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Hotels make top list
The Ritz Carlton in Sarasota and the Sandpearl Resort in Clearwater were ranked among the top 10 hotels worldwide in a survey of 275,000 Expedia.com customer reviews.
Sandpearl ranked eighth worldwide and seventh in North America while the Ritz placed third worldwide and second on the continent.
Allstate expanding
While some insurers have been leaving Florida or shrinking their presence in the state, Allstate recently said it would add more offices along the Gulf Coast as part of an effort to add 100 more offices in Florida.
Allstate wants to write more policies for automobiles, boats, motorcycles and recreational vehicles.
The company is Florida's second-largest auto insurer with about 1.7 million policies.
Prices expected to fall
Tampa home prices will likely fall through 2010 because of the sagging economy and lack of demand, according to a report from PMI Mortgage Insurance Co.
The report placed Tampa in the top 10 cities with the highest chance for lower prices. Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Orlando and Jacksonville also made the list. All 10 cities have a 99% chance of falling home sales.
Others cities in the top 10 are Los Angeles, Riverside and Santa Ana in California; Las Vegas; and Phoenix.
In January, Tampa Bay area home prices fell 23.3% percent, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller home-price index. The index showed prices fell an average of 19% from January 2008 through January 2009.
Lower prices are sparking sales — up 23% in Tampa Bay in February, according to the Florida Association of Realtors.
Associations team up
Two trade groups in the local homebuilding industry are merging, following an industry-wide trend of consolidations and cutbacks.
The Home Builders Association of Manatee County and the Sarasota Building Industry Association will now be a dual-county organization, pending approval from the state and national homebuilder organizations.
A merger of both groups had actually been talked about for several years, but officials said the recession finally enabled the boards of both groups to make the move.
The combined organization, the Home Builders Association of Manatee-Sarasota, will have a Lakewood Ranch headquarters. It will open with about 600 members, the result of companies and entities that held memberships in both organizations.
Nadel denies allegations
Sarasota financier Arthur Nadel, currently being held in federal prison in New York on charges that he bilked investors out of more than $300 million, officially denied much of the allegations against him in recent court documents.
Nadel, in a letter sent to the judge hearing his case, claimed the losses suffered by investors were market-based, not a product of fraud. He wrote that until the market collapse of late 2008 and early 2009, the investors in his six funds actually made money.
Nadel is awaiting a trial on securities and wire fraud charges. He is also facing civil charges in the case.
Mack undergoes surgery
U.S. Rep. Connie Mack, R-Fort Myers, underwent surgery for a deviated septum, his office said on April 6.
The septum is situated in the center of the nose and it sometimes deviates to one side. When it's severe, it can block one side of the nose and impair breathing, according to the Mayo Clinic.
Mack, who was the first in Congress to call recently for the resignation of U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, underwent outpatient surgery to relieve his condition and is recuperating at his home in Fort Myers.
Lee commission fights miner
The Lee County Commission hired the West Palm Beach-based law firm of Lewis, Longman & Walker at a cost of $100,000 to fight a mining application by Resource Conservation Holdings.
The mining company was granted a water permit by the South Florida Water Management District for washing mined rock on land it owns off Corkscrew Road in South Lee County, demonstrating that it would not harm nearby wells.
However, Lee County commissioners decided to fight the permit because they believe it will harm nearby water supplies. The vote to approve paying the firm was a narrow 3-2, with commissioners Brian Bigelow and Frank Mann dissenting.
Building permits still slow
Residential- and commercial-construction activity in Lee County remained anemic in March, recent permit numbers show.
Builders in Lee County pulled 20 permits for single-family homes in March, 52% fewer than the 42 they pulled in March 2008, according to the Lee County Community Development Department.
The county issued permits for 16 multi-family units, down 33% from the 24 it issued in the same month last year.
Commercial builders pulled permits valued at $1.1 million, down 83% from the $6.4 million worth they pulled in March 2008.
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