County mayor blockedThree judges upheld an earlier judge's decision to remove a charter amendment from the November ballot that would allow voters to decide whether Hillsborough County should move to a county mayor form of government.Zoo audit requestedThe head of Tampa's Lowry Park Zoo, Lex Salisbury, is being asked to prove that his entrepreneurial work in Polk County hasn't created a conflict with the taxpayer-backed zoo.Annual budget doneFor the second consecutive year, Manatee County commissioners have approved a budget that will decrease countywide spending.New LWR anchor storeOne of the largest retail commercial developments in east Manatee County, Lakewood Ranch's Main Street, is getting a new anchor tenant.Mega-dorm at Ave MariaAve Maria University, the new Catholic institution in east Collier County, plans to build a 552-student "mega-dorm."Lee housing gets absorbedTwo areas particularly hard hit by the real estate decline in Lee County - Cape Coral and Lehigh Acres - showed strong gains in sales of single-family homes in August, according to the Southwest Florida Real Estate Investors Association.
