The Wall Street Journals LAURA LANDRO wrote a great piece on Vero Beach Florida.

Singer Gloria Estefan made her first foray into Florida hotels in 1992, when she bought the landmark Cardozo on sizzling South Beach’s Ocean Drive. She’s opened her latest resort on an Ocean Drive as well — in an unlikely outpost about 150 miles north: sleepy Vero Beach, with little sizzle but plenty of old-style Florida charm.

Far from the bustle of overbuilt South Florida, Vero Beach lies on a stretch of Atlantic turf aptly dubbed the Treasure Coast, in a transitional climate zone where oak trees and pine forests thrive alongside the palms and colorful tropical flora of balmier points south. Indian River Lagoon divides the city into sections on the mainland and a barrier island. It all makes for spectacular fishing, kayaking, bird-watching and boating, as well as miles of white sand beaches where you can walk for a long time and encounter no one.

But one can also dive into a Mickey Mouse-shaped pool and have pancakes with Goofy and friends at a Victorian-style Disney time-share resort a few miles out of town. (It’s on a real beach, as opposed to the ersatz ones at the Orlando flagship.) Closer to town, Ms. Estefan’s new Costa d’Este Beach Resort, with its whitewashed façade and elegant cascading entry fountain, sits next door to the quirky, historic Driftwood Inn, a time-share resort known for its weathered timbers and antique artifacts, some salvaged from old mansions and hotels. Elsewhere on the island, the Vero Beach Hotel features West Indian décor in a more low-key upscale hotel-condo managed by Kimpton Hotels.

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The Orlando Sentinel has a cool article on Vero Beach, a laid-back city by the sea. Here’s an excerpt:

The teens who skateboard along Ocean Drive still call this onetime citrus and ranching town “Zero Beach.” But don’t tell that to pop star Gloria Estefan.

Longtime owners of an Art Deco hotel on Miami Beach’s better-known Ocean Drive, Estefan and her husband, Emilio, just opened a “personal luxury resort,” Costa d’Este. It’s down the street from the new four-diamond Vero Beach Hotel & Club.

And don’t tell best-selling author Carl Hiaasen. He moved to this laid-back town of 18,000 three years ago for the Old Florida charm whose demise he mourns in his novels.

And certainly don’t tell Kathy Gelb and her husband, George. Like a lot of retirees, they scouted both Florida coasts before deciding on the state’s new “it” destination just 100 miles southeast of Orlando.

What made Vero Beach stand out is what it doesn’t have: traffic jams and high-rises that blot out the sun.

“That’s really what brought us here,” said Gelb, who had lived in Coral Gables for 25 years. “They have good zoning. They know how not to ruin a coastline. They wrote the book on it.”

Indeed, they did — more than 30 years ago. When two 13-story towers called The Village Spires opened up in the early 1970s, they sold like mad. But Mayor Thomas White remembers that city fathers looked at each other in dismay and said, “Ahh, we don’t want this in Vero Beach.”

The residents still don’t. They’ve imposed a three-story height restriction on houses — five stories for commercial property — and require variances be approved by public referendum.

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Piper Aircraft, Inc., the State of Florida and Indian River County today announced an agreement that will keep the general aviation manufacturer’s headquarters and manufacturing facilities in Indian River County.

“Florida is a state that leads the nation in encouraging aviation, and Piper Aircraft is one of general aviation’s uncontested leaders,” said Florida Governor Charlie Crist. “This agreement is an investment in Florida. It represents thousands of jobs and hundreds of millions of dollars in wages, economic development and other contributions for Indian River County, surrounding local communities and our state.”

“We are pleased and honored to announce our decision to remain and expand our operations in Indian River County,” said Piper President & CEO James K. Bass. “Our decision is not just a vote of confidence for our hometown, it is also a commitment by Piper to Indian River County and the State of Florida.”

The decision to stay came after an extensive site selection process that addressed fundamental issues and needs that Piper cited as vital in remaining competitive and prospering in what is a very challenging industry.

Indian River County Administrator Joseph Baird underscored the value Piper has brought to Indian River County over the 50 years it has called Vero Beach home. Citing an economic impact study conducted by The Washington Economic Group in March 2007, he said that the joint county and state incentive package is an investment in Piper, which will return much more to the community and the state.

“The Washington Economic Group’s study showed that Piper contributes $518 million per year to our local economy,” Baird said, referring to the study commissioned by the Indian River County Chamber of Commerce. “That investment is made up of the millions of dollars the company pays in taxes and to local suppliers, as well as the huge ripple effect that comes from Piper employees who spend their paychecks locally in our stores and restaurants and contribute to our community organizations and charitable causes.”

In signing the agreement, Piper accepted a $32 million incentive package from the state and county – to be paid out over three years – and made a commitment to remain and grow in Indian River County. The agreement ended a two-year, site-selection review process that in recent months had narrowed the field to three locations, including Piper’s current site in Vero Beach, Fla.

Bass said Piper’s decision factored in many criteria and ultimately concluded that remaining in Indian River County was the best choice for many different reasons.

“One of the most important factors in our decision to stay has been our workforce,” Bass said. “Indian River County and its surrounding communities are home for the vast majority of the men and women of Piper. The incentive package demonstrates a commitment to making our community a place where business and industry not only want to stay, but where others will seek to relocate.

“We have a skilled workforce and many talented people in our county and throughout the state,” he said. “By helping Piper stay and continue to invest in Indian River County, state and local officials are sending the message that Florida is a friend of business and industry. To that end, I look forward to encouraging businesses and industries to move to Indian River County and the state.”

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Several markets across the country are starting to heat up — if you know what to look for. Take across Florida — prices are depressed, sales are down in the double digits compared to a year ago, while foreclosures and short sales rule. However, it’s turning and the smoke is starting to rise before the flame ignites. Across Florida, the inventory was skyrocketing over the last two years, and now those numbers are dropping. At the same time, the sales reported month after month are increasing in the high double digits.

Where can you see the smoke? In the numbers that rise or fall before sales and prices jump – pending sales, inventory, and absorption rate.

Consider these cities: In the Greater Fort Myers area, pending single-family home sales are up 85 percent in just the last 10 weeks, according to the Realtor Association of Greater Fort Myers. Meanwhile, the absorption rate has dropped to half of what it was just four months ago to a 12 month supply.

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We thought some of you might be interested in this. It’s for a great cause. If you plan on being in Vero Beach Florida on May 30 2008 and would like to participate in the Annual Golf Tournament benefiting Habitat for Humanity, download the registration form using the download link at the bottom of this email. If you have any questions, please call the Realtors Association of Indian River County at (772) 567-3510 for more information.

Annual Golf Tournament

All proceeds to benefit
Habitat for Humanity REALTORS® Build

Friday, May 30, 2008

Bent Pine Golf Club
6001 Clubhouse Drive, Vero Beach, Florida

11:30 a.m. Registration

12:00 p.m. Lunch

1:00p.m. Shotgun Start

4-person Scramble Format

Prizes Awarded in each flight
Prizes for: Hole-in-One; Longest Drive (2 places);
Closest to Pin (2)

Golf attire please: soft spikes, knee length shorts, (men) Collared Shirts, no tank tops.
PARTICIPATION COST: $100 per player

Singles welcome. We’ll pair.
Includes: 18 holes with cart, Goodie Bags, Range Balls, Snacks, Lunch & Awards Ceremony

Click Here to Download Registration Form

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Florida’s schools ranked 14th nationally with a grade of C-plus on a report card issued Wednesday by Education Week magazine, although the state placed only 38th in public education spending.

Much of the credit for Florida’s overall finish – up from 31st last year – among the 50 states and District of Columbia goes to high marks for its teaching profession and system of standards, assessment and accountability. Those are two of six categories measured in the annual Quality Counts report.

“Given the financial resources of the state and the complexities of the state of Florida we are certainly on the right track,” said Florida Education Commissioner Eric Smith.

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The Federal Reserve unexpectedly slashed a key interest rate by a bold three-fourths of a percentage point on Tuesday, responding to a global plunge in stock markets that heightened concerns about a recession. The Fed signaled that further rate cuts were likely.

The reduction in the federal funds rate from 4.25 percent down to 3.5 percent marked the biggest reduction in this target rate for overnight loans on records going back to 1990. It marked the first time that the Fed has changed the funds rate between meetings since 2001, when the central bank was battling the combined impacts of a recession and the terrorist attacks.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and his colleagues approved the large rate cut after an emergency video conference on Monday night, a day when global markets had been pounded by rising concerns that weakness in the world’s largest economy was spreading worldwide.

After the news, U.S. Bancorp (NYSE: USB, TCF Financial Corp. (NYSE: TCB) and Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC) were among the banks lowering their own prime lending rates.

“I spent six years on the Federal Reserve board in San Francisco, and I gotta tell you, three quarters of a point cut is a stunning change,” said Rick Hartnack, vice chairman of head of consumer banking at U.S. Bancorp. “What it will do is really make mortgages a lot more affordable – and that is absolutely critical to fixing the imbalance of supply and demand for housing right now.”

But Hartnack warned that “if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Government stimulation is always too much too late, and usually leads to inflation,” he told the crowd at the Hiltion.

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Grand Harbor Golf & Tennis Community

Grand Harbor is one of Vero Beach Florida’s premier golf and tennis communities. Located on the mainland on the Indian River, Grand Harbor features two championship golf courses, 12 tennis courses, golf and tennis clubs (with resident golf and tennis pros, one of the best deep water marinas in Indian River County, as well as world class clubhouses on the mainland as well as oceanfront.

Find GRAND HARBOR Homes For Sale and GRAND HARBOR Home Values. We also have information on mortgages, insurance, movers and other realty services for anyone looking to sell a home or buy a home in GRAND HARBOR in beautiful Vero Beach, Florida.

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According to published reports, the Baltimore Orioles signed an option with Indian River County in Vero Beach, Fla., to replace the Los Angeles Dodgers in the Dodgertown area. It’s not clear when the Orioles would move into the new spring training headquarters, since the Dodgers are currently waiting for a new spring training facility to be built in Glendale, Ariz.

“I have an option agreement with a Major League Baseball team, where I can only speak to that particular team,” Baird said Wednesday.

It is uncertain when the Orioles would move to Vero Beach because the Dodgers have not said when they’re moving to their new site in Glendale, Ariz. Dodgers Director of Public Relations Josh Rawitch said last week it likely will be a few weeks or more before they can determine a date, because Glendale still needs to approve the construction timeline recently provided by the construction manager.

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