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Cryo-Cell, MOSI partner
Oldsmar-based Cryo-Cell International Inc. is teaming up with Tampa's Museum of Science and Industry on an educational exhibit on stem cells and regenerative science.
Cryo-Cell is an established private family cord blood bank and is considered a pioneer in the stem-cell industry.
Along with its signature cryopreservation service involving stem cells from umbilical cords, Cryo-Cell also conducts research into harvesting and preserving stem cells from menstrual blood.
The MOSI exhibit will focus on explaining what stem cells are and how they can be used to repair vital organs. It will also address the current stem-cell debate and describe their potential future use.
Dais plans to hire 200
Dais Analytic Corp., an Odessa-based firm that develops nanotechnology for cleaning air and water, announced it is hiring up to 200 people to produce water filtration systems under a $48-million contract with CAST Systems Control Technology Co. and Genertec-America.
The company plans to eventually hire 1,000 personnel, which would make it Pasco County's largest manufacturer, according to the Pasco Economic Development Council. Dais Analytic previously won a $200-million contract to sell air filtration equipment to the Chinese government, which owns Genertec.
Dais Analytic has operated in the Tampa Bay area since 1998 after getting its start at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, N.Y. The company currently has 20 employees.
TBWA lays off 20
The Tampa Bay Workforce Alliance, which is assigned to help local displaced workers, has laid off 20 managers of its own in the wake of an ongoing investigation into how its funding. The affected workers may be allowed to reapply for positions once the organization is restructured.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the state Agency for Workforce Innovation and the U.S. Department of Labor are looking into allegations of lavish spending and improper contracts. The TBWA most recently canceled a contract with Strategywise, a Tallahassee consulting firm that secured more than $2 million worth of business since 2007.
County faces cuts
Manatee County Administrator Ed Hunzeker recently told local officials that the county's budget for the next fiscal year will likely come up $16 million short due to a decrease in property taxes.
In response to the shortfall the county is considering pairing $8 million in budget cuts with $8 million in reserves. The county's annual budget, which was more than $605 million in 2007, was $510 million last year.
Hunzeker expects to present the Manatee County Commission with a proposal for a balanced budget by May.
Officials shift funds
Sarasota County officials have reallocated $3.6 million previously earmarked for affordable housing projects.
The money will instead go toward ongoing jobs and business recruitment programs run by the Economic Development Corp. of Sarasota County. The EDC also receives funding through private business taxes.
The money was made available because the county recently received $23 million in federal stimulus funds to buy foreclosed homes. That allowed the county to shift $8.5 million it made from the sale of tax-delinquent lots, which were funds initially earmarked for affordable housing projects.
Local development denied
The Sarasota Planning Commission voted down a large-scale development proposal to expand the residential aspect of Lakewood Ranch, an east Manatee County-based master planned community.
The developers of Lakewood Ranch, Schroeder-Manatee Ranch, are seeking to build at least 5,100 homes between 2012 and 2027 on lots south of University Parkway in eastern Sarasota County. The project, The Villages of Lakewood Ranch South, is the first one to be brought forward under Sarasota County's 2050 plan, which was designed to preserve open space and prevent sprawl.
The planning commission recommended denial to three aspects of the project, including its development of regional impact proposal. The project can still move forward, however, if the Sarasota County Commission approves it. The commission is scheduled to consider the project by the end of April.
Lee County plan
Lee County has started reviewing its comprehensive land-use plan, an assessment that occurs once every seven years.
The Lee County Division of Planning will hold a series of workshops starting this month to evaluate future development issues that aren't addressed by the current plan.
The workshops will be held through the middle of May. To view a list of workshops and to sign up for regular updates via email, visit www.leegov.com/dcd.
Charity gives $6 million
The Naples Children & Education Foundation distributed nearly $6 million to children's charities in Collier County at a ceremony in Naples.
The foundation, which holds the annual Winter Wine Festival, gave the money to 20 charities. Since it was founded 10 years ago, the organization has raised $82.5 million and the money has benefited 100,000 children with programs in early learning, medical and oral health, out-of-school programs and behavioral health.
More online visitors
The Lee County Visitor & Convention Bureau has launched a new consumer Web site, www.fortmyers-sanibel.com.
More than one million people visited the tourist Web site last year, which now features a 12-second introductory video and new tools for planning and booking a stay in the Fort Myers area.
The bureau created the site with marketing agency BVK and Miles Media.
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