Planet Hollywood & Margaritavlle Vie For Hollywood
(CBS 4 Miami © 03/16/2010)
A beachfront battle is underway in Hollywood over 6 acres of city-owned land. And the battle has a celebrity flair. In one corner is Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville project. The project builds on Buffett's brand with its first ever hotel. The project also includes two restaurants and other amenities like a swimming pool, tiki bar and a seaplane to add to the beach theme. "That's t...
Flagler OKs, unveils new county logo
(Daytona Beach News-Journal © 03/16/2010)
BUNNELL -- It's official: Flagler County is the proud owner of a new logo. The county's new marketing logo approved Monday features the sun, sea and eco-tourism and will supplement the county's longtime potato seal. Since kicking off a contest in September for residents to create the new logo, officials received 113 entries. And on Monday, commissioners awarded the top three entrants -- Kim Fi...
Collier tourism board: We need more money
(Ft. Myers-WBBH (NBC) © 03/16/2010)
COLLIER COUNTY: Collier County's 36 miles of coastline is the number one draw for tourists but getting the out-of-towners to Southwest Florida doesn't come cheap and if the county can't afford to advertise, the visitors are going elsewhere. Collier's marketing and advertising budget, one of a handful of budgets, comes from the tourism tax which pulls in an estimated $13 million&nb...
Senate President Jeff Atwater Indicates Offshore Drilling Bill Will Be a Tough Sell
(Lakeland Ledger © 03/16/2010) (Registration Required)
TALLAHASSEE | Senate President Jeff Atwater said Monday that the debate on oil drilling in Florida waters should be shaped by a recent report that said that new drilling would "have no discernible impact" on gas prices. Atwater has never appeared to be a strong proponent of oil drilling, saying last year when the proposal appeared late in session that it needed more vetting and then calling for a ...
Struggling cruise industry gets back into shipshape
(Miami Herald © 03/16/2010) (Registration Required)
Last week, Kevin Sheehan, the chief executive officer of Norwegian Cruise Line, opened an e-mail from his pricing guru with an update on ticket prices and bookings. ``Yee-haw,' wrote Crane Gladding, an NCL senior vice president. At least one corner of the Florida economy is showing some pizazz: the battered cruise industry. After the worst-ever downturn for the South Florida-based industry...
Three more rare tigers are sick at Chinese zoo where 11 starved to death
(Oregonian © 03/16/2010)
(AP) — BEIJING - State media say Chinese zookeepers are struggling to save three seriously ill tigers at a cash-strapped zoo where 11 animals starved to death recently. The three tigers are shedding fur, had lost their appetites and were listless, the official Xinhua News Agency reported late Monday. 11 of the zoo's 30 tigers starved to death in the past three months because staff at the ...
Trump condo-hotel on Fort Lauderdale beach faces foreclosure
(Orlando Sentinel © 03/16/2010) (Registration Required)
By Doreen Hemlock, Sun Sentinel 3:01 AM EDT, March 16, 2010 The unfinished Trump International Hotel & Tower on Fort Lauderdale beach is facing foreclosure, after developers defaulted on a $139 million loan on the long-awaited condo-hotel project. The new mortgage holder filed for foreclosure against the d...
Council OKs UWF museum delay
(Pensacola News Journal © 03/16/2010)
A new funding plan for the Community Maritime Park that delays the building of the maritime museum for 3-5 years is moving forward. The Pensacola City Council on Monday unanimously signed off on a conceptual plan, but will revisit it soon to more specifically define what alternative projects will be built on the park site with New Market Tax Credit proceeds instead of a museum. The University of...
Loggerhead turtles have chance at protection
(Sarasota Herald-Tribune © 03/16/2010) (Registration Required)
Science showing steep declines in the number of loggerhead sea turtles may not be enough for the animal to achieve endangered status under federal law. Despite data showing the loggerhead's decline over decades, commercial interests, especially from the fishing industry, could derail the government's proposal. The National Marine Fisheries Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will pu...
Kissimmee distressed hotel trashed by squatters, vandals
(South Florida Business Journal © 03/16/2010) (Registration Required)
A foreclosed Kissimmee luxury hotel whose former owner had two separate bankruptcy cases dismissed last year now faces up to $5 million in damages after vandals broke units’ doors, took appliances, destroyed air-conditioning units to steal the copper wiring and created a mess inside the buildings. The South Beach Orlando Luxury Suites, a colorful 144-unit hotel property on U.S. Highway 192...
Boca Raton hotel's beloved 350-pound turtle sculpture missing
(South Florida Sun-Sentinel © 03/16/2010) (Registration Required)
Boca Raton Ten-year-old Milton went missing more than two weeks ago. He's 5-feet-5, 350 pounds and has a greenish-yellow tint to his skin, police said. Oh, and he's made of concrete. Milton is the beloved reptilian mascot of the Bridge Hotel, a 121-room boutique property on East Camino Real by the A1A bridge. The hotel's former owners commissioned sculptor Todd Warner, a regular guest, t...
Maritime symposium opens Wednesday | StAugustine.com
(St. Augustine Record © 03/16/2010)
In its fourth year, the Northeast Florida Symposium on Maritime Archaeology is once again gathering scholars from around the United States to present in the nation's oldest port. The free event, based at the St. Augustine Lighthouse & Museum, will be Wednesday through Saturday, with ptopics of shipwrecks, culture, geography and naval history. On Wednesday, Christopher Amer will deliver t...
Inaugural cruise from Port of Palm Beach launches new era of Bahamas destination trips
(Stuart News © 03/16/2010)
RIVIERA BEACH — Here's a to-the-point assessment of the Bahamas Celebration cruise ship, courtesy of 19-year-old passenger Therese Agpoon: "It's amazing." Granted, Agpoon didn't have much to go by. When the Canadian tourist boarded the nine-deck, 500-cabin ship on Monday at the Port of Palm Beach, she was celebrating her first voyage aboard any cruise line. But in a sense, every one of the ...
Aquarium scores record attendance
(Tampa Tribune © 03/16/2010)
TAMPA - The Florida Aquarium heads toward its 15-year anniversary on March 31 with momentum from record attendance for a February: 57,485 visitors, a 31 percent increase from February 2009. Aquarium officials credit patrons seeking value during the poor economy as a key for increased attendance, with the recent cold and gloomy weather bolstering indoor activities. "People are still looking for ...
