- October 13, 2024
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Cape Coral fires manager
The Cape Coral City Council fired City Manager Gary King without cause following a raucous special meeting Dec. 2 that was punctuated by shouting from the audience.
The move came after two union-backed candidates recently won seats on the city council. King was appointed by pro-business council members in 2010 and had taken an adversarial position with the city's unionized employees in budget negotiations.
King's contract calls for him to be paid $82,979 if he's terminated without cause, including six months of salary and benefits. Steve Pohlman has been named interim city manager while the city seeks a replacement.
NeoGenomics grows
Fort Myers-based cancer-testing firm NeoGenomics recently told investors it expects to be profitable in the fourth quarter because of surging revenues.
NeoGenomics expects revenues could rise 40% or more in the fourth quarter compared with the same period one year ago thanks to accelerating growth in October and November. That compares to 30% growth in the third quarter and 23% growth in the second quarter over the same periods in 2010.
“This growth is broad-based, and is the result of a variety of growth initiatives we have made over the last 18 months,” says Doug VanOort, chairman and CEO of NeoGenomics.
NeoGenomics' stock is publicly traded (symbol: NGNM; recent price, $1.35). The company operates laboratories in Fort Myers, Irvine, Calif., and Nashville, Tenn.
Lee building permits grow
Builders pulled 34 permits to build single-family homes in Lee County in November, according to the Lee County Community Development Department.
Although the number of single-family residential construction permits remains low relative to the boom years, November's tally was 48% more than the 23 permits during the same month a year ago.
The value of permits for commercial-building construction rose 29% to $1.8 million in November compared with November 2010.
Tech Data exits Brazil
Tech Data Corp., a Clearwater-based technology distribution firm, plans to shutter its operations in Brazil, according to a release from the company.
“The closure is due to Brazil's complex tax, legal and regulatory environments, which make it difficult for the company to generate a sufficient return on invested capital,” a company release says.
The firm will continue to do business with companies in Brazil, but will handle those transactions as export business.
Losses in operating income, foreign currency exchange and taxes due to the closure may drop Tech Data's operating income for the quarter by $45 million.
Windstream lays off 58
Windstream Corp., a Little Rock, Ark.-based telecom services provider, plans to lay off 58 at the Palm Harbor-based PAETEC Holding Corp., which it recently acquired for $2.3 billion.
Windstream's Palm Harbor location employs around 130, meaning it will cut more than one-third of the facility's work force during the first quarter and early second quarter of 2012, according to a mass layoff notice.
The firm plans to lay off a total of 280 employees nationwide over the next four months and does not plan to close the location in Palm Harbor, says company spokesman David Avery.
Frontier connects TIA to KC
Frontier Airlines will offer nonstop service between Tampa International Airport and Kansas City International Airport beginning in February, according to a release from the company.
Frontier will operate two flights a week between Feb. 15 and April 14 with one-way base fares beginning at $99.
CNNgo.com recently ranked TIA sixth on “The World's Most Loved Airports” list.
County approves contract
The Sarasota County Commission officially approved a contract with its new administrator, Randall Reid.
The current Alachua County administrator, Reid is expected to start in Sarasota by late January and earn an annual salary of $190,000. He replaces county administrator Jim Ley, who resigned in May amid a procurement scandal after 14 years in the position.
Reid says his priorities include continuing the purchasing department overhaul started earlier this year by interim county administrator Terry Lewis.
More incentives proposed
The Manatee County Commission could add $125,000 to the pool of incentives already offered to the firm behind a hotel redevelopment project in downtown Bradenton.
The project is the old Manatee River Hotel, known locally as the Pink Palace. Syracuse, N.Y.-based Widewaters Group plans to turn the building into a 115-room Hampton Inn & Suites, a $17 million project. The Bradenton Downtown Development Authority previously agreed to provide Widewaters with $1 million in incentives and roughly $1.5 million in tax rebates, if it completes the project.
Housing data improves
Sarasota County reported a large rise in both the number and value of single-family building permits issued in October 2011 over 2010.
The county issued 30 permits in October, up 57.9% from October 2010, when it issued 19 permits. The value of the permits in October 2011 was $4.82 million, up 52.4% from October 2010, when the value was $3.18 million. The data is from a monthly report provided by the county's office of financial planning.
The annualized data for October is an improvement over the year-to-year report on single-family building permits for September. That month showed a decrease in both the number and value of the permits.
