IDN Summit set for ChampionsGate

     The evolving landscape of the healthcare industry has spawned no shortage of perspectives on whether each of the various changes are good or bad for the future of healthcare. The IDN Summit and Reverse Expo brings together senior healthcare executives and their GPO and supplier partners to improve healthcare delivery through a more effective supply chain, which includes managing change for the best possible outcome and the chance for greater future opportunities.
    With this in mind, the 2012 Spring IDN Summit & Reverse Expo will focus on a theme of "Change Brings Opportunity" when it takes place April 23-25 at the Omni Orlando Resort at ChampionsGate. The IDN Summit is partnering with renowned business educator Jack Welch Management Institute at Strayer University to bring in-person world-acclaimed business leadership instruction to the 2012 Spring IDN Summit.
     "IDN Summit attendees are being confronted by incredible challenges shaping the very climate and culture of the healthcare supply chain," said John Kelly, CEO, Bluegrass Business Media. "Having an educational partner of this caliber contributing to the 2012 Spring educational program helps IDN Summit provide attendees with some of the information, education and insight so critical to their daily strategic thinking and decision-making processes."
     Read more here and here.

Florida No.4 in exporting

    Florida remained the nation’s fourth-largest export state with a record $64.8 billion in origin exports last year, according to Enterprise Florida  Enterprise Florida Latest from The Business Journals Bankers, Tampa small business owners talk credit at upcoming workshopIncentive payments provide 0M in benefits for area firmsBelinda Keiser appointed to Enterprise Florida board Follow this company Inc, according to this report in the Orlando Business Journal.
With a 17 percent increase in exports compared with 2010, Florida only trailed Texas, California and New York. Florida ranked fourth in exports in 2010 as well.

ootii to launch playable version of social media game

    St. Cloud -- ootii LLC, the Central Florida gaming studio that got its start at the University of Central Florida’s Interactive Entertainment Academy, will launch a playable version of its new social media game on March 6 that targets avid social gamers, the “hardcore” of the online gaming phenomenon.
    Timothy Tryzbiak, co-founder of ootii, said avid or “hardcore” social gamers represent a growing niche of traditional gamers who are shifting time from console and PC games to games on the social platforms.
“ootii is offering this market segment an action-oriented alternative we think they will find compelling,” Tryzbiak said.
    Dubbed Relic Ball, the demo version of the game has an ulterior motive: gamers who play the mini-version are asked to provide developers with feedback.
    “Relic Ball is a skills based action game where players travel the world and discover ancient artifacts by interacting with the environment in real time,” Tryzbiak said.
    “In the full release, users create custom content and gain rewards as other players solve and rate the adventures they create. That’s unique in the social games market,” Tryzbiak explained.
    The playable demo will allow users to travel to select destinations and solve physics-based puzzles as they avoid flaming traps, leap huge chasms, and search for lost relics.
    Tryzbiak said the demo will be available on Facebook March 6. The full version of Relic Ball is scheduled for release in June.
     ootii LLC is a client company of the UCF Business Incubator in St. Cloud.

Avatar Holdings becomes AV Homes

KISSIMMEE – With nearly 80 years of history behind it, builder and developer Avatar Holdings Inc. is changing its name. The new company name is AV Homes Inc., and its shares began trading on NASDAQ under the ticker symbol AVHI earlier this month.     According to Avatar’s announcement, the new name will better communicate the company’s business identity to its customers, while still keeping a reference to its long history. It says the name change is just one part of a campaign to position the company for the expected recovery in the new home market.     Founded in 1933, AV Holdings endured the Great Depression and operates in a number of business sectors, such as finance, insurance, utilities and manufacturing. AV Homes Inc., based in Kissimmee, is engaged in homebuilding, land development and other real estate operations in Florida and Arizona. Recently, the company set its sights on active adult communities for people 55 and older, as well as move-up buyers.     When asked about the name change on Wednesday, company Vice President Carl Mulac told the Orlando Sentinel that it cost the company “a lot” to compete online because most Internet searchers for “Avatar” brought up websites dedicated to the popular movie.

SBA 504 Loans Hit Record Low Interest Rate for February

    TALLAHASSEE.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Small Business Administration's (SBA) 504 loan program is providing stable, long-term, fixed rate financing for commercial real estate and the purchase of other capital fixed assets at the lowest interest rate since the program's inception.
    The debenture bonds that funded this month’s 20-year 504 loans were sold to investors at an interest rate of 2.63%, falling below the previous record of 2.76% set in October of 2011.     The official interest rates for 20-year 504 loans should be published by Feb. 14. It is expected the low rate for the debenture bond sales this month will result in an estimated effective interest rate for small business borrowers – including servicing fees – of only 4.70% for 20-year standard loans and 4.91% for 20-year refinance loans. The official 10-year 504 interest rates (which are published bimonthly and were set last month) are only 3.81% for standard loans and 4.34% for refinance loans. Both the 20- and 10-year SBA rates are fixed for the term of the loan and require as little as a 10% borrower down payment.
     SBA 504 loans are paired with private-sector commercial loans, providing up to $5 million of small business financing for standard projects and up to $5.5 million for green initiative and small manufacturer projects (SBA loan portions only; there is no limit on overall project size).
Proceeds from 504 loans may be used for the purchase or refinance of owner-occupied commercial real estate, heavy duty machinery and equipment and other capital fixed assets that have a useful life span of at least 10 years.

    “There is no better deal available today to small business owners looking to purchase commercial real estate, expand existing facilities or upgrade heavy duty equipment,” said Todd Kocourek, president & CEO of Florida First Capital Finance Corporation. “I urge any business owner who is seeking financing for capital fixed assets to take a strong look at the 504 loan program.”

U.S. Chamber Ranks Florida's Workforce & Job Training No. 1

Florida earned the top spot in the second annual Enterprising States report just released by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Chamber Foundation. After being ranked No. 2 last year for its workforce and training, the Sunshine State moved into the lead based on measures including job placement, the affordability and efficiency of its higher education system and the number of high school students enrolled in advanced placement courses. The nationwide report also touted Florida's Quick Response Training Program. Full story here.

Growth rate slows: BEBR

Florida's growth has slowed to its lowest level in more than 60 years, and the rate is expected to steadily decline through 2040 although the state again was a national leader in population gain during the past decade, according to a study released Monday. The University of Florida's Bureau of Economic and Business Research analyzed U.S. Census figures that show the state's permanent population increased by more than 2.8 million, or 17.6 percent, to 18.8 million between 2000 and 2010. That was the third-largest increase overall and eighth-biggest on a percentage basis among the states, but Florida's growth rate dropped significantly during the last few years of the decade. Full story in the Ledger here.

Unemployment rate holds state in January

   Florida's statewide unemployment rate remained virtually unchanged in January, falling to 11.9 percent, down just a bit from December's rate of 12 percent, the Orlando Sentinel reports. The figure represents about 1.1 million jobless out of total labor force of 9.3 million, the Florida Agency for Workforce Innovation said Thursday. Total non-agricultural employment in January dropped by 12,900 jobs from the previous month, but it is up about 8,400 positions from a year earlier. In Metro Orlando, the jobless rate rose to 11.7 percent, up from 11.5 percent in December. But the region led the state in year-over-year job gains.
   University of Central Florida economist Sean Snaith likened the job market to a jet preparing for takeoff. The doors have been sealed, seatbacks are in the upright and locked position, and now everyone is waiting for clearance from the tower. Snaith expects that to happen sometime in the next several months.
   "We're seeing movement in the right direction," said Snaith, the director of UCF's Institute for Economic Competitiveness. "This is just the beginning, and our recovery will continue to build over the course of the year."

Recovery will take time

Florida's recovery from the worst economic downturn since the 1930s is going to take a little longer than previously expected, but it is coming, a panel of economists said Monday in this report from the News Service of Florida.

Florida Opportunity Fund

The Florida Opportunity Fund has made a commitment of $3 million to 5AM Ventures II, according to TechJournalSouth.com. 5AM is a bioscience venture capital fund that recently completed an investment with a life sciences startup company in South Florida. The Florida Opportunity Fund has announced five investments from the States $29.5 million fund. Fund managers have been on an aggressive schedule since 2009 to make commitments that will attract more venture dollars to the State.

Robotics at Celebration Health

Celebration Health is a global leader in robotic surgery. The Global Robotics Institute is gearing up for the 5th Annual World Robotics Symposium is April 11-14, 2010. Get more info about registration, accommodations and more at http://www.globalroboticsinstitute.com/en/symposium-2010 or see a video here http://www.youtube.com/user/CelebrationHealth

Florida education gets good grade

Good news on the education front to start off the New Year!
Three years ago, the "Quality Counts" study conducted by Education Week magazine ranked Florida's public schools as 31st in the nation when it came to the caliber of education. Wednesday, the report card was a vast improvement, ranking Florida as the 8th-best in the nation, according to officials with Education Week. Overall, Education Week reported that Florida's grade was a B-minus.
Here's a link to the story.
http://bbn.frn.com/fis/storydisplay.asp?site=&storyID=10926

Chris Hart heading OTTED

   Chris Hart is taking over as head of the Governor's Office of Tourism, Trade and Economic Development (OTTED). According the Miami Herald, he is stepping in for Dale Brill, who is leaving to serve as president of the Florida Chamber of Commerce Foundation. He started in his new post Monday.
    Hart, president and CEO of Workforce Florida since November 2007, will serve as interim OTTED director -- a move that Brill said he and the governor agreed will serve the state well because it puts Hart over both workforce and economic development.
   "Now is the time to better align the state's workforce and economic development efforts," Crist said in a released statement. "Chris Hart has the necessary experience and expertise to bring the two efforts together."
   Hart, a former state Representative from Hillsborough County, worked from 2004 to 2007 for Enterprise Florida, the state's public/private economic development arm. He has a bachelor's degree from Florida State and a master's in business from the University of South Florida.
   "Talent is our competitive advantage," Hart said. "And we need to have better links between a market-based economy and the policies for economic development."

Biomass in Manatee and the Carolinas

According to BioMass Digest, the Florida  Public Service Commission approved a $185 million biomass project to be built in Manatee by Florida Biomass Energy. The 60 megawatt project will utilize woody biomass and energy crops as feedstock, and will commence construction in spring 2010 on a 35-acre complex in the Port Manatee area.

Meanwhile Progress Energy Carolinas has sent out an RFP for 40-75 MW in woody biomass-based power, from independent power producers, to come online in 2013. There is a drive to add renewable power capacity as North Carolina progresses towards its 12.5 percent renewables mandate in 2020. PEC seeks to acquire 100 percent of the power, plus renewable energy certificates (RECs) from the producer. capacity.

Harmony featured in Thursday webinar

Harmony will be featured as trends and innovations in the solar market and future possibilities are the focus of a live, free webinar on Thursday, November 12 from 1 – 2 p.m. ET.

To be presented by Enterprise Florida and Greentech Media, a Cambridge, Mass.-based online media company focusing on green technology news and analysis, “New Ideas in Solar” also will highlight Florida’s innovations in clean energy including:

 Emerging solar technology research areas in academia
 Effects of university-developer partnerships on new utility-scale solar technologies
 Lessons learned by a first-mover in the solar feed-in tariff market.