April 26, 2010
FUNDING FOR SMALL BUSINESS LOANS TO EXPIRE MAY 31 -- President Obama
has signed legislation that provides $80 million in additional funding
for two key small business loan programs. Under the legislation, the SBA
may continue to reduce loan fees in its 7(a) and 504 programs and
provide higher guarantee levels on 7(a) loans through May, or until the
funds provided under the bill are exhausted.
DSC TO OFFER ADVANCED QUICKBOOKS COURSE -- The Small Business
Development Center at Daytona State College is presenting QuickBooks –
Level II. If you have a basic knowledge of Quick Books and desire
advance learning in setting up and using inventory features, price level
and billing rate levels including budgeting and forecasting, importing
and exporting data and payroll, then this advanced series is for you.
Classes meet May 6, 13 and 20 at Daytona State College, building 110,
room 248, from 6-9 p.m. Please call Nancy Franssen at 386-506-4723 to
register.
STETSON STUDENTS SCORE HIGH IN RECYCLING COMPETITION -- Stetson
University placed fifth in the nationwide RecycleMania competition in
only its second year of participating in the contest. Together,
participating colleges and universities recycled or composted more than
84 million pounds of material over the 10-week competition. RecycleMania
is a friendly competition and takes place from January to March
throughout the United States and Canada. The campus wide, student-led
initiative is meant to encourage students everywhere to be
environmentally friendly.
VOLUSIA COUNTY DRIVES $MARTER – The National Association of
Counties announced that Volusia County won the Drive $marter Challenge
and will receive a $3,500 grant, courtesy of AutoZone. This competition
recognized counties for promoting energy and fuel efficiency among
county staff. Volusia County residents and employees pledged to reduce
fuel use and save money by following a few easy tips, such as reducing
“junk in the trunk” and ensuring that tires are inflated properly.
Volusia County employees commute more than 21 million miles to work
every year.
COBRA EXTENSION, OTHER BENEFITS GET SHORT EXTENSION -- Congress
has passed another short extension of the COBRA subsidy and unemployment
insurance (UI) benefits originally legislated under the American
Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The $18 billion Continuing Extension Act
of 2010 was signed into law April 15. The law extends the federal
government’s 65 percent COBRA premium subsidy program extension
retroactively from March 31 to May 31. The law also prevents a scheduled
21 percent cut in Medicare physician payment rates for the same period,
and extends UI benefits from April 5 to June 2.
FLORIDA ROADS RANK HIGH FOR QUALITY AND DANGER -- Florida has the
20th best roads in the U.S., according to a report published in the
April Reader’s Digest. The report ranked state highway systems on
safety, pavement and bridge condition and congestion. The best roads are
in Kansas, Wisconsin, Montana, New Mexico, and Utah. While Florida’s
roads are among the best, they also are among the more deadly. The study
also ranked Sunshine State roads as the 14th most deadly. The deadliest
roads are in Montana, Louisiana, South Carolina, West Virginia and
Arkansas.
VOLUSIA BOATING HAS BIG $$ IMPACT – According to the Florida
Wildlife Commission, the 21,950 boats in Volusia County generate more
than $85 million in spending on boat trips and more than $140 million in
owner spending on their boats (not including purchase). This leads to
more than 2,500 jobs with payrolls exceeding $67 million. The report can
be found at:
http://floridaboatingeconomics.com/county/county_pdf/12127.pdf.
HERE’S A PRETTY SLICK FACT ON OIL CONSUMPTION -- For every dollar of
economic output today, we burn less than half as much oil as 30 years
ago!
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.
