Feb. 2, 2009

REGISTER TODAY FOR THE Q1 COMMUNITY ECONOMIC BRIEFING – The Volusia County Department of Economic Development will brief business, banking, education and local government leaders at 7:45 a.m. Friday, Feb. 6, in the Volusia Room at Daytona Beach International Airport. The briefing will highlight the area’s employment trends, commercial and residential building activities, and residential foreclosure rates for October, November and December 2008. The seating for this event is limited to 120 registrants. To reserve your seat, please call the Department of Economic Development at (386) 248-8048 by Wednesday, Feb. 4. Breakfast will be provided.

SURVIVAL TIPS FOR SMALL BUSINESSES – The Florida Small Business Development Center (SBDC) Network offers five survival tips for small business owner in today's economy: 1) Analyze strengths and weaknesses; 2) Stay focused on strengths; 3) Narrow your target customer base; 4) Utilize cost-effective e-mail marketing; and 5) Cross-sell all products/services to your existing customer to increase sales. The SBDC at Daytona State College hosts a television series providing information, ideas, and resources for current or potential business owners. The program airs Tuesdays at 7:30 pm on WDSC Channel 15, and rebroadcasts at 4 p.m. Saturdays.

LANDSHARK SPRING SURFARI – The LandShark Spring Surfari Pro will be April 1 - 5 in New Smyrna Beach. The five-day beach festival will be hosted by the Smyrna Surfari Club, which is celebrating 30 years in New Smyrna Beach as a philanthropic organization. The club has contributed more than $90,000 in local scholarships since its inception. The most recent pro-surfing event in New Smyrna Beach was the Aloe Up Cup in 1989. For more information or to be a sponsor of the LandShark Spring Surfari Pro, contact Karen Clancy at (386) 690-0561 or e-mail her at nsbkclancy@earthlink.net.

FIRST-TIME HOMEBUYER CREDIT STILL AVAILABLE – The first-time home buyer tax credit expires June 30. If you have not owned a principal residence in the prior three years you may qualify for a tax credit of up to $7,500 for purchase of a residence. It works like an interest-free loan that must be repaid over a 15-year period or when you sell the residence (if the sale occurs before the 15-year time period has occurred). Contact your tax advisor for more details.

DON’T BLAME GLOBAL WARMING – Some Florida cities are getting hotter, but the change has more to do with bulldozers and pavement than global warming. Author and Florida State University (FSU) Professor Emeritus Morton Winsburg, and FSU meteorologists, say hot spots on local land-use changes accentuate the urban “heat-island” effect – the pools of heat that large, dense concentrations of people produce in their local climates. Cutting down trees, draining wetlands and pouring concrete all make a place hotter. For info, go to http://www.floridatrend.com/article.asp?aID=50440.

FREEZE YOUR CREDIT REPORTS – Did you know you can put a security freeze on your credit reports? While there is a small fee for the service, the freeze prevents access to a consumer's credit report without their authorization. Once a freeze is in place, a criminal would be unable to open a charge card or other account in the consumer's name without their knowledge. Visit http://www.AnnualCreditReport.com or call (877) 322-8228.

FLORIDA SECOND FOR INCARCERATION INCREASE – At the end of 2007, federal and state prisons and local jails held 2,293,157 inmates, representing a 1.5-percent increase in the number of inmates in prison or jail that year. About one in 198 U.S. residents are incarcerated with a sentence of more than one year in a federal or state prison. The federal prison population experienced the largest increase of 6,572 prisoners, followed by Florida (up 5,250 prisoners), Kentucky (up 2,457 prisoners), and Arizona (up 1,945 prisoners). Learn more at http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/abstract/p07.htm.

NEWS ITEMS WANTED! – Please send your business news items to Dave Byron, Volusia County Community Information Director, 123 W. Indiana Ave., DeLand, 32720-4612, by fax at (386) 822-5072 or by e-mail at dbyron@co.volusia.fl.us.