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Dateline Florida

A look at news from around the state.

By Times staff and wires
Published December 19, 2006

WORKERS SAY HIGH-RISES CAN'T SPOOK THEM

People feel safe living and working in skyscrapers even if they believe tall buildings may be terrorist targets, according to a University of Florida study. Graduate student Brandon Moore interviewed 384 people in downtown Tampa as the five-year anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks approached. Fifty-seven percent said they considered high-rises to be vulnerable, but an even larger number, 60 percent, reported feeling safe. Sixty-five percent said they are "proud" of America's tall buildings.

Grouper scam lands executive in prison

Selling catfish as grouper will cost the owner of two Panama City seafood companies 51 months in prison and $1.1-million in restitution. Danny Nguyen, 32, admitted selling more than a million pounds of catfish labeled as grouper. Nguyen imported catfish cheaply from Vietnam. Once the fish made it to Nguyen's warehouses, it was relabeled grouper and sold at the premium price that grouper commands in the United States. He also avoided high import taxes on catfish.

FAMU trustees near choice of a president

More than two years after Florida A&M University president Fred Gainous was fired, the school's trustees are close to picking someone to lead the troubled institution, the state's only historically black public college. The three finalists, chosen from a pool of six, are former FAMU provost and alumnus James Ammons, chancellor of North Carolina Central University; Thelma Thompson, president of the University of Maryland at Eastern Shore; and Howard C. Johnson, provost for the University of North Texas. Trustees on Feb. 1 will interview the three. They might select a president right away or wait until March 8. Until then, interim president Castell Bryant will stay.

[Last modified December 19, 2006, 05:49:17]