exists.

› Solar Energy Plant at KSC Generates Jobs [Today]
Kennedy Space Center plans by late next year to start building one of the largest solar power plants of its kind in the world, bringing 1,000 temporary construction jobs and 50 long-term science and engineering jobs.

› Poll: Rubio Closing Gap on Crist; Gov. Race Tied [Times/Herald]
Robo poll from DailyKos and Research 2000: Gov. Charlie Crist leads Rubio 47% to 37% among Republicans. Among all voters, Crist beats Kendrick Meek 50-33, while Meek beats Rubio 38-30.

› Ex-Miramar Commissioner Pleads Not Guilty [Sun Sentinel]
Fitzroy Salesman of Miramar was indicted earlier this month on charges of extortion, bribery, and mail fraud, by depriving the public of his honest services.

› Healthcare Reform Stalling Frank Sanchez's Nomination? [Trend]
Tampa businessman Frank Sanchez’s nomination to be under secretary of international trade has hit a snag. One source is saying it's because of an investigation into the now-defunct Renaissance Steel, where he was CEO. But the Commerce Department says that's not the issue.

› Nelson: Investigate Drug-Price Hike [New York Times]
Democrats in Congress asked for two separate investigations of drug industry pricing Wednesday as they continue working on legislation to overhaul the nation’s health care system. Related: Democrats and Republicans sometimes partner

› Cut Services? Hike Taxes? Recession Has GOP in a Fix [Herald-Tribune]
Florida's Republican leadership has settled on three options: change the tax structure and tap new revenue sources; make more service cuts and program changes; and take a longer-term approach of beefing up economic-development measures — including higher education — while scaling back regulations on businesses. Also: Jim Greer still has a job

› Short-Term Home Price Changes: One Lousy Trend Indicator [SP Times column]
James Thorner: Trying to get accurate information about short-term home price changes is as tricky as walking through a briar patch wearing Velcro.

› Florida Posts Nation's Largest Drop in New Unemployment Insurance Claims [SP Times]
The state reported that claims dropped by 1,915 amid fewer job losses in construction, manufacturing and the service sector. Michigan, in contrast, reported the most new claims with 6,001.


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