Around the Bay
Business news from around Tampa Bay
By Times Staff Writer
Published April 30, 2007
Pasco County
No Merck, but county might get millions
Losing out on a bunch of high-paying jobs last year could end up being worth millions to Pasco County. Florida lawmakers hashing out the state's budget have agreed to give the county $7.5-million to lure companies with high-paying jobs. Pasco officials sought the money after a research venture between drugmaker Merck and the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute picked Hillsborough County over Pasco as its home in December. After that decision, the county asked lawmakers for $10-million to lure industry and promised to match it with $2.5-million in county dollars. The goal: to create a pool of money to entice and help pay for big companies to take root in Pasco, although no specific uses have been unveiled. It's not a done deal, though, as the House, Senate and Gov. Charlie Crist must approve it, but after being doubtful of even winning money this year - a handout for a single county provoked skepticism - Pasco officials called it a coup. "There are no strings attached to it, there are no matching dollars tied to it, other than it has to be used for economic development," said state Sen. Mike Fasano, R-New Port Richey, chairman of a joint committee that hammered out differences between the House and Senate spending plan.
St. Petersburg
Life events can help us go green
Susan Huff had an awakening 20 years ago that unintentionally led her to a green business career. "I was nutritionally deficient and had an eating disorder," Huff said. "Then I started eating organic and it was a huge change, emotionally and physically. But I didn't do it because I wanted to be a better person. I did it because I had to." Huff's dietary shift later transformed into Midtown Munchies and now Integrity Organics, a restaurant and meal plan business she runs from two locations along Fourth Street N. Huff said her organics customers are realizing that their bodies are worth caring for more than their possessions. "My cell phone can go down, but if my body does, I've got problems," she said. "You put people in enough pain and they'll change."
St. Petersburg
Hubs for scrubs do bustling business
When Phyllis Gagliardo opened her medical scrubs business two years ago in the shadow of St. Anthony's Hospital, she had one concept of the enterprise. Then life happened. "Originally, it was going to be a wholesale business," she said from her tiny storefront on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Street. "Then the shop took on a life of its own." Gagliardo is now moving Scrubs * Duds to a refurbished location five times larger on Fourth Street. She has gone from a back-office commodity operation to more of a boutique for institutional clothing and medical accessories. Once just bland, shapeless uniforms, scrubs have started to diversify, as has the customer base. Gagliardo sells to maintenance and lawn service workers looking for something comfortable to wear, while others are getting into fashion scrubs. "There's quite a bit more fashion than you would think," said Sue DeJarnette, who is getting ready to expand Scrubs N Stuff on Tyrone Boulevard. "I'm surprised what people will wear, even lace, but a lot of the business is not the blood-and-guts side."
HERNANDO COUNTY
Students get early insight to hiring deal
High school seniors can reap the benefits of a number of programs that ready them for the workplace or college. At Hernando High School, one of those programs involves putting graduating seniors through exit interviews. The guidance staff and community business volunteers come together each year to interview the students. Student preparation begins as early as the 10th grade, when many students fill out employment applications for the first time. Students are told that going into a fast-food joint, wearing T-shirts and sandals and scribbling stuff on a one-sheet application, isn't much like what happens in many real-world situations. "They need to prepare and plan," says Chris Kostis, Hernando guidance counselor. Real estate agent Jack Gavish, tax collector administrator Sally Daniel, retired culinary teacher Sue Oxendorf and media specialist Jan Mazourek gave up a recent morning to interview marketing and business students. They consider appearance and preparedness first. "We do that with real prospective employees," Daniel said. "All employers want appropriate appearance." Students assemble resumes, autobiographies, career goal essays and a portfolio of accomplishments of which they're proud, principal Betty Harper said.
Spring Hill
Duo combine candy and flowers for gifts
There's no longer any need for the serious gift-giver to juggle flowers in one hand and chocolates in the other. The Candy Bouquet combines these two items in creative arrangements for any occasion. Colorfully wrapped candies mimic flowers in bouquets, from bud vases showy with three solid chocolate roses to a Thanks a Million basket with candy wrapped in mock dollar bills. Terry Majewski of Crystal River and Daniel Onieu of Brooksville have teamed up to open the franchise at 6139 Deltona Blvd., Castagnolli Court 5, just off Cortez Boulevard. Majewski, a registered nurse at Citrus Memorial Health System in Inverness, noticed a Candy Bouquet gift delivered to a patient at the hospital. "I thought it was so neat," she said. She brought the idea to Onieu, a certified medical technologist at the same hospital, who agreed, and a partnership soon was born. They researched franchises and settled on Candy Bouquet, based in Little Rock, Ark. Among the company's clientele are former President Clinton. Sweet arrangements, from $24.95 to $59.95, are "for all occasions or no occasion," Onieu said.