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Talk of the bay: Prime property casts net for new captain

By Times Staff
Published October 26, 2007

It was once the Imperial Yacht Basin, then New Port Tampa Bay, but today the 52-acre property on the Tampa side of the Gandy Bridge is for sale. EcoGroup, developers of New Port Tampa Bay, blames "market-driven factors that have impacted the company's original plans." Translation: The housing market tanked. Originally unveiled as a waterfront community complete with marina and hotel off Westshore Boulevard, the project is zoned for 1,750 residences and 240,000 square feet of commercial. St. Petersburg developer Grady Pridgen bought the land in 2004 for $25-million, got it rezoned and sold it to EcoGroup a year later for $54-million.

Insurer settles in bid-rigging case

Florida and seven other states have reached a settlement with an insurance carrier involved in a "pay to play" tactic used with Marsh & McLennan and other insurance brokers. ACE Group Holdings Inc. and its subsidiaries will pay a multistate task force $4.5-million to resolve allegations of bid-rigging and price-fixing in the commercial insurance market that resulted in higher premiums being paid by Florida governmental entities, companies and nonprofit organizations. ACE allegedly conspired with Marsh and other brokers by submitting fake bids to create the illusion of a competitive bidding process.

Scientists renew energy decree

Making renewable energy 15 percent of our power will lower electricity costs and reduce greenhouse gas pollution, the Union of Concerned Scientists said Thursday. The Union of Concerned Scientists analysis said that such a bill could save consumers more than $13-billion and reduce global warming pollution by 126-million metric tons per year by 2020, the equivalent of taking 21-million cars off the road. A bill requiring electricity producers to get 15 percent of their energy from renewables by 2020 passed the U.S. House of Representatives, which is not trying to craft a compromise bill. Gov. Charlie Crist signed an executive order this summer requiring Florida's utilities to get 20 percent of their power from renewables. But the deadline, and the definition of renewables, is still under debate.

[Last modified October 25, 2007, 22:42:56]