HUD offers homeowners hope
(Daytona Beach News-Journal © 10/02/2008)
Homeowners in Volusia and Flagler counties who are in danger of losing their homes because they owe more than they're worth -- known as being upside down -- may be eligible for new fixed-rate mortgages backed by the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development. However, those homeowners must first persuade their original lenders to voluntarily write off the difference and accept a loss. Th...

White collar or blue, more folks are taking the bus
(St. Petersburg Times © 10/02/2008)
TAMPA It's nearly 7:30 a.m., time for the bus to leave the station. A handful of riders take their seats on the Route 30 bus at the Northwest Transfer Center. The bus goes to downtown Tampa with stops at Tampa International Airport and WestShore Plaza. • Riding the bus is more popular than ever. Routes are more frequent. The rush hour ride to downtown Tampa couldn't be any easier. Hillsborough A...

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Line in the sand
(Gainesville Sun © 10/02/2008)
Mark Rosenberg is wrapping up his stint as chancellor of the State University System. By way of parting advice, he is counseling the Board of Governors not to lift the system's cap on freshman enrollment. That cap, Rosenberg told the board recently, is "a line in the sand for quality." The board is under pressure to lift the cap of 38,500 new freshmen annually. Board members are hearing fro...

UCF taps its first medical student
(Orlando Sentinel © 10/02/2008)
The first student in the first class at the University of Central Florida's fledgling medical school is already familiar with the campus. Katherine Ferstadt, a UCF senior, took the early-admissions route to emerge from a field of more than 3,000 applicants from across the country vying for a spot in the inaugural class of 40 medical students starting school in fall 2009. That's the class...

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A Flawed Teacher Merit Policy
(Tampa Tribune © 10/02/2008)
In 2007 the Florida Legislature approved the Merit Award Program (MAP), which attempts to reward Florida teachers who prove, through a combination of student test score analysis and evaluation by administrators, that they have been successful in helping their students make academic gains. Meeting this criteria, which includes a quantitative analysis of student test scores in which at least 60 pe...

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People in need get help at Project Homeless Connect
(BelleAire Bee © 10/02/2008)
CLEARWATER The Watford family packed their belongings into their two cars a few weeks ago and moved to Clearwater from New Jersey to start a new life where there is warm weather, palm trees and dolphins. But along the way, food, gas and lodging ate through their savings, and a history of bad credit made it difficult to find housing in Clearwater, even with a Section 8 vouch...

White collar or blue, more folks are taking the bus
(St. Petersburg Times © 10/02/2008)
TAMPA It's nearly 7:30 a.m., time for the bus to leave the station. A handful of riders take their seats on the Route 30 bus at the Northwest Transfer Center. The bus goes to downtown Tampa with stops at Tampa International Airport and WestShore Plaza. • Riding the bus is more popular than ever. Routes are more frequent. The rush hour ride to downtown Tampa couldn't be any easier. Hillsborough A...

State takes over Tampa Medicare HMO
(St. Petersburg Times © 10/02/2008)
The state of Florida has taken over a Tampa HMO because it is insolvent and has no cash flow, regulators said Tuesday. MD Medicare Choice served 16,000 Floridians on Medicare, including 1,700 in the Tampa Bay area, federal officials said. To avoid interruption of care, clients will be transferred today to a similar Medicare HMO run by Humana. They can keep their primary doctors through the end...

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HUD offers homeowners hope
(Daytona Beach News-Journal © 10/02/2008)
Homeowners in Volusia and Flagler counties who are in danger of losing their homes because they owe more than they're worth -- known as being upside down -- may be eligible for new fixed-rate mortgages backed by the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development. However, those homeowners must first persuade their original lenders to voluntarily write off the difference and accept a loss. Th...

Hearing begins on tapping St. Johns
(Florida Times-Union © 10/02/2008)
SANFORD - A high-stakes legal fight over using St. Johns River water in Central Florida utilities opened Wednesday with lawyers arguing about the need for and impact of the river withdrawal.     An administrative law judge could spend most of this month hearing witnesses before deciding which argument should prevail. The St. Johns Riv...

10/02/08 - City of Miami to Receive $12.06mn in Housing Relief
(South Florida CEO © 10/02/2008)
MIAMI, FL - The City of Miami was notified that it will receive $12.06 million in Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) to combat the widespread effects of foreclosures as part of the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development’s (HUD) new Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) under the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008. Once the federal government issues specific guidelines ...

Self-Contained, 41,300-Acre Community Proposed for Osceola
(Lakeland Ledger © 10/02/2008)
KISSIMMEE | In an effort to deal with a rising population and a shrinking amount of environmentally protected land, Osceola County is hoping to take a new approach, by creating a community that combines high density housing with plenty of protected green space. LINK CONSULTING THIS VACANT FIELD?in southern Osceola County is ...

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