FRIDAY, OCT. 24, 2008
TALLAHASSEE:
Workers' Compensation Ruling May Affect Lowered Rates
The Florida Supreme Court has ruled that a lawyer representing an injured worker is entitled to "reasonable" fees, setting the stage for another bruising legislative battle over the Florida law that ensures the rights of injured workers. The decision reinterprets a controversial 2003 reform of the state's workers' compensation law that capped some lawyers fees. Attorneys that represent injured workers hailed the case as a success, but industry groups warned that it will drive up the cost of doing business in Florida. Industry groups lobbied hard for the 2003 reform in an attempt to drive down the cost of workers' compensation insurance. At the time, Florida's businesses paid some of the highest rates in the nation. Since the reform was enacted, rates have fallen nearly 60% and were slated to fall still further next year. [Source: St. Petersburg Times] Also: Court chucks 'false light' suit
CAPE CORAL:
City's Image Takes a Beating
Before its 2004 growth spurt, the Cape endured comparisons to an old folks home, the diminutive tag of a bedroom community and the oh-so-hurtful "Cape Coma."
The city is now the ninth largest in the state, but an international media outlet has a new taunt.
An article this week from the London-based Reuters News Service deems Cape Coral a "wasteland."
Cape leaders, residents and Realtors say the designation is unfair. They point to numbers that show a city rebounding from a market collapse and still offering amenities that have attracted 170,000 residents.
"I would not call this a wasteland but a fantastic land of opportunity," said John Jacobsen, who heads the Cape Coral Community Redevelopment Agency. "It still has 400 miles of canals. They haven't caved in. They're not polluted. The business opportunities are still here. The sunshine is here. Everything remains in place except things are now half the price."
[Source: Fort Myers News-Press] Also: Impact fees won't rise this year
More on Cape Coral from Florida Trend:
CROSS CITY:
3 Ex-Dixie Officials Accused of Bribery
Three former Dixie County officials were arrested by FBI agents at the Dixie County Courthouse in Cross City Thursday morning and arraigned at the federal courthouse in Gainesville on charges of bribery and lying. Wearing leg shackles and handcuffs, former Dixie County Commissioners John Lee "Big John" Driggers, 60, and Alton James Land, 67, along with the county's former building and zoning inspector, Willie Dewey "Billy" Keen Jr., 59, were escorted into court to face U.S. Magistrate Judge Allan Kornblum. The men were charged with conspiring and soliciting bribes in exchange for approving plans for unspecified developments in the rural coastal county in 2006, a time when land prices were peaking. [Source: Gainesville Sun]
STATEWIDE:
IRS Has $30 Million for Floridians, But Can't Find Them
The IRS wants to return $30-million in tax refunds and economic stimulus checks to Floridians, but it doesn't know where they live.
Nationwide, about $266-million was undeliverable to about 383,000 Americans because of problems with their mailing addresses. The average amount of an undeliverable economic stimulus check is $583, and the average refund is $988.
[Source: St. Petersburg Times]
ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:
› Developer: Trump Tower 'on Hold'
Billionaire developer Jorge Perez expects about 100 buyers to walk away from their contracts to buy condos at CityPlace South Tower in downtown West Palm Beach.
Perez, head of Coral Gables-based developer The Related Group, also said the planned Trump Tower Palm Beach won't be built anytime soon.
› Amendment 2 Fate Lies with Black Voter Turnout
Amendment 2 teeters on the edge of passage, with 59% of likely voters saying they would support it, results from a St. Petersburg Times/Bay News 9/Miami Herald statewide poll show. The measure needs 60% approval to pass.
› FCAT Used to Reward Teachers
Today in Orlando, 85 Florida teachers will be honored by a Jeb Bush foundation for being the best in their profession.
They'll be given $1,000 and paid passage for two on a Caribbean cruise. They'll share their tips for success with the University of Florida Lastinger Center for Learning so the state's other 170,000 teachers can learn from them.
›Violence on Rise in Marijuana Trade
Investigators said sophisticated indoor marijuana farms, with state-of-the-art lamps and set-ups, have proliferated in recent years, especially in suburban homes in South Miami-Dade.
› After Bankruptcy, Bennigan's to Focus on Booze, Burgers
Bennigan's was one of the most dominant casual dining brands in the early 1990s with 30 to 40% of its business coming from beer, wine and liquor sales. Also: Laid-off workers not getting final paycheck
› McCain Travels I-4 in Hunt for Votes
Thursday, joined by Gov. Charlie Crist and U.S. Sen. Mel Martinez, he campaigned down the Interstate 4 corridor. Also: Ads having little effect in breaking dead heat
› FDIC Boss Touts Mortgage-Loan Guarantees to Help Homeowners
Plans are in the works to extend more help to distressed homeowners as part of the ongoing government intervention to stabilize markets.
Go to page 2 for more stories ...
› Slot Machine Repair Course in Hollywood Pays Off
The job market has been a bust, so Jim Rivera turned to slots.
Rivera, 52, was among the 25 to graduate from South Florida's first slot machine repair class Thursday at the Sheridan Technical Center in Hollywood.
› Future Rosy Despite Fuel Shock, AirTran Says
Executives at Orlando-based AirTran Holdings Inc. acknowledged that they were disappointed with the results, which fell far short of Wall Street's expectations and pushed the airline's losses to more than $155 million for the year.
›Lee County Seeking Land for Red Sox Facility
The county is requesting "a minimum of 80 acres" to be donated or sold. The landowner will be able to build commercial developments around the spring training complex. Also: World Series berth gives rebirth to Tampa Bay Rays' stadium talks
› If Lee Bed Tax Pays for Red Sox, Cuts Must Be Found
Tourism leaders are in favor of using 1% of money from a bed tax for a new spring training facility, but now they have to decide what projects might be killed or delayed to make way for a ballpark.
› Officials Plead for Help as Voters Crowd the Polls
But aides to Crist and Browning said their offices couldn't extend voting hours or order an extra day of Sunday voting. Also: Dade election task force on patrol to protect rights
› Polk, Sarasota Mail Incomplete Ballots
In Polk County, about 40,000 absentee ballots were mailed without a state Supreme Court ballot question, in which people vote yes or no on keeping a sitting justice in office.
› Times-Union Names Associate Publisher
Lucy Talley has been vice president of newspapers for Morris Publishing and chief operating officer of skirt! magazine and skirt.com. Also: Bonita Springs' Source Interlink names new chairman, CEO
› Developer Says $150M Plan Will Put Fort Pierce on Map
Jonathan Snyder, chairman and chief executive officer of Snyder Development LLC is proposing to build Atocha Village, a mix of retail, restaurant and residential, on 6.87 acres occupied by the old H.D. King Power Plant.
› Businesses Ponder How to Cover Rising Power Bills But Keep Customers
Businesses around Tampa Bay face hikes of 20% or more in their power bills if both Progress Energy and Tampa Electric get the increases they have asked for. Also: What the tourism business fears most: silent phones
› Company Pioneers Tissue Culture to Speed Plant Growth for Biofuel
State Agriculture Commissioner Charlie Bronson toured the Twyford International nursery in Apopka on Wednesday and said he was impressed with what he saw in the company's sprawling greenhouses filled with thousands of rapidly growing green plants.
› Review: Hundreds of VA Documents Improperly Shredded
A review of shredding bins at Department of Veterans Affairs benefits offices around the nation uncovered 489 documents improperly set aside for destruction, the VA confirmed on Thursday.
› Salary Raise Planned for Ft. Lauderdale's City Workers
If all goes as planned, 250 of Fort Lauderdale's highest non-union wage earners at City Hall soon will get a 5% pay raise. But it doesn't sit well with some taxpayers.