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Hilton Altamonte Springs

350 South North Lake Boulevard,Altamonte Springs, Florida,USA, 32701-5297

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Wednesday, October 29, 2008

BAD TIME TO BUY

The Florida pension fund, which pays retirement benefits to teachers and state and city workers, lost $280 million on Enron stock that was purchased by Alliance Capital, one of many money managers that invested for the fund. The fund has filed suit against Alliance Capital in state court, accusing the firm of being negligent by not doing its homework on Enron before the company filed for bankruptcy protection.

But Nelson, D-Fla., pressed Florida officials about why they didn't insist that Alliance sell the Enron stock as one stretch of bad news after another drove down the stock price last fall. Trent Webster, a portfolio manager for the state, wrote a memo in October saying recent Enron purchases were a mistake.

"A stock that is falling when the company has accounting problems is almost always a bad time to buy," he wrote to his supervisors.

But that information was not conveyed to Alliance in a meeting just a few days later, according to Alliance's top executive on the Florida account, Al Harrison.Tom Herndon, executive director of the state board, and his deputy, Coleman Stipanovich, said they monitored Alliance's overall performance but couldn't possibly oversee every stock decision."We give managers full discretion, and we pay them well," Stipanovich said. "We are not stock pickers. That's what we hire them for."

The state officials and the Alliance executives, with their vastly different views of fault, sat side by side at the witness table. It was the same witness table where top Enron officials have testified -- or sought protection under the Fifth Amendment -- in previous hearings.

Monday, October 20, 2008

Florida Island Roads

The 3-mile eastern section of the J. Earle Bowden Way (State Road 399) on Santa Rosa Island to Opal Beach is currently closed because of damages caused by Hurricanes Gustav and Ike. However, road work from the west end to Opal Beach is scheduled to begin first week of October 2008. Sand removal from parking lot #1 should begin shortly. The Fort Pickens Road on Santa Rosa Island is closed but a road contractor was selected in September 2008. After preliminary work is completed, the actual road work is scheduled to begin the fall of 2008 and reopened to the public in 2009. This work all depends on weather and island conditions.

Florida Animal Control Division

The Animal Control Division is responsible for picking up stray dogs and cats, investigating animal bites, abandonment, animal cruelty cases and other complaints.Our goal is to keep all owned animals confined to their property and to ensure animals are vaccinated and licensed. Our objectives are:

To minimize the risk of rabies outbreaks and threats to the public health and safety by vaccinating the majority of dogs and cats against the disease.
To reduce the number of dogs and cats euthanized at the Humane Societies.
To provide a pro-active response to dangerous dogs to reduce the number of animal bites
To provide the public with a timely response to complaints and adequate follow-up to ensure complaint resolution.
To promote responsible pet ownership.

Animal Control Officers must complete a 40-hour certification course before becoming an Animal Control Officer and a minimum of 4 hours of refresher training per year to stay certified.

Animal Control picks up approximately 1,200 animals each year and transports them to the local humane societies. Countywide, approximately 15,000 dogs and cats are destroyed each year due to a lack of homes. If you are interested in adopting a pet or volunteering at one of the humane societies, see the More Information section below.

Monday, October 13, 2008

West-Central Florida Coastal Studies Project Celebrates Successful Conclusion

A celebration was held on March 16 at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)'s Center for Coastal and Watershed Studies in St. Petersburg, FL, to commemorate the conclusion of a 5-year collaborative study between the USGS, the University of South Florida (USF), and Eckerd College. The West-Central Florida Coastal Studies Project was undertaken to investigate the geologic history of the west-central Florida coast and the processes that control the distribution of sediment and the formation of barrier islands in this heavily developed region, where high rates of beach erosion have become a major concern.

Project participants sought to better understand the recent geologic history of the region's barrier-island system and its natural variation, sea-floor bathymetry, surficial-sediment distribution, and subsurface stratigraphy, as well as water circulation and its interaction with the coastal inner-shelf system. Numerical models developed from the project help describe the responses of west-central Florida's continental-shelf circulation and sea level to storms and varying seasonal conditions.

Thursday, October 09, 2008

Florida's Researchers and Professionals

Welcome to the State of Florida's newly redesigned and updated health care website, at the Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA). The new design brings together two websites, FloridaHealthStat.com and FloridaCompareCare.gov into a new central site.

Florida is a national leader in making health care information available to the public. This can help consumers make informed decisions about their health care choices, play an important role in driving improvements in quality of care, and can help reduce health care costs.

Friday, October 03, 2008

Pasco County Office of Tourism

At the northern end of the Tampa Bay area, beautiful Pasco County is close to major cities but far from the hustle and bustle. Visit Pasco and enjoy Florida the way it used to be. Acres of pristine wilderness with biking, hiking and canoeing trails. Historic downtowns with fine restaurants and antique shops and dozens of family-oriented activities and sporting events year 'round. Pasco County is home to world-class tennis and golf resorts, including Saddlebrook Resort & Spa, one of Conde Nast Traveler's Top 100 and Lake Jovita, the Florida course that plays like North Carolina.

Enjoy cultural treasures, such as the Historic Courthouse, built in 1909 in beautiful downtown Dade City and the Pioneer Florida Museum, home to period buildings dating to 1878. Experience historic walking tours of downtown New Port Richey, boat tours of the Pithlachascotee River and trolley tours in downtown Dade City. See the World War II Barracks Museum in Zephyrhills, the St. Leo Abbey & Grotto in St. Leo and an original "Cracker House'' in Holiday. Camp at Starkey Wilderness Park, cast your fishing line at Anclote River Park, paddle a kayak at Werner Boyce Salt Spring State Park. Hike the Suncoast Trail, visit spots along the Great Florida Birding Trail or charter a deep sea fishing excursion.

From the beaches on the Gulf Coast to scenic rivers like the Withlacoochee in the east to one of the world's premier drop zones at Sky Dive City, Pasco has something for everyone. See local and national acts perform at the Show Palace in Hudson and historic Richey Suncoast Theater in New Port Richey. Savor locally-made wines at the Florida Estates Winery in Land O' Lakes. Enjoy dozens of unique festivals, including Chasco Fiesta in New Port Richey and the Kumquat Festival and Little Everglades Steeplechase in Dade City.

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