Workforce Central Florida, which helps connect employers with job seekers, is closing its Seminole County office on Sand Pond Road in Lake Mary by Jan. 31.

It already shuttered its west Orange County office on Silver Star Road in July. Its remaining offices are in east Orlando, Kissimmee and Leesburg.

The move is due to the fact that the agency, funded by federal work force development and welfare reform dollars, has experienced annual budget cuts of 4 percent to 10 percent during the last six to eight years.

In addition, it has pared costs by doing more online job fairs and offering more services on its Web site.

Cathy Weeden has been named general manager of Gator Sports Marketing, a division of IMG College that helps manage the marketing and media rights for University of Florida athletics on behalf of FOX-owned Sun Sports.

Weeden, who is senior vice president and general manager of FOX Sports Florida and Sun Sports, will continue in that role until early next year.

Named to Weeden's post is Steve Liverani, who is senior vice president and general manager of FOX Sports Ohio.

As general manager of Gators Sports, Weeden will be in charge of property sales rights such as television, radio and Internet partnerships. Sun Sports has an exclusive multimedia and sponsorship rights agreement with UF's University Athletic Association.

“Cathy has been a valuable contributor to the FOX family, and we’re excited that she has accepted this position to lead our partnership with the Gators,” said Jeff Krolik, executive vice president of FOX Sports Networks, in a prepared statement.

“We are very excited to have Cathy manage this new partnership, her relationships in the industry will deliver great benefits to this new venture, which will enhance the experiences for Gator fans and corporate partners,” said Jeremy Foley, director of athletics for the university, in a prepared statement.

Sun Sports is a regional and local sports television network owned and managed by FOX Sports Networks. The network covers sports all across Florida, including the Orlando Magic, Miami Heat, University of Florida and Florida State University.

Southwest Airlines Co. announced its November traffic dropped from 5.7 billion to 5.3 billion revenue passenger miles in November.

Revenue passenger miles are calculated by multiplying the number of paying passengers by their distance traveled in miles.

Dallas-based Southwest’s revenue on passengers carried — which measures the number of origination and destination paying passengers — fell to 6.5 million, down 10.7 percent from 7.3 million in November of 2007.

The airline’s load factor — which measures the percentage planes are filled with passengers — also dropped in November to 63.2 percent, down from 69.3 percent.

Southwest (NYSE: LUV) is the busiest commercial airline carrier at Orlando International Airport.

Single-family home prices fell at a faster pace in the third quarter after moderating earlier in the year and are now 6.5 percent below their 2007 peak, according to a new report by IHS Global Insight.

Nationwide, the housing market is now slightly undervalued. But, Florida, California and Nevada have been particularly hard hit. Twenty-nine metropolitan areas in those three states have now seen price declines of more than 30 percent, and all metro areas continued to depreciate through the third quarter, according to the analysis.

In Orlando, the October median home price was $177,900, 25 percent less than the $238,500 reported in October 2007. The median home price in the Daytona Beach area fell nearly 15 percent, from $184,600 in October 2007 to $157,400 in October of this year.

"Weak economic conditions and wary consumers continue to hold the housing market back,” said Jeannine Cataldi, senior economist and manager of IHS Global Insight's Regional Real Estate Service. “Although many areas are seeing home sales increase, it is largely due to foreclosure homes being snapped up at significantly discounted prices. As the inventory of these homes is removed from the market, prices will remain on a downward path.”

Booking.com, an online hotel reservation company based in the United Kingdom, has opened an office in Orlando.

The company, with 24 offices worldwide, also opened new offices in Sydney and Moscow. It offers customer support in 21 languages and calls itself Europe’s largest on-line booking service.

Booking.com, which is affiliated with Priceline.com, works with more than 57,000 hotels in 15,000 destinations and claims 30 million unique visitors to its Web site monthly.

Florida EcoSafaris at Forever Florida, a St. Cloud wildlife tourist attraction, plans to unveil a zipline ride next month that will propel customers at treetop level through parts of the attraction’s 4,700-acre preserve.

The ride, which cost $350,000 to build, will take park visitors on a ride that reaches 55 feet in the air at some points at speeds of up to 20 mph.

EcoSafaris says it will be Central Florida’s first zipline, an elevated cable ride that zips people through trees from platform to platform. The ride, which costs $85, opens Jan. 2.

EcoSafaris bills itself as a green attraction that caters to visitors who want to learn about Florida’s ecology and natural history. Information is available at www.FloridaEcoSafaris.com.

Lockheed Martin has announced it has been awarded a three-year, $16.9 million contract to begin modernization of the final part of the U.S. Army’s Apache helicopter modernized target acquisition designation sight system.

The company will modernize the laser transceiver unit in the Apache’s day sensor assembly and associated electronics. The contract includes two options for integration and qualification which can be exercised in 2009 and 2010.

The work will be performed in Ocala and Orlando.

Bethesda, Md.-based Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) employs more than 5,000 people in Central Florida.

Gov. Charlie Crist has announced $10 million in grants to repair and maintain 19 Florida senior centers, including funds for the city of Orlando’s L. Claudia Allen Senior Center and the Brevard Alzheimer’s Foundation Inc.

Orlando’s center, located on Mable Butler Avenue, received $45,000. The Brevard group, with main offices on North Wickham Road in Melbourne, got $57,188.

The 2008 Legislature authorized the grants, for amounts of up to $2 million each, to be used for new construction, repairs and maintenance.

Those agencies receiving the state grants must provide at least a 25 percent match, bringing the total value of the projects to at least $12.5 million. An estimated 380,000 seniors visit Florida’s 240 senior centers each year.

Ruth’s Hospitality Group Inc. has appointed a former executive of several national chains to head up its Mitchell’s Fish Market division.

Sam Tancredi, a 30-year restaurant industry veteran, will take on the role of senior vice president and chief operating officer of the Heathrow-based company’s Fish Market division.

Ruth’s Hospitality (Nasdaq: RUTH) in February acquired 19 Mitchell’s Fish Markets and three steakhouses from Columbus-based Cameron Mitchell Restaurants LLC.

Tancredi comes to Ruth’s Hospitality after being a franchisee and chief operating officer of six Paradise Bakery & Cafe eateries in Indianapolis. Prior to that, he also had served in management, franchisee and development positions for nine Bonefish Grill restaurants, the former Chi Chi’s restaurant chain, former The Magic Pan concept in Boston and a 12-year stint with Tampa-based Outback Steakhouse Inc.

He is expected to bring “invaluable experience and knowledge” to the Mitchell’s Fish Market division as Ruth’s Hospitality develops the brand, said Michael O’Donnell, president and chief executive officer, in a prepared statement.

“His entrepreneurship, expertise in concept development and leadership in the seafood category makes him a perfect addition to our team,” O’Donnell said in the statement.

Ruth’s Hospitality, which focuses on the upscale dining segment, has more than 150 company- and franchisee-owned locations worldwide. It owns the Ruth’s Chris Steak House, Mitchell’s Fish Market, Mitchell’s Steakhouse and Cameron’s Steakhouse concepts.

AirTran Airways has announced that its passenger traffic for November fell by more than 140,000 people, or 7.3 percent, as the deteriorating economy took its toll on the airline.

Slightly more than 1.83 million people traveled with AirTran in November, compared to 1.97 million in November 2007. Still, the airline has seen a 3.8 percent increase in passengers for the year to date, reaching 22.67 million, up from 21.84 million.

In addition, the low-fare carrier reported that revenue passenger miles fell 6.6 percent and available seat miles fell 7.1 percent in November. However, the load factor posted a marginal increase, rising to 75.8 percent, up 75.4 percent the year before.

AirTran is a subsidiary of Orlando-based AirTran Holdings Inc. (NYSE: AAI).

JKR Advertising & Marketing is moving its Longwood office to downtown Orlando.

The company is relocating to 7,500 square feet of space at One South Orange Avenue, which is located on the corner of Orange Avenue and Central Boulevard.

The agency made the move because downtown Orlando “offers vibrancy and excitement” not available in the suburbs and the opportunity to grow its business, said Jeff Johnson, a partner for JKR in a prepared statement.

JKR is an Orlando-based advertising and marketing agency serving the automotive industry.

Tijuana Flats Burrito Co. announced it will be opening its first location in Marion County in early 2009.

The new 2,000-square-foot location in Ocala will seat 65 indoors and an additional 24 outdoors.

Tijuana Flats is a Maitland-based Tex-Mex restaurant chain with more than 65 locations nationwide, which includes 21 in Central Florida.

Crossman & Co. was chosen to handle leasing for Shops at Stoneybrook Hills, a neighborhood shopping center near Mount Dora.

The nearly 80,000-square-foot center, at U.S. Highway 441 and Stoneybrook Hills Parkway in northwest Orange County, is owned by Publix affiliate Shops at Stoneybrook Hills LLC. Publix is the anchor tenant at the center, which is slated to open in fall 2009.

WindCrest Development Group Inc. is building the center, which includes a 45,600-square-foot Publix and 21,100 square feet of additional retail space and four outparcels.

Orlando-based Crossman & Co. is Central Florida’s largest third-party retail leasing and property management firm.

Orange County’s tourist tax collections — a key indicator of the strength of the local tourism industry — dropped 9.1 percent in October compared to the same month in 2007.

Collections have dropped on a year-over-year basis for five consecutive months. The Orange County Comptroller’s Office said the county collected $12.2 million in October, down from $13.5 million a year earlier.

The tax is collected short-term rentals — primarily hotel and motel rooms. Comptroller Martha Haynie said the October drop was the largest percentage decline of the year.

“The recession is beginning to take a toll on our resort tax collections,” she said.

Sen. Mel Martinez will not run for re-election in 2010. Florida’s junior senator, a Republican from Orlando who was born in Cuba, was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2004. He announced Tuesday he will not seek a second term.

Martinez was elected Orange County chairman (now mayor) in 1998, and then headed the Department of Housing and Urban Development under President George W. Bush.

Martinez said he is retiring from the Senate to spend more time with his family and friends and to return to the private sector.

“I make this announcement today in order to give the many qualified individuals who might choose to try to succeed me an opportunity to organize and gather support,” Martinez said in a news release.

Martinez said his decision was not influenced by the possibility of a tough re-election fight in 2010.

“My decision was not based on re-election prospects, but on what I want to do with the next eight years of my life,” he said.

Only 6 percent of chief financial officers in the Orlando area expect to add accounting and finance staff during the first quarter of 2009, while 8 percent say they plan to reduce their staffs, according to the most recent Robert Half International Financial Hiring Index.

The vast majority of respondents, though, are planning no changes to their staffs during the quarter.

The results are based on interviews with 200 CFOs from a variety of companies with at least 20 employees.

Officials for Robert Half said that many companies are waiting to see evidence of a stronger economy before expanding the size of their staffs.

Florida Municipal Insurance Trust, a nonprofit organization that provides workers compensation, liability, auto, property and health insurance to governmental entities within Florida, added 20 cities to its roster of clients this year.

The trust also reported that it had a 96 percent renewal rate, based on premiums, from its existing customers.

Sponsored by the Florida League of Cities, the trust uses a revenue-sharing plan that it says saves participants millions of dollars annually. Fifty-nine percent of Florida’s 412 towns, cities and villages hold coverage through the trust.

International Assets Advisors LLC of Orlando has acquired principals and independent contractors from Hermitage Capital of New York City.

Hermitage will become a part of International Assets, operating under the name Hermitage Institutional Trading. The division, which will remain in New York, works with institutional investors and handles trading that averages more than $1 billion a year.

Financial details on the transaction were not disclosed

International Assets is a full-service financial boutique that manages assets of high net-worth investors and institutions.

Engauge Communications announced that it has been chosen to redevelop the city of Eustis’s brand, marketing initiatives and advertising strategies.

The Columbus, Ohio-based marketing agency’s Orlando office will provide the rebranding for the city to encourage and promote economic development.

“Our goal is to promote Eustis as an attractive place where businesses can thrive and families will want to live, and I am confident that with Engauge’s assistance, we’ll be successful in our branding efforts,” said John Schneiger, economic development deputy city manager for the city of Eustis, in a prepared statement.

Engauge is a digital, traditional and direct marketing agency with offices in Atlanta, Austin, Columbus, Orlando and Pittsburgh.

Skanska USA Building Inc. was named business of the year by the U.S. Green Building Council’s Central Florida chapter.

According to a release, the award recognizes the Parsippanny, N.J.-based company as one of the leaders of green and sustainable development in Central Florida.

Skanska’s eco-friendly development projects include the Orlando Utility Commission headquarters, Parrish Healthcare Center at Port St. John and Orange County Public Schools' Colonial High School 9th Grade Center, which all seek to be Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification.

Skanska USA Building Inc. (OTC: SKSBY.PK) is a commercial and residential construction and development with office all over the world.

The holiday shopping season’s traditional kickoff weekend turned out to be more cheerful than expected, as more people hit the malls and spent more than they did last year.

More than 172 million shoppers nationwide were out prowling for deals during the three-day weekend, according to the National Retail Federation's 2008 Black Friday Weekend survey, conducted by BIGresearch. That is up from 147 million shoppers last year.

Shoppers spent an average of $372.57, a 7.2 percent increase from last year’s $347.55.

Weekend spending is estimated to be $41 billion.

And Florida, despite being ground zero for the real estate implosion, mirrored positive national sales trends, according to Rick McAllister, president of the Florida Retail Federation.

“It is amazing what good deals will do,” he said. “All around the state, a good many people got out.”

He said the question now becomes whether shoppers will stay out and spend.

“We will know that next weekend,” McAllister said.

The Florida Retail Federation is projecting holiday sales statewide to fall short of national expectations of 2.2 percent year-over-year growth.

But, at least over Black Friday weekend, retailers’ strategy to lure shoppers with deep discounts, promotions and extended hours worked.

“We are off to a good holiday start,” Lenberg said.

The shopping blitz continued Dec. 1, known as Cyber Monday because it is the first business day after the holiday weekend, when consumers return to their offices and home computers to shop online.

According to a Shop.org survey, also carried out by BIGresearch, 84.6 million consumers plan to shop online Dec. 1, compared to the 72 million people who did so last year.

An Orlando businessman took over operations of two Central Florida corporate-owned Johnny Rockets restaurants.

Jeff Deepankar acquired the restaurants in Winter Park Village and The Loop for an undisclosed price from The Johnny Rockets Group Inc.

Jon Franz, a business broker with Brown Harris Stevens in Winter Park, represented both the buyer and seller on the deals. The Winter Park transaction closed Nov. 18, while The Loop deal closed in October.

Lake Forest, Calif.-based The Johnny Rockets Group has 258 restaurants in seven countries with plans to expand to more than 1,000.

Delta Air Lines Inc. will trim its capacity by up to 8 percent in 2009 due to the global economic slowdown and softening traffic.

The Atlanta-based airline revealed the cuts in a memo to its 75,000 employees from CEO Richard Anderson and President Edward H. Bastian. The memo noted domestic capacity would shrink up to 10 percent while international capacity will be down up to 5 percent.

Delta (NYSE: DAL) is the third busiest carrier at Orlando International Airport.

CRSHotels.com, an Orlando hotel reservation service, plans to launch multi-lingual versions of its online reservation service in January.

The site plans Spanish, German and Italian versions for its January launch, with French, Chinese and Japanese versions to follow.

The company said it ultimately expects to offer its service in 20 languages. CRSHotels.com said the enhancement reflects the growing number of international customers using its site.

Barnie’s Coffee & Tea Co. on Nov. 29 opened its renovated Avalon Park store.

The 24-seat, 1,800-square-foot cafe, formerly a franchisee-owned location on Avalon Lake Drive in Orlando, underwent a complete interior renovation and will now be corporate-owned and operated, according to a news release.

Haines City-based Weber Construction Services Inc. did the buildout. Barnie’s declined to disclose the cost of the project.

The store will feature a variety of coffee, tea products, appliances, gifts and accessories and both indoor and outdoor seating areas, the release said.

This is the fifth remodeled Central Florida location Orlando-based Barnie’s has introduced since re-acquiring the company earlier this year.

Barnie “Phil” Jones opened the first Barnie’s in Winter Park in 1980 and built it into a national network before selling the chain to Sara Lee Corp. in 1996. An investment group led by Miami banker Neil Leach took over the chain five years later.

Jones partnered with Orlando real estate developer Jim Pugh in March to reacquire the chain.

Three former CNL Hotels & Resorts executives have formed Legacy Hotel Advisors, a firm specializing in strategic hotel positioning, debt and equity sourcing, transactions, and condo and mixed-use conversions.

The three are: Thomas J. Hutchision III, former CNL CEO, who is Legacy’s chairman; Jay H. Berlinsky, former CNL executive vice president, who is the new firm’s president and CEO; and David F. Urban, who led hotel and resort development for CNL, now Legacy’s senior vice president for planning.

CNL Hotels & Resorts, an Orlando real estate investment trust, was sold to Morgan Stanley in April 2007.

Legacy said it is working on projects that include a multiple hotel project at the Western Beltway entrance to Walt Disney World.

Taylor Morrison of Florida Inc. purchased 99 home lots at a Winter Garden subdivision from a subsidiary of Royal Palm Homes for $5.4 million.

Royal Palm’s A.R.K. Development LLC sold the 99 developed lots at its Carriage Pointe development on Avalon Road and State Road 545. The deal closed Nov. 18, according to Orange County records.

Taylor Morrison plans to build single-family homes priced from nearly $300,000 on the 75-foot lots, Royal Palm said in a news release. Taylor Morrison has acquired all 189 developed sites at the subdivision, the release said.

Representatives from Taylor Morrison were unavailable for comment.

Gov. Charlie Crist has asked the banking and mortgage lending industry to hold up on foreclosures until after the holidays.

Alex Sanchez, president and chief executive of the Florida Bankers Association, and Aletta Shutes, executive vice president of the Florida Credit Union League, said they will appeal to their member institutions asking them to voluntarily stop filing new foreclosure petitions and to stop scheduling foreclosure sales for homestead properties over the next 45 days.

It’s unclear which lending institutions will take part in the foreclosure program and how it will affect the state’s overall foreclosure problem, which is ranked third in the nation according to RealtyTrac.

“I applaud these bankers and lenders for giving people hope during this challenging economic time,” Crist said in a statement. “Struggling families and homeowners should rest easier during this holiday season, knowing that these lenders have heard the pleas of homeowners.”

JPMorgan Chase, which received $25 billion from the U.S. Treasury Department around the same time it acquired Washington Mutual, announced Oct. 31 that it would freeze foreclosures for 90 days while it tries to help borrowers stay in their homes.

Florida joins several other states trying to slow down foreclosure filings in light of the credit crunch and housing market crash. However, experts have questioned if such activity can actually help the market or simply delay the inevitable.

“Some lenders are adopting loan-servicing guidelines that encourage more pro-active approaches to helping homeowners avoid foreclosure,” said James J. Saccacio, chief executive of RealtyTrac, in a statement last September. “The question now is whether these measures will actually reduce foreclosures or simply cause a temporary lull in foreclosure activity.”

The U.S. economy has been in a recession for all of 2008, the National Bureau of Economic Research said Monday.

The Cambridge, Mass.-based organization dates business cycles, basing its decisions on the consensus of economists. The current recession declaration follows a conference call Friday, the NBER said in its statement Monday.

The expansion that ended in December 2007 began in November 2001, the NBER said.

The NBER based its conclusion in large part on measures of gross domestic product and gross domestic income.

The organization said in its statement Monday: “Many of these indicators, including monthly data on the largest component of GDP, consumption, have declined sharply in recent months.”

Lockheed Martin Corp.’s Ocala plant has been named manufacturer of the year in the large manufacturer category by the Manufacturers’ Association of Florida for its excellence in leadership and operations.

The plant is a component of Lockheed Martin Missiles & Fire Control and provides assembly and production for a variety of weapon systems. Lockheed Martin’s Orlando facility was also a finalist in the competition.

Each company was judged on leadership, strategic planning, measurement, analysis, knowledge management, work force focus and process management practices.

Bethesda, Md.-based Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) employs more than 5,000 people in Central Florida.

German firm Medion AG and AuthenTec have announced that Medion’s three new personal navigation devices, being sold in select European markets, contain AuthenTec’s fingerprint sensor in order to enhance security and deter theft.

Medion introduced the world’s first fingerprint-enabled personal navigation device last year. The AuthenTec sensor being used is one that has the capability to save five different user fingerprints, but the device is rendered useless if lost or stolen.

Melbourne-based AuthenTec (Nasdaq: AUTH) is the world’s leading producer of fingerprint sensors for the personal computer, access control and wireless device markets with more than 40 million shipped worldwide.

The Internal Revenue Service has tweaked standard mileage deductions for 2009.

Rates used to calculate the deductible costs of operating an automobile for business, medical or moving purposes are slightly lower than rates for the second half of 2008, which were raised in response to a spike in gasoline prices, the IRS said.

Standard mileage rates set to take effect Jan. 1 are:

• 55 cents per mile for business use.

• 24 cents per mile for medical or moving purposes.

• 14 cents for miles driven in service of charitable organizations.

The business mileage rate was 50.5 cents in the first half of 2008 and 58.5 cents in the second half. The medical and moving rate was 19 cents in the first half and 27 cents in the second half. The rate for charitable use is unchanged.

In addition to gasoline prices, the mileage rate takes into account other fixed and variable costs, such as depreciation.

For more information, visit www.irs.gov.

Hurricane season may have ended Nov. 30, but the insurance lobby is still raising red flags about Florida’s ability to cover damages.

The Florida Insurance Council, a nonprofit industry lobbying group, continues to point to the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund’s reliance on bonds to pay for damages as a $10 billion to $15 billion hole in the funding net.

”As it stands now, the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund (Cat Fund) … remains unable to meet its full financial obligations,” according to a statement FIC released just prior to the end of hurricane season Nov. 30.

The fund’s current obligation is about $28 billion, most of which is tied to bonds. The state Board of Administration estimated the fund cited a $10 billion to $15 billion bonding capacity shortfall. The Florida Senate Banking and Insurance Committee recently released an issue brief raising the possibility of seeking alternative funding.

“It does seem to be pretty clear that the big property and casualty issue, at least one of the big ones, is going to be the Cat Fund,” said FIC spokesman Sam Miller of next year’s legislative session.

The Florida Legislature will have to, at a minimum, consider reverting to a more realistic exposure of $16.5 billion sooner than the end of the 2009 hurricane season, the current reversion date.

The move would mean rate increases across the board, which would be painful and necessary, Miller said.

“Even if the problems in the financial markets were to clear up overnight and the Cat Fund was to bond to its full capacity, all Florida taxpayers – those affected by a hurricane and those in areas unaffected by a storm — would be at risk of huge tax increases to pay off those bonds,” according to the FIC statement.

Gary Reshefsky, a principle at Coral Gables-based MDW Insurance Group, said insurance rates are likely to go up and capacity is likely to go down next year due in part to the hurricane that decimated Galveston, Texas. Companies that serve Florida have national footprints and paid out more than they took in to cover damages.

“Right now it’s a big hypothetical - we can always issue bonds to do it [cover damages],” he said. “But you don’t know what the bonding market is going to be like in the future. And it’s not an issue that is unique to the insurance industry.”

This year’s Cyber Monday will give online retailers an opportunity to lure shoppers with more promotions, according to a national industry group.

The National Retail Federation’s eHoliday Survey shows that nearly 84 percent of online retailers will offer a special promotion on Cyber Monday, the Monday after Thanksgiving and the kickoff of the online shopping season.

That number is up from more than 72 percent last year, as all retailers feel the heat to compete for everyone’s shopping dollars this holiday season.

“As shoppers focus on price this holiday season, online retailers will be extremely competitive to offer the very best deals,” said Scott Silverman, executive director of Shop.org, a division of the trade group.

“Americans who are looking to put a dent in their holiday shopping will be able to find thousands of bargains on Cyber Monday.”

Nearly 39 percent of online retailers said they plan to offer specific deals, while nearly 33 percent will offer e-mail campaigns and nearly 25 percent one-day sales. Nearly 23 percent will offer free shipping on all purchases.

Nearly 56 percent of workers plan to shop on Internet at the office this year. That’s up from nearly 45 percent in 2005.