Print

Email story

Comment

Letter to the editor

Talk of the bay: Biotech bash ends without Crist sighting

By Times Staff
Published October 18, 2007

BioFlorida's annual meeting ended Wednesday in Weston, attracting 470 attendees and one big No-Show. Gov. Charlie Crist did not put in an appearance or send an emissary to the industry that received more than $1-billion in state and local incentives and high-profile support under his predecessor, Jeb Bush. Weaver Gaines, one of the biotech trade association's founders 10 years ago, said the industry will have to convince Crist that supporting biotech would not make him "Bush Lite." "At the moment, Gov. Crist is transfixed with property tax issues, budget shortfalls and insurance premiums," Gaines said. "But getting a percent of his mindshare is an uphill fight." A Crist spokeswoman said the governor has been busy with the special session.

Senate blows off windstorm bill

For those of you hoping the federal government would step in and help ease Florida's property insurance crisis, this is a setback. A U.S. Senate proposal that would have added windstorm coverage to the National Flood Insurance Program was withdrawn at the last minute Wednesday because sponsors said it didn't have enough support. The windstorm provision is "tremendously important" to coastal states that are vulnerable to hurricanes, Sen. Mel Martinez, R-Fla., said before the amendment was withdrawn. "People in Florida don't realize it's very difficult to get senators who are not from coastal areas to support" the windstorm coverage. About 40 percent of the flood program's roughly 5-million policyholders are in Florida. Still on the table is a bill by Martinez and Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., to establish a commission to make recommendations about national catastrophe coverage.

Firehouse morphs into hot night spot

More than two decades after a restored red brick firehouse in downtown St. Petersburg was designed to house a destination restaurant, the first slick restaurant and nightspot finally is moving in. De Santo, a 200-seat Latin American bistro with a chef hailing from Monterrey, Mexico, opens in November at 128 Third St. S in McNulty Station. The two-story restaurant and ultra-lounge upstairs will have a rooftop deck featuring an open-air bar and a street-level courtyard with fountains hidden behind a bamboo hedge. "I looked literally all over the country for a building just like this," said Doug Illman, managing partner of the group pouring $2-million into the remodeling.

[Last modified October 17, 2007, 23:16:53]