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Hoteliers' association to hold Bacchus Bash on April 3
Source: Sentinel
Feb 2, 2009 2:38 pm
The Central Florida Hotel & Lodging Association has scheduled its annual Bacchus Bash celebration for April 3. The street party, which includes samples of food, specialty drinks and live entertainment from hotels and restaurants, will be held at Orla…
Commissioner wants task force charged with making CVB public
Source: Sentinel
Feb 2, 2009 2:32 pm
Orange County Commissioner Linda Stewart stepped up her push for more public access at the Orlando-Orange County Convention & Visitors Bureau Monday, asking County Mayor Rich Crotty in a memo to set up a task force to begin work on...
Universal gives away the last of its free tickets
Source: Sentinel
Feb 2, 2009 1:47 pm
Universal Orlando has given away the last of the free tickets it offered in a trio of commercials yesterday. The resort stopped distributing them as of noon today, said spokesman Tom Schroder. Universal won’t say exactly how many freebies it... …
What housing bust? Cheaper homes boon to younger families
Source: Times
Feb 2, 2009 12:27 pm
This article in the Asian Times of all places makes a pretty good case that a decline in home prices is a sign of societal sanity:This is not a business cycle, but a life-cycle malfunction. The baby boomers imagined that...
Watch out for fake government stimulus check in your mailbox
Source: Sun-Sentinel
Feb 2, 2009 10:39 am
Add this to your list of bad deals to watch out for: Fake stimulus checks in the mail.The checks can be up to $7,000 and aren't worth the paper they're printed on, though they may look very real. The South...
Universal's "unprecedented offer:" Free-ticket sweepstakes
Source: Sentinel
Feb 2, 2009 7:51 am
Universal Orlando says it is giving away 300,000 free seven-day passes, as part of the new "Heroes" ad campaign it launched during yesterday's Super Bowl. The tickets will go to the first 100,000 people who logged on to Universalheroes.com following.…
Prosecutors say informant lied in health care fraud case
Source: Inside Track
Feb 2, 2009 7:49 am
In the Justice Department’s stout-hearted fight against health care fraud in the heart of Hialeah, Orlando Pascual Jr. was the perfect snitch.
Without a guarantor, many landlords left holding holding the bill
Source: Inside Track
Feb 2, 2009 7:48 am
Landlords have been increasingly flexible in working out deals with their struggling retailers during this economic downturn, but when their efforts fail, the dispute often ends up in court.
Cotenancy could drive shopping center landlords into bankruptcy
Source: Inside Track
Feb 2, 2009 7:47 am
As the list of store closings grows exponentially so does the pain felt by landlords because of a common but little known clause in retail leases.
Commercial Real Estate: Stores brace for the worst
Source: Inside Track
Feb 2, 2009 7:46 am
Not too long ago, shopping center owner and developer Joe Carosella had what most real estate investors would want: a retail center in a prime location filled with national stores. But today, that east Fort Lauderdale property sits half empty, and ma…
Macy's about to consolidate, cut jobs: NYPost
Source: Times
Feb 2, 2009 7:08 am
Is retailing giant Macy's about to consolidate regional operations and cut hundreds and possibly thousands of jobs? That's the crux of a New York Post story citing anonymous sources that ran over the weekend. According to the Post, Macy's pared...
Did Tampa's Odyssey Marine find HMS Victory?
Source: Times
Feb 2, 2009 5:48 am
Wake up and good morning. This morning, Feb. 2, in London, Tampa's Odyssey Marine Exploration is expected to announce that it has found HMS Victory, the forerunner of British Admiral Nelson's famous flagship of the same name. The salvage firm...
Watch out for fake government stimulus check in your mailbox
Source: Sun-Sentinel
Feb 2, 2009 5:39 am
Add this to your list of bogus deals to watch out for: Fake stimulus checks in the mail.The checks can be up to $7,000 and aren't worth the paper they're printed on, though they may look very real. The South...
Seminole County CVB has announced new sales team leadership
Source: Sentinel
Feb 1, 2009 4:24 pm
The Seminole County Convention and Visitors Bureau has announced new leadership for its sales team. Danny Trosset, sales and sports marketing manager, and Steve Ryals, sales and marketing manager, will lead the sales and marketing efforts for tourism…
Feds continue to cull weakest Florida banks
Source: Times
Feb 1, 2009 9:54 am
And then there was one less. The failure and immediate sale by regulators on Friday of Ocala National Bank, north of the Tampa Bay area, continued the thinning of the sick from the herd of banks in the state. Ocala...
Mercedes Homes files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy
Source: Times
Jan 31, 2009 12:33 pm
Mercedes Homes, the Melbourne-based private builder that thrived in the Tampa suburbs during the housing boom, filed this week for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in South Florida. The builder numbered its creditors at between 1,000 and 5,000. Fifth…
The Parade of Homes a barometer of new-home market
Source: Herald Tribune
Jan 31, 2009 8:05 am
Today's Letter From Home points out that only 60 models have been entered in the 2009 Parade of Homes of Sarasota and Manatee Counties. And four of those are remodeled houses.
Big brains salute tech that makes things small
Source: Times
Jan 30, 2009 7:07 pm
The world is getting smaller, but this is ridiculous. Five big brains shared their passion Friday morning for nanotechnology — a fancy sounding discipline that makes products and systems ever smaller — at a morning “global technology roundtable…
Torrey Pines opening this weekend in Port St. Lucie
Source: Sentinel
Jan 30, 2009 5:11 pm
Those in the biotech circles may find it noteworthy that tomorrow marks the official grand opening of the Torrey Pines Institute for Molecular Studies in Port St. Lucie. Torrey Pines was the other biotech firm announced as a newbie to...
The Parade of Homes a barometer of new-home market
Source: Herald Tribune
Jan 30, 2009 3:25 pm
Today's Letter From Home points out that only 60 models have been entered in the 2009 Parade of Homes of Sarasota and Manatee Counties. And four of those are remodeled houses.
Peabody exec: Stop picking on tourism bureau
Source: Sentinel
Jan 30, 2009 3:03 pm
From our Political Pulse blog: In case Orange County elected leaders didn't get the message before, The Peabody Orlando Executive Vice President Alan Villaverde sent Commissioner Linda Stewart a letter (Download Villaverde_letter) this week to remind…
Yes, the economy is bad all over, but at least here, we've got THIS:
Source: Herald Tribune
Jan 30, 2009 2:59 pm
Will a lender listen only if you stop paying the mortgage?
Source: Sun-Sentinel
Jan 30, 2009 2:35 pm
Fort Lauderdale real estate agent Jacquelyn Scott is angry. She says homeowners struggling to pay their mortgages aren't getting anywhere when they appeal to their lenders for help. In many cases, Scott said, customer service reps for the banks are…
Congress closer to DTV delay
Source: Sun-Sentinel
Jan 30, 2009 2:18 pm
Call it Digital Television Transition, Round 2: Congress could again be headed toward mandating a four-month delay to the switch from analog to digital broadcasting.The Senate has voted twice for a delay, most recently last night. The House voted no.…
Windjammer Home Builders going out of business
Source: Times
Jan 30, 2009 2:11 pm
Another private luxury home builder has gone out of business, the victim of the industry-wide sclerosis that's robbed builders of their lifeblood. Windjammer Home Builders built in such pricey enclaves as Lake Jovita and Grey Hawk at Lake Polo in...