FYI Miami


	County disputes some Miami Marlins ballpark cost claims
	Major League Baseball youth academy in Hialeah still on bench
	Magic City Casino tops $1 billion a year in slots play
	Florida International University expanding programs in China
	Miami real estate developers' plans getting more creative
	Veteran California designer to stage Miami's film studio plan
	National insurance broker Willis consolidates Miami hub

FDOT
Work Program,
Public Hearing

	Calendar of Events
	FYI Miami
	Filming in Miami
	Classifieds

	Front Page
	About Miami Today
	Put Your Message in Miami Today
	Contact Miami Today
	Job Opportunities
	Research Our Files
	The Online Archive
	Order Reprints

FYI Miami is a weekly feature of Miami Today, keeping readers ahead of the news. Here are highlights from the most current edition.

Complete coverage, including The Insider and all information columns, is available in the e-edition. Sign up now.

   INITIATIVES TIME DOUBLED: Voters on Tuesday approved an amendment to the Miami-Dade County charter that doubles the time petitions can be circulated to place a voter initiative on the county ballot, allotting 120 days. The charter amendment, however, says the initiative question will appear on the next general election ballot, not earlier as was the case in the past. Voters rejected a proposed amendment that would have raised county commissioners' current $6,000 pay based on a scale used in the rest of the state to above $92,000 but would have limited commissioners in the future to two four-year terms and would have banned them from outside employment.
   BOOKING IN MIAMI: Choice Hotels International on Tuesday announced that a Cambria Suites hotel will be developed in Miami by Miami-based Sunflower Hospitality. The 122-room hotel near the Blue Lagoon at Northwest Seventh Street is to feature views of Lake Mahar and an outdoor swimming pool. Construction is to start this year, with an anticipated opening in summer 2013. "The Miami development reflects our commitment to expanding the Cambria Suites brand into urban markets," Stephen Joyce, CEO and president of Choice Hotels International, said in a statement. "The Miami property will provide great value to leisure and business travelers alike in an upscale, contemporary atmosphere."
   HOME PRICES FALL: Miami home prices fell in November from October, according to data released Tuesday by S&P Indices for its S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices. Non-seasonally adjusted data show that Miami's home prices decreased 0.5% from October to November. Year-over-year, Miami home prices dropped 4.4%. For the second consecutive month, 19 of the 20 cities covered by the indices saw home prices decrease. The data showed declines of 1.3% for both the 10- and 20-city composites in November compared to October. The 10-and 20-city composited posted annual returns of -3.6% and -3.7% versus November 2010, respectively.
   PENDING HOME SALES: Miami-Dade County pending home sales rose again in December. Total new single-family homes and condominiums listings that pended in the county last month increased 16%, from 2,479 in December 2010 to 2,891, according to the Miami Association of Realtors. December county cumulative pending home sales, which includes pending sales that have carried over to December, were 5.4% above what they were a year earlier, up from 10,698 to 11,279, and 2% higher than in November, up from 11,100. Martha Pomares, 2012 chairman of the board of the Miami Association of Realtors, said in an official statement that Miami home sales set a record in 2011, exceeding transaction levels during the height of the boom in 2005.
   Complete coverage, including The Insider and all information columns, is available in the e-edition. Sign up at www.miamitodaynews.com

Top Front Page About Miami Today Put Your Message in Miami Today Contact Miami Today