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Results for:

  • By Elizabeth King |
  • January 23, 2026
Ringling College names new president

Davis Schneiderman will be the globally known arts college's seventh president in 95 years.

  • Manatee-Sarasota
  • For Subscribers Only
  • By Matt Walsh |
  • June 3, 2023
Legislature goes big and bold

It took 25 years to achieve the Holy Grails of tort reform and universal school choice. Florida will be better off because of both landmark laws.

  • Opinion
  • For Subscribers Only
  • By Business Observer Staff |
  • December 21, 2007
Coffee Talk

Sarasota County freezes impact fees: Lower revenues have some local governments rethinking some of their high fees.CEO buys $1 million worth of Chico's stock: It's always a good sign to see a CEO buy $1 million worth of the stock of the company he runs, especially when that company is Chico's FAS.Vulture funds circling residential: Don't look now, but the downturn in the residential real estate market has vulture investors circling Tampa Bay, trying to buy lots on the cheap.Environmental activist may run for county seat: Jono Miller, a well-known Gulf Coast environmental activist, tells Coffee Talk he is giving "serious consideration" to running for the Sarasota County Commission in 2008.Ideal Image finishing strong: Tampa-based Ideal Image, the laser hair removal chain, is finishing 2007 strong, boosting same-store sales revenues 28% over 2006.WCI gets reprieve from lenders: WCI Communities got a one-month extension from lenders to Jan. 7 to renegotiate the terms of its loans.Lawsuit abuse issue lingers: Lobbying groups fighting for Florida tort reform have even more evidence that frivolous lawsuits, even the threat of one, is bad for both businesses and consumers.

  • News
  • For Subscribers Only
  • By Business Observer Staff |
  • May 11, 2007
Coffee Talk

Pray we don't have a hurricane. That's the best thing we can count on now that the state has decided to compete with private insurance companies to write residential and commercial property insurance, says Florida Rep. Trudi Williams, the Republican who represents portions of Lee and Collier counties.ReadyAlert Services co-founder Happy Rideout told the Review last year he expected 2007 to be a defining year for the Largo-based emergency text messaging company.Now it looks like company revenue might pass the $1 million mark this year.Andrew Greenwell must have been absent the day they taught baby steps in infant school. Not yet 24 years old, the commercial real estate broker is leaving Corporate Realty Group, the Sarasota firm he co-founded with his aunt in 2004, to open his own shop. Sarasota-based electronics manufacturer Teltronics was recently recognized by a national magazine for its success in selling phone switches and circuits to government offices and agencies.If you want to know where the next category-3 hurricane is most likely to hit, ask the people who bet their money on such probabilities. At Intrade.com, speculators can bet on the chances of numerous events coming to pass. Sarasota Association of Realtors President Joe Hembree admits that numbers can be spun nearly any which way the spinner would like, and that's certainly true in monthly real estate sales figures released by countless local agencies throughout the Gul

  • News
  • For Subscribers Only
  • By Adam Hughes |
  • June 19, 2006
Coffee Talk

Name change, 2.0: The DOS Computer Center is getting a name upgrade.Sparkling ethics: Most would agree that Gary Trippe is one of the most ethical people around, which is why few will begrudge him keeping a $10,000 diamond he won at an ethics-award banquet.Wealthy people have feelings: The majority of the wealthiest Americans - and Floridians - are pessimistic when it comes to the housing market (who isn't?) yet as a group, these big spenders are almost at record high-levels when it comes to being optimistic about the overall economy.Mercantile pays premium: Quincy, Ill.-based Mercantile Bancorp paid a healthy premium for Naples-based Royal Palm Bancorp of Naples-about three times book value.Really smart people: Sarasota-based New College is Florida's honors college, so by definition, the school has a lot of smart people walking around its leafy campus a few miles north of downtown Sarasota.Sailing delayed: Material delays and labor shortages have forced Bonita Springs-based Expoships to move up the inaugural sailing of its Grand Luxe ship from December 2006 to June 2007.Money in the bank: It's much too early to count the cash, but organizers of the not-yet-chartered Insignia Bank have reason to feel positive.Lead by doing: Surveys and polls from various outlets show the poor numbers when it comes to employee job satisfaction.Insurer to grow in Florida: At a time when insurance companies and brokers are figurin

  • News
  • For Subscribers Only
  • By Adam Hughes |
  • August 26, 2005
A Good Trade-in

Clearwater entrepreneur Peter Vosotas used to sell business software. That was before he saw the real money was in sub-prime automobile finance.

  • Entrepreneurs
  • For Subscribers Only
  • By Business Observer Staff |
  • December 4, 2008
Coffee Talk

+ The Grinch thatnearly stole FGCUPolitical correctness is still alive and well in academia. + Gulf Coast buildertakes on fedsIn the past 40 years, Charlotte County homebuilder Earl Snyder has survived three housing busts that brought down many of his construction brethren. + Gulf Coast buildertakes on fedsIn the past 40 years, Charlotte County homebuilder Earl Snyder has survived three housing busts that brought down many of his construction brethren.+ An international vacationand a cheap surgery?Rob Pariseau, chief executive of Tampa-based Benefits Solutions Group, told Coffee Talk about an emerging health care business trend: Medical tourism.+ Foreclosure feverabates in LeeMaybe lenders in Lee County running out of houses to foreclose on.+ Foreclosure feverabates in LeeMaybe lenders in Lee County running out of houses to foreclose on.+ Builders lobbying grouphires new leaderThe Gulf Coast Builders Exchange, an advocacy and lobbying group for developers, builders and construction firms, sees 2009 as a growth year - despite the fact that many members, both current and potential new ones, are desperately seeking ways to cut back on expenses. New banking twist:Roll out the proTampa-based HomeBanc will unveil two new branches in Tampa Monday, Dec. 8.+ Lee County'sland shopping spreeWho says there are no real estate buyers?+ Top-notch talentwary of move to Tampa

  • News
  • For Subscribers Only
  • By Business Observer Staff |
  • February 6, 2004
Repeat Performance?

Coast Bank of Florida stumbled in 2003 after going public, a familiar situation for founder Gerald L. Anthony.

  • Entrepreneurs
  • For Subscribers Only
  • By Business Observer Staff |
  • November 28, 2003
Strategic Decisions

American Land Lease Inc. officials decided three years ago to centralize their operations as a self-administered, self-managed real estate investment trust. The strategy worked.

  • Entrepreneurs
  • For Subscribers Only
  • By Grier Ferguson |
  • January 29, 2021
Professional organizers see increase in demand fueled by pandemic, popular culture

Area organizers expect the increased demand to continue into 2021 and beyond.

  • Strategies
  • For Subscribers Only
  • By Grier Ferguson |
  • May 10, 2019
As Florida continues to reel from citrus greening, growers, processors and researchers explore another option — lemons

Members of Florida's citrus industry are planting more lemon trees to capitalize on the fruit's many uses.

  • Strategies
  • For Subscribers Only
  • By Andrew Warfield |
  • March 29, 2019
Regional craft brewery taps into hidden pent-up demand

Fort Myers Brewing was the first brewery and taproom in Southwest Florida. After going through two five-year business plans in six years business is still hopping.

  • Strategies
  • For Subscribers Only
  • By Business Observer Staff |
  • October 13, 2006
How Low will it Go?

Bonita Bay Group Chairman David Lucas says homebuilders and developers should be prepared to weather a downturn that could last two years.

  • Entrepreneurs
  • For Subscribers Only
  • By Business Observer Staff |
  • September 7, 2007
Island Fever

A group of influential Naples investors is buying a small bank in Marco Island that it will use to expand into the rest of Southwest Florida. Recent bad loans won't scuttle the deal.

  • Entrepreneurs
  • For Subscribers Only
  • By Jay Brady |
  • February 25, 2011
New Economy Budget

Legislators take a stab at Gov. Rick Scott's two-year 'jobs budget' that cuts spending, begins the end of the corporate income tax, and sends $2 billion back to taxpayers to spur growth.

  • Florida
  • For Subscribers Only
  • By Mark Gordon |
  • June 12, 2025
3 accomplished Sarasota leaders set to retire — and get more sleep

Decades of top-level leadership will be taking a step back in the coming months with a trio of retirements: Roxie Jerde, Larry Thompson and Teri Hansen. Lessons learned are legion.

  • Leadership
  • For Subscribers Only
  • By Carl Cronan |
  • February 25, 2011
Towering Success

Once marked as a potential victim of the condo bust, the Towers of Channelside avoided the auction block and are on their way to being sold out.

  • Commercial Real Estate
  • For Subscribers Only
  • By Kevin McQuaid |
  • June 29, 2018
Mercury Advisors saw opportunity in Tampa's Channel District early

Mercury Advisors' belief in the Channel District dates back to 2003, long before it developed the two-building Grand Central at Kennedy or the 22-story Channel Club.

  • Commercial Real Estate
  • For Subscribers Only
  • By Mark Gordon |
  • July 28, 2024
Manatee County entrepreneur buys 333 rural acres for $2.5M

In the week's top commercial real estate news, a self-storage company is building six facilities, St. Petersburg apartment complex The Drake sold, and a boutique hotel is scheduled to open this fall in Naples.

  • Florida
  • For Subscribers Only
  • By Andrew Warfield |
  • February 25, 2025
More than 550 multifamily units proposed for North Trail in Sarasota

A developer has had a pre-application conference with city staff for a planned 300-unit complex between 17th and 18th streets along North Tamiami Trail.

  • Manatee-Sarasota
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