Florida: News

Florida tied with one other state for the Top Spot on HealthGrades' America's 50 Best Hospitals rankings. The nation's top hospitals received HealthGrades' stamp of approval after undergoing a demanding analysis of their mortality rates and the number of complications their patients experience. (Read more)

A new full-service hospital opened just north of Tampa in Lutz. St. Joseph's Hospital-North, part of BayCare Health System, offers emergency care, surgical services, imaging and diagnostic facilities, intensive care and more. (Read more)

Boca Raton's Protec Fuel Management has received funding from the U.S. Department of Energy to open thirty E85 stations. Protec is teaming up with General Motors, the Renewable Fuels Association and Urbieta Oil to open these alternative fueling outfits. (Read more)

AAR Composites, serving the aerospace market, will receive $42,000 to train 40 employees in Pinellas County, Florida. (Read more)

Four companies are joining the Palm Beach County business community after receiving assistance from the Business Development Board of Palm Beach County. The companies will create 136 jobs with a total capital investment of $3.25 million. (Read more)

Lakeland Electric and SunEdison, North America's largest solar energy services provider, have started the first roof top installation of what will total 24 megawatts of solar generated power. Once built out, the system will provide enough power to sustain approximately 7,200 homes with clean, environment friendly energy. (Read more)

Telecom Service Center LLC plans to generate up to 600 jobs for Brevard County residents including call center, accounting, operations and management positions. (Read more)

The newly-formed North Florida Broadband Authority (22 Local Governments) partnered with the North Florida Economic Development Partnership to win a $30 million grant that will enable and enhance real access to Broadband and high-speed connectivity. (Read more)

The Business Development Board of Martin County is pleased to announce that all 51 Martin County applicants for the "Florida Back to Work" program were granted their requests. The applications will create 261 jobs in the community. (Read more)

Moffitt Cancer Center received the CEO Cancer Gold Standard reaccreditation, recognizing Moffitt's continuous dedication and commitment to maintaining a high standard of excellence in cancer care and prevention. (Read more)

FEMA released $1.69 million this week for the Port of Pensacola to begin homeland security improvements.  (Read more)

Acknowledging rapid changes in the aviation/aerospace sector, the Business Development Board of Martin County facilitated a meeting with sector leaders, Martin County companies, and Congressman Thomas J. Rooney. (Read more)

Star2Star Communications LLC, which develops and provides business grade communications solutions via the Internet, plans to create 80 communications technology jobs over the next five years. (Read more)

Lake Nona's Medical City has been selected as the national site for the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Simulation Center for Excellence. The center, located at the new Orlando VA Medical Center, will be the nationwide training and planning home for the VA's new medical simulation system, which will allow VA employees to improve care and treatment for veterans across the country. (Read more)

Oliphant Financial LLC, a debt buyer and software provider to that industry, plans to add 100 to 150 jobs in 2010 at the company's new financial services headquarters location in Manatee County. (Read more)

Osprey Biotechnics Inc., a Sarasota-based biotechnology company that creates beneficial bacterial products which promote animal health, plant health and environmental restoration, is expanding to a larger facility and plans to add 35 employees over the next three years. (Read more)

Armstrong World Industries, with help from the Pensacola Bay Area Chamber of Commerce, recently received a $50,000 incumbent worker training grant from Workforce Florida to train 60 of its existing employees. (Read more)

The number of international passengers through Orlando International Airport (MCO) increased nearly 11 percent in 2009, propelling the airport to a record-breaking year for international travel. (Read more)

The Florida Opportunity Fund has made a commitment of $3 million to 5AM Ventures II, a bioscience venture capital fund that recently completed an investment with a life sciences startup company in South Florida. (Read more)

Melbourne-based United Service Source Inc., provider of commercial and residential communication technical services, will add 30 jobs in a 17,000-square-foot expansion project. The new space will allow for the integration of Ascent Media's Palm Bay operation, as well as a new technical operations center. (Read more)

California petroleum company, LS9, is opening a new Okeechobee facility to move its technology from proven pilot capabilities to commercial demonstration scale production. Once the building retrofit is complete, the facility will be the largest advanced biodiesel demonstration plant in the world. (Read more)

The Hub City is the seventh best small city for high-tech manufacturing companies to expand or relocate, according to a national study conducted by the Boyd Co. The study also ranked Lynn Haven in Bay County as the eighth best small city for a manufacturing plant to locate. (Read more)

Federal, state, and local leaders joined to celebrate the official dedication of the Florida Institute for Human & Machine Cognition (IHMC) Ocala research facility. (Read More)

The Innovation Monthly is your source for the latest news and insights on Florida's Innovation Economy.       

February 2010 Highlights:

• Florida is a Top 10 State for Education
• Cecil Field Becomes Nation's 8th Commerical Spaceport
• Alachua Attracts Lithium-Ion Cell Manufacturer
• Florida Economy at a Glance Report

Read Full Newsletter

Palm Beach Gardens-based Sonavision, which makes an ultrasound fingerprint sensor that uses less power than others, has raised $5.87 million. (Read more)

The Oettinger Davidoff Group will soon bring its "Good Life" philosophy and its U.S. headquarters to Pinellas County, Florida. With this move, Davidoff will bring 90 new jobs paying 150% of the average annual wage to the area. (Read more)