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SRQ DAILY Apr 18, 2016

Monday Business Edition

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Monday Business Edition

"You have to look at the cost of housing and look at the wages people are being paid and the overall change in the economic climate."

- Leslie Loveless, Suncoast Partnership to End Homelessness
 

[Insurance]  Moving Violations Spur Rate Hikes

InsuranceQuotes this week released its Moving Violations report that shows Florida drivers on average will see rates increase by 74.24 percent for reckless driving, the 12th highest average rate jump in the nation. The number is still lower than the national average rate hike of 84.5 percent. Speeding violations on average cause Florida drivers a rate increase of 24.56 percent while a DUI or DWI will net Floridians an average 46.35-percent rate increase. 

[Nonprofit]  Homeless Numbers Jump Up
Jacob Ogles, jacob.ogles@srqme.com

No issue in recent years has grabbed more headlines than chronic homelessness, but for all the debate and controversy about various solutions, the number of people living on the street has gone up substantially in the last year according to an annual report released Friday.  

The 2016 Homeless Point-in-Time Community Report, published by the Suncoast Partnership to End Homelessness, shows the number of people in Sarasota and Manatee counties identified as homeless jumped from 1,198 in 2015 to 1,468 this year, an increase of 270. Manatee County has 201 more homeless people this year and Sarasota County had 69 more according to the report. But Sarasota still remains where the bulk of transients stay, with 64 percent of the those counted in this region in Sarasota County and 34 percent in Manatee. The numbers are based on the annual Point-In-Time Homeless Census conducted on the night of Jan. 25, coinciding with a national annual census of homeless people conducted nationwide.

There are multiple reasons for this trend, the Suncoast Partnership found. Part of it is that homeless in Manatee were most likely undercounted last year but greater elements include a rise in housing costs and a shortage in places available to rent. “Landlords can choose who they want as tenants,” said Leslie Loveless, Suncoast Partnership executive director. “You have to look at the cost of housing and look at the wages people are being paid and the overall change in the economic climate."

There were a couple of points of optimism. Homeless families are down from 81 to 78, a slight improvement but a gain nonetheless. The report finds that the chronically homeless remain the most difficult group to get out of a cycle of homelessness.

Political leaders have been at loggerheads for years over addressing homelessness. The City of Sarasota, for example, has supported an expansive Housing First approach of putting transients directly into housing while Sarasota County leaders have pursued creation of a come-as-you-are shelter. Loveless said all solutions should be employed but those solutions are impeded by a lack of housing stock. “We haven’t had affordable housing created in our community in 10 years,” she said, saying the one significant to exception there has been hotel-to-efficiency apartment conversions done by businessman Harvey Vengroff. Meanwhile, Loveless said about 10,000 affordable units were lost between 2000 and 2010.

“It’s a combination of not having enough affordable rentals with lower wages,” Loveless said. Sarasota County, for example, has an average wage 20.6 percent below the national average. 

[Nutrition]  Silver Sales
Jacob Ogles, jacob.ogles@srqme.com

Natural Immunogenics, the leading manufacturer of colloidal silver, opted in 2014 to relocate from Pompano Beach to Sarasota. The company today employs almost 60 people and just launched a Common Good community outreach program. We spoke with marketing director Ami Dewille about the company’s work and its vision for the future.

Why was the company moved to Southwest Florida?  The owners of the company really felt the lifestyle and way of life in Sarasota match up with the culture of the company. We are very health-oriented, like many people on the Gulf Coast. With the arts and culture here, along with the healthy lifestyle, it was just a good fit. The company was much smaller when it moved, but 10 to 15 people came with the owners. We have managed to make some good relationships mostly with other local businesses. Richard’s Foodporium is one of our best customers and it is good being in the same town.

What products come out of Natural Immunogenics? We produce the world’s finest mineral dietary supplements. The retail brand the consumer would be familiar with is Sovereign Silver, a dietary supplement for immune support. Silver is a trace mineral found in nature—found in mushrooms and almond milkand it can be used to build the immune system. 

[Recognition]  Baldwin Makes '30 Under 30'

Kelly King Baldwin, a real estate agent with Michael Saunders & Company, was named as part of Realtor Magazine’s annual “30 Under 30” program. Baldwin was among 400 applicants for the award, narrowed down to 50 by a panel of judges and then selected through an online vote. All winners will be profiled in an upcoming issue of the national magazine. 

Realtor

[Exec Moves]  Ad-Vance Hires Bonner

Ad-Vance Talent Solutions hired Michael Bonner as director of sales for Manatee and Sarasota counties effective Monday. Bonner comes to Lakewood Ranch from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he was a senior sales executive for Automatic Data Processing. During his tenure, he was “Rookie of the Year” in 2014 and a member of the President’s Club in 2015. Bonner received a bachelor’s of science degree in Marketing/Accounting and Business Management from Robert Morris University in Pittsburgh.  

Ad-Vance Talent Solutions

SRQ Media Group

SRQ DAILY is produced by SRQ | The Magazine. Note: The views and opinions expressed in the Saturday Perspectives Edition and in the Letters department of SRQ DAILY are those of the author(s) and do not imply endorsement by SRQ Media. Senior Editor Jacob Ogles edits the Saturday Perspective Edition, Letters and Guest Contributor columns.In the CocoTele department, SRQ DAILY is providing excerpts from news releases as a public service. Reference to any specific product or entity does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by SRQ DAILY. The views expressed by individuals are their own and their appearance in this section does not imply an endorsement of them or any entity they represent. For rates on SRQ DAILY banner advertising and sponsored content opportunities, please contact Ashley Ryan Cannon at 941-365-7702 x211 or via email

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