Florida Trend back issues from February 2004:
Governor's literacy initiative strengthens families: celebration event provides funding.(Special Advertising Report)
Feb 01, 2004; ... Amber Brooks, 25, is a single mother with a plan. "By the time I am 30, I want to have completed my education and put myself on a solid career path," she says. As a teenager, Amber fell into the wrong crowd and never finished school. "I didn't see the point of high school," she ...
Bona fide results.(corner office)(florida trend)
Feb 01, 2004; ... In our 45-year history, FLORIDA TREND has accomplished a lot of firsts. Our most recent "first" confirms that we are committed to presenting the most accurate and authoritative information possible for both our readers and advertisers. FLORIDA TREND and Wine Enthusiast were the ...
Terri Schiavo.(readers)(Letter to the Editor)
Feb 01, 2004; ... In his December editorial "Brilliance and Blindness," Mark Howard missed the larger issue in the Terri Schiavo dispute. This case is not about whether Terri Schiavo should live or die. It is about protecting Floridians from a dangerous legal precedent that will erode the rights of ...
Panama's reputation.(readers)(Letter to the Editor)
Feb 01, 2004 ... As a longtime Miami resident, fourth-generation Panamanian citizen and journalist (founder and editor of La Prensa), I write this letter embarrassed by the incredible violation of journalistic ethics of FLORIDA TREND'S October issue ["Miami's Move," FloridaTrend.com]. On page ...
Correction.(readers)(Correction Notice)
Feb 01, 2004 ... Floridians produce 27 ...
Blending in.(Executive lifestyles: executives at home)(Brief Article)
Feb 01, 2004; ... "I'm kind of a chameleon," says former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Donna Shalala. "I like fitting into the environment where I am." So when Shalala moved to Florida nearly three years ago, she wanted her home to fit in with her new role as president of the ...
On the right track.(Executive lifestyles: executives at home)(collection of toy trains)
Feb 01, 2004; ... Attorney Joel Fass says toy trains are nearly as popular today as they were in their heyday in the 1950s. He should know. An avid collector of Lionel trains himself, Fass still has the train set from his childhood on Long Island in New York. "In my generation, every boy owned a Lionel ...
Staying sharp.(Executive lifestyles: executives at home)(collection of sharpeners)(Brief Article)
Feb 01, 2004; ... A businessman who's running for city commissioner in Coral Springs, where he resides, Roy Gold keeps a busy schedule. An environmental activist in his community, he's spearheaded numerous projects over the years from neighborhood tree-planting programs to securing financing for nature ...
To the dogs.(Executive lifestyles: executives at home)
Feb 01, 2004; ... When Suanne Abeles leaves the Tampa jewelry store she owns and runs with her husband, Jeff, home and hounds await in nearby Odessa. Abeles' passion is her three Irish wolfhounds: Duncan, Indie and Sophie. The unusual giant breed has "absolutely captivated me," says Abeles. "They're really ...
Life of the party: COMCOR event and meeting production.(Trendsetters[TM]: travel and hospitality)
Feb 01, 2004; ... When Mona Meretsky throws a party, it's a production. She ran the post-game All Star bash at a Hollywood hotel last year for 4,000 intimate friends of the National Hockey League. She mapped out flow diagrams for the bars and food stations to shorten lines. She had 18- and 25-foot puppets ...
Growing up together: Orange County convention center.(Trendsetters[TM]: travel and hospitality)
Feb 01, 2004; ... Tom Ackert recently looked at a photograph from 26 years ago of Orange County commissioners visiting the site of the convention center the county had begun building. Whom should he spy in the photo but a college intern for the county, the kid who fetched sandwiches. The intern? Ackert ...
Hitting her own pitches: visit Florida.(Trendsetters[TM]: travel and hospitality)(Brief Article)
Feb 01, 2004; ... Vacation marketer Kerri Post has never been out of the country. When traveling Florida, she stays at boutique hotels and dines at local restaurants. Her last getaway was to Sanibel Island. In short, Post, 40, practices what she pitches. Since 1998, Post has headed new product ...
Catering to the upper crust: a Joy Wallace catering production.(Trendsetters[TM]: travel and hospitality)(Brief Article)
Feb 01, 2004; ... In November, Joy Wallace's catering business took over management of the cafe and gift shop at Vizcaya, a Miami museum and gardens. The cafe isn't large but represents a big departure for a woman who's done her best work out of a truck. Wallace runs one of the nation's standout ...
Bancshares of Florida, the Naples holding company for Citizens National Bank of Southwest Florida and Bank of Florida, named David G. Wallance to replace Thomas Whelan as chief financial officer.(Banking)(Brief Article)
Feb 01, 2004; ... Bancshares of Florida, the Naples holding company for Citizens National Bank of Southwest Florida and Bank of Florida, named David G. Wallace to replace Thomas Whelan as chief financial officer. Whelan, 54, takes on ...
Well-known Tallahassee attorney Steven J. Uhlfelder has been elected chairman of the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board in Washington, D.C.(Education)(Brief Article)
Feb 01, 2004; ... Well-known Tallahassee attorney Steven J. Uhlfelder has been elected chairman of the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board in Washington, D.C. The 12-member board meets ...
First Advantage Corp.(Insurance)(promotions)(Brief Article)
Feb 01, 2004; ... First Advantage Corp. has promoted Bart Valdez and Judy Seldin to new positions at the St. Petersburg company. Valdez, 40, takes over as president of the newly created enterprise screening services division, which provides ...
Arby's president and chief executive, Michael Howe, has resigned.(Restaurants)(Brief Article)
Feb 01, 2004; ... Arby's president and chief executive, Michael Howe, has resigned. The Fort Lauderdale company has named ...
Burdines-Macy.(Retail)(appointment of president)(Brief Article)
Feb 01, 2004; ... Burdines-Macy's named Nirmal K. "Trip" Tripathy president and COO of the Miami department store chain owned by Federated Department Stores. He replaces Michael J. Osborn, who was tapped as ...
Jack Levine, a prominent advocate for Florida children for more than 25 years, has retired as president of Voices for Florida's Children.(Social Services)(Brief Article)
Feb 01, 2004; ... Jack Levine, a prominent advocate for Florida children for more than 25 years, has retired as president of Voices ...
Patricia Higgins has resigned as president and CEO of Tampa-based Switch and Data, a provider of switching equipment and services to telecom and internet companies.(Technology)(Brief Article)
Feb 01, 2004; ... Patricia Higgins has resigned as president and CEO of Tampa-based Switch and Data, a provider of switching equipment and services to telecom and internet companies. She will ...
Alinean.(Technology)(appointment of president)
Feb 01, 2004; ... Alinean, a maker of software for the information technology industry, named Bill Johnston president. He takes over the position from founder Tom ...
Gerry Cahill, 52, was promoted to the newly created position of executive vice president and chief financial officer at Miami-based Carnival Corp. and London-based Carnival PLC.(Tourism)(Brief Article)
Feb 01, 2004; ... Gerry Cahill, 52, was promoted to the newly created position of executive vice president and chief financial officer at Miami-based Carnival Corp. and ...
CSX World Terminals.(Transportation)(appointment of president)(Brief Article)
Feb 01, 2004; ... CSX World Terminals in Jacksonville has promoted Andrew B. Fogarty to president and CEO. He succeeds Robert J. Grassi, who is retiring. Fogarty, 58, joined CSX World Terminals' parent company, CSX Corp., in 1989 and has ...
No bowl of cherries: Tupperware's debt rating takes a hit as the company's financial performance declines.(Retail)
Feb 01, 2004; ... In 1946, inventor Earl Silas Tupper tried to sell his new line of airtight plastic food containers through department and hardware stores. It went nowhere. Shoppers, it turned out, didn't understand how to use the containers' unique seals. Sales languished until the late 1940s, when the ...
Cleaning house: the maligned viatical industry is gaining support among mainstream investment firms.(Insurance)
Feb 01, 2004; ... In the mid-1980s, when the AIDS crisis was at its height, insurance brokers offering terminally ill patients cash upfront for their life insurance death benefits began flocking to Miami. But the "viatical" industry, attracted by the area's large population of seniors and HIV patients, was ...
Two of south Florida's best-known developers, Jorge Perez's The Related Group of Florida and Edward Easton's The Easton Group, have teamed up to build Aventura Marina a 378-unit luxury waterfront condominium community.(Aventura)(Brief Article)
Feb 01, 2004 ... Two of south Florida's best-known developers, Jorge Perez's The Related Group of Florida and Edward Easton's The Easton Group, ...
Pow Wow.(Miami)(Travel Industry Association of America's annual tourism convention)(Brief Article)
Feb 01, 2004 ... Miami will host the Travel Industry Association of America's annual tourism convention--known as the Pow Wow--in 2009. The May 16-20 event is expected to attract close to 6,000 travel agents and tour operators who will book about $3 ...
Grenberg Traurig.(Miami)(employs 1,000 lawyers)
Feb 01, 2004 ... With the opening of an office in Dallas, Miami-based law firm Greenberg Traurig has joined the ranks of ...
Radio Unica Communications Corp.(Miami)(lay-offs)(Brief Article)
Feb 01, 2004 ... Spanish-language broadcaster Radio Unica Communications Corp. (OTCBB-UNCAQ) has laid off 76 people, all in Miami, as it prepares to be acquired by New York's MultiCultural Broadcasting Corp ....
Baseball-only stadium.(Miami-Dade)(finances)(Brief Article)
Feb 01, 2004 ... County and Miami city officials are exploring financing options for a $325-million baseball-only stadium for the Florida Marlins. County commissioners have pledged up ...
Port of Miami.(Miami-Dade)(grants)(Brief Article)
Feb 01, 2004 ... Miami-Dade will receive $2.26 million in grants from the Department of ...
Florida International University.(Miami-Dade)(gets a grant from Kauffman Foundation)(Brief Article)
Feb 01, 2004 ... Florida International University has received a $3-million grant from the Kauffman Foundation to improve entrepreneurial studies at the university. FIU's Global ...
Miami-Dade County School District.(Miami-Dade)(Brief Article)
Feb 01, 2004 ... The Miami-Dade County School District, the state's largest, was the only district in Florida to miss the voter-mandated cap for class sizes in two of the three grade categories. While the district met class-reduction targets within ...
For-profits take over healthy kids program.(Healthcare)(Brief Article)
Feb 01, 2004 ... MIAMI-DADE -- Two for-profit health plans, Amerigroup and Staywell, will take over the county's Healthy Kids program from Jackson Memorial Medical Center, raising concerns that the program's neediest patients will not have access to Jackson's renowned clinics and specialists. Officials of ...
Growing pains: St. Lucie County considers cultivating a niche in grapes.(Agriculture)
Feb 01, 2004; ... A shrinking market, declining prices and increasing pressure to develop agricultural land has the "Grapefruit Capital of the World" rethinking its future in smaller terms. Much smaller. Researchers at the Indian River Research and Education Center in Fort Pierce are hoping to ...
Mizner Park.(Boca Raton)
Feb 01, 2004 ... The landmark Mizner Park office, retail and apartment development is to be sold to ...
1st United Bank.(Boca Raton)(First Western Bank of Cooper city)
Feb 01, 2004 ... 1st United Bank plans to purchase the First ...
Hurricane standards.(Broward County)(Brief Article)
Feb 01, 2004 ... The county's system for ensuring that home blueprints meet county hurricane standards needs improvement, two consultants who reviewed blueprints have concluded. The ...
Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport's south runway.(Broward County)(Brief Article)
Feb 01, 2004 ... After more than 10 years of debate, county commissioners have voted to approve a controversial plan to extend the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport's south runway, though not as far ...
City's police and fire departments.(Cooper City)(Brief Article)
Feb 01, 2004 ... A proposal to allow the Broward Sheriff's Office to absorb the city's police and fire departments has met with opposition from some ...
International Adoption Resources.(Coral Springs)(Brief Article)
Feb 01, 2004 ... State officials have revoked the license of Interc national Adoption Resources ...
Langston Associates.(Delray Beach)(City commissioners have scaled back their contract )(Brief Article)
Feb 01, 2004 ... City commissioners have scaled back their contract with Jacksonville-based Langston Associates after learning they'd ...
Budget cuts.(Fort Lauderdale)(calls for 86 layoffs and the elimination of 100 jobs )(Brief Article)
Feb 01, 2004 ... The city is taking steps to trim back an already austere budget with $12 million in budget cuts. A ...
Donald Trump.(Fort Lauderdale)(contracts to build a hotel and condo tower)(Brief Article)
Feb 01, 2004 ... Developer Donald Trump reportedly has entered into a deal ...
1-cent sales tax increase.(Martin County)(country commissioners plans to purchase the rights to preserve agricultural land from development)(Brief Article)
Feb 01, 2004 ... County commissioners may ask voters to approve a 1-cent sales tax increase to fund the ...
Wastewater disposal.(Pembroke Pines)(Brief Article)
Feb 01, 2004 ... Under the terms of a tentative settlement over a 2001 lawsuit alleging Hollywood overcharged Pembroke Pines ...
Point Blank Body Armor.(Pompano Beach)(opening of third production facility in Broward Country)(Brief Article)
Feb 01, 2004 ... Bulletproof vest maker Point Blank Body Armor is ...
Sewage treatment plant.(Port St. Lucie)(City officials plans to provide 408 acres for the construction)(Brief Article)
Feb 01, 2004 ... City officials are moving forward with plans to annex 408 acres for the ...
Redevelopment plan.(Riviera Beach)(plans to build a $180-million condominium, marina and restaurant complex)(Brief Article)
Feb 01, 2004 ... Broward developer Michael Swerdlow will partner with two local developers to build a ...
Downtown nightclub owners.(West Palm Beach)(Brief Article)
Feb 01, 2004 ... The city gave preliminary approval to a plan that would require ...
Convention center.(West Palm Beach)(planning a deal to bring a hotel to the recently opened $83-million convention center)(Brief Article)
Feb 01, 2004 ... The county is still trying to put together a deal to bring a hotel to the recently opened ...
New college's new age: the small liberal arts college is settling into its post-independence era.(Education)(interview)(Interview)
Feb 01, 2004; ... New College of Florida has faced some jarring changes over the past 2 1/2 years. In mid-2001, the Legislature forced the 650-student public liberal arts school in Sarasota to break its 26-year ties with the University of South Florida. But it still shares some facilities with USF's ...
PCB Bancorp.(Clearwater)(mergers)(Brief Article)
Feb 01, 2004 ... Clearwater-based PCB Bancorp has merged with Montgomery, Ala.-based Colonial BancGroup. The deal is worth about $141 million, with 75% stock and 25% cash. PCB has 16 offices in Florida, most of ...
Pasco Beverage Group.(Dade City)(has decided to sell its chilled juice operation)(Brief Article)
Feb 01, 2004 ... Pasco Beverage Group plans to lay off 250 workers by March and has decided to sell its chilled juice operation to ...
Patricia G. Bean.(Hillsborough County)(the first female county administrator)(Brief Article)
Feb 01, 2004 ... Patricia G. Bean has been named Hillsborough County's first female county administrator. Bean ...
Tourist taxes.(Pinellas County)(Brief Article)
Feb 01, 2004 ... For five years an unnamed out-of-state rental management company sent tourist taxes collected on Pinellas County condo rentals to Hillsborough County by mistake. Hillsborough County has returned $250,000 to ...
Wi-Fi.(St. Petersburg)(finances to get wireless fidelity services)(Brief Article)
Feb 01, 2004 ... St. Petersburg will not be getting the Wi-Fi, or wireless fidelity, zone that the St. Petersburg Downtown Partnership was working on securing. The Wi-Fi zone would enable wireless ...
Bay Pines V.A. Medical Center.(St. Petersburg)(cases against officials)(Brief Article)
Feb 01, 2004 ... The chief of medicine at St. Petersburg's Bay Pines V.A. Medical Center has been reassigned following a federal investigation on charges that he misused money and sexually harassed employees. Dr. Harold L. Kennedy has been ...
St. Petersburg College.(St. Petersburg)(St. Petersburg College is hoping to buy Largo's Coliseum nightclub for $1.55 million)(Brief Article)
Feb 01, 2004 ... St. Petersburg College is hoping to buy Largo's Coliseum nightclub for ...
University of South Florida's College of Business Administration.(Tampa)(the first new construction at the college in nearly 30 years has started)(Brief Article)
Feb 01, 2004 ... The University of South Florida's College of Business Administration broke ground on a 45,000-sq.-ft. addition to Chester H. Ferguson Hall, the first new ...
Atlanta-based construction companies Aviation Constructors and ACI Commercial, a division of Aviation Constructors that builds educational and commercial projects, are moving their headquarters to Tampa this month.(Tampa)(Brief Article)
Feb 01, 2004 ... Atlanta-based construction companies Aviation Constructors and ACI Commercial, a division of Aviation Constructors that builds educational and commercial projects, are moving their ...
University of South Florida.(Tampa)(financing options for Research Experience for Teachers program)(Brief Article)
Feb 01, 2004 ... The National Science Foundation has given the University of South Florida a $446,593 grant to continue training teachers in engineering ...
Kforce.(Tampa)(mergers)(Brief Article)
Feb 01, 2004 ... Staffing company Kforce (Nasdaq-KFRC) bought Novato, Calif.-based Hall, Kinion & Associates for $65 million. Hall, Kinion had ...
Tropicana moves.(Agriculture)(Pepsico, is moving the juice maker's headquarters to Chicago)(Brief Article)
Feb 01, 2004 ... BRADENTON -- Tropicana Products' parent company, Pepsico, is moving the juice maker's headquarters to Chicago. Tropicana had been based in Bradenton for 56 years. About 275 people will be laid off ...
A matter of intent: hotels can't claim agricultural exemptions on land they plan to develop, says Orange's property appraiser.(Property Rights)
Feb 01, 2004; ... Owners of some high-profile vacant Orange County land are learning the end may be near for a time-honored way to cut their property taxes. Several large hotel companies have lost battles to have undeveloped tracts on which they someday plan to build hotels deemed agricultural ...