Talk of the bay
By Times staff writers
Published March 27, 2006
Danka CEO leaves well-compensated
Todd Mavis became CEO of Danka Business Systems two years ago when his predecessor decided to focus on seminary studies.
But it's Mavis who got the heavenly severance package.
Mavis, 44, parted ways with the St. Petersburg copier distributor this month. In exchange for promises not to sue or compete with the company, he received a package worth more than $1.3-million. That's what his employment contract said he would get if let go "without cause."
In a 2004 interview, the information technology veteran said his top priority as Danka CEO was "cost, cost, cost." A company news release announcing his departure said he had done "a good job under very difficult conditions" and "driven substantial cost out of the business."
- SCOTT BARANCIK, Times staff writer
Will rat resurface over Progress' contractor policy?During Progress Energy Inc.'s annual shareholders meeting last year in St. Petersburg, union representatives set up a couple of giant inflatable rats nearby to protest the company's use of an outside contractor at its Crystal River nuclear plant.
No word on whether the rats will make an encore at this year's meeting on May 10 in Raleigh, N.C. But a shareholder proposal by the AFL-CIO promises that the issue will be discussed.
The proposal asks shareholders to urge Progress to adopt a "responsible contractor policy" to improve safety and security at the company's nuclear power plants, including the nuclear plant at its Crystal River power complex. The policy would ban using contractors with a history of regulatory violations.
The proposal was spurred by last year's arrests of six employees at the Crystal River complex on various immigration violations. At least three of the employees, who were hired by Progress contractor Brock Enterprises of Beaumont, Texas, were discovered to be using fake Social Security numbers.
The proposal follows allegations of shoddy security by another contractor at Progress' Shearon Harris nuclear plant near Raleigh. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is looking into alleged security breaches at the plant.
Progress is urging shareholders to reject the AFL-CIO's proposal, saying its procedures to review the suitability of contractors ensures the safety and security of its plants.
- LOUIS HAU, Times staff writer
Gallagher, Crist align themselves with insurance settlementGood news travels fast. And sometimes in pairs.
The press releases arrived March 19 within hours of each other, like newborn fraternal twins. One read "(Tom) Gallagher Announces $8-million In Restitution." The other, "(Charlie) Crist Announces $171.7-Million Nationwide Insurance Bid-Rigging Settlement."
The subject was the same: a settlement with insurance giant Zurich American based on an investigation that began two years ago in New York.
For Gallagher, Florida's chief financial officer, and Crist, the state's attorney general, this was welcome news. So they took advantage of it.
Florida and eight other states, including New York, reached a $171.7-million settlement with Zurich American after the company was accused of submitting fake quotes for commercial insurance polices.
The initial investigation began in 2004 when New York Attorney General Elliot Spitzer revealed a widespread bid-rigging scheme. Spitzer also targeted insurance broker Marsh & McLennan, which agreed to pay $850-million in restitution a year ago.
Florida consumers will get about $8-million from the Zurich settlement. The amount the state gets from the Marsh settlement has not been determined.
In the meantime, Crist and Gallagher fired off dueling press releases March 14: "Crist Files Bid-Rigging Action Against Marsh & McLennan" and "Gallagher Takes Action Against Nation's Largest Broker For Bid-rigging and Pay-to-Play Schemes."
Translation: Crist, Gallagher and the Office of Insurance Regulation had filed a joint racketeering and antitrust lawsuit against Marsh.
Oh, had we mentioned Crist and Gallagher are rival Republican candidates for governor?
- TOM ZUCCO, Times staff writer
Doing business in Tampa Bay area is relatively cheapWorkers of the Tampa Bay area: You work cheaply. So cheaply that the region was the second most economical place to do business among 23 major U.S. cities.
Lower office rents and state taxes played a part, but bargain-priced labor was key to Tampa's success in the rankings compiled by tax and audit firm KPMG LLP.
With 2.5-million people, Tampa scored 96.5 in a look at metro areas with populations greater than 1.5-million people. It ranked just a hair behind front-runner Atlanta and a smidgen ahead of third-place Indianapolis.
On KPMG's scale, 100 represents the national average of business operating costs. That means Tampa came in 3.5 percent below that benchmark.
The region's relatively low average pay - $36,900 per year - is a mixed blessing to business recruiters. It's an attractive selling point until you consider employees will struggle to buy houses whose prices have shot up by nearly a third in the past year.
KPMG's most expensive cities to do business aren't exactly shockers: Boston, San Jose, Calif., and New York City, all of which had higher-than-average labor costs.
But the higher wages there don't mean they're more affordable: Ever try to buy a three-bedroom in Silicon Valley or a condominium in midtown Manhattan?
- JAMES THORNER, Times staff writer
New flooring store sets a high ceilingAmericans' newfound yen for flashy hard surface floors - wood, laminate, tile, porcelain, granite, and marble - has spawned a high-profile startup that makes its debut this week in the Tampa Bay area.
Floor & Decor Outlets opens Friday in a former Roberd's Furniture store in Brandon and struck a deal for a second store in a former Target on Drew Street in Clearwater that opens late this summer.
Controlled by private-equity fund Saugatuck Capital, the chain brings a mass-merchant mentality to an industry dominated by smaller flooring stores that typically buy through layers of import intermediaries.
Floor & Decor Outlets offers do-it-yourself clinics and low-price guarantees from a third-party installer. It also doesn't sell carpets, only area rugs. The selection spans 20 to 50 choices of each surface, such as 40 types of travertine limestone.
"We deal directly with quarries or manufacturers so we can bring pricing down in a big-box store setting more like you would see at a Lowe's," said Michael Froning, chief executive of the chain, which plans to expand from seven to 15 stores this year. "People moved away from carpet because it's harder to clean and harbors mold."
If Froning sounds familiar, he rose from heading Circuit City in Florida to that chain's southern division president 10 years ago. A Tampa Bay Buccaneers season ticket holder all that time, he commutes to his company's Atlanta headquarters from a home in Oldsmar.
- MARK ALBRIGHT, Times staff writer
Outback name change could boost stock priceBell Atlantic and GTE abandoned their Baby Bell roots in 2000 to become Verizon. Philip Morris stubbed out its name in 2002 to become Altria. SBC went retro last year when it dusted off "AT&T" after a merger.
Now Outback Steakhouse Inc. is getting in on the action.
In January, the Tampa company's board agreed to change its corporate name to OSI Restaurant Partners Inc., pending shareholder approval. The name "better reflects the company's businesses," Outback said in its proxy statement.
True, Outback isn't the same company it was back in 1987. It has seven distinct restaurant concepts today, including Bonefish Grill and Carrabba's Italian Grill, and it's possible some casual investors might not know that.
What Outback didn't add is that American diners are losing interest in its flagship steakhouse - branding guru Scott Bedbury has been hired to diagnose the problem - and that the company's stock may be suffering by association.
For both reasons, downplaying "Outback" may be a smart move.
- SCOTT BARANCIK, Times staff writer
Raytheon unlikely to rehire recently laid-off workersThirty-nine workers were scheduled to be laid off at Raytheon's operations in Pinellas County on March 24, the first cutback in about a year. The layoffs mainly affected production employees at the Largo plant; before the cuts, the company had about 800 workers in Largo and 900 at its two plants in St. Petersburg.
The folks who got the pink slips might be encouraged by results of a recent survey by Right Management Associates, a consulting firm that is helping Raytheon's salaried workers hit by the cuts. The firm, a subsidiary of Manpower Inc., found that more employers are rehiring laid-off workers than in the past, even dubbing them "Boomerangs."
But the numbers being rehired are still small, about one in 10, according to the survey. And union members at Raytheon already have been told they shouldn't expect to come bouncing back anytime soon.
- KRIS HUNDLEY, Times staff writer
For protecting data, this solution sticksThere are high-tech ways to protect data, and at least one low-tech method.
Thumb drives, little devices that plug in to a computer's Universal Serial Bus, or USB, ports, have become increasingly popular for moving and sharing data. But they also can be a security headache for network administrators and businesses.
Giving a brief demonstration last week in Tampa of the upcoming Windows Vista operating system, James Cuomo, a technical specialist for Microsoft, showed how the software could be set up so administrators could control who could use the devices and on what machines.
The reason that's important, Cuomo said, is because some businesses have taken more drastic steps.
"Companies are filling USB slots with epoxy," he said, to laughter from the group of chief information officers.
- DAVE GUSSOW, Times staff writer