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Betts’ 8th-Inning Home Run the Difference as Red Sox Beat Rays

Mookie Betts watches his 8th-inning home run off of Rays reliever Diego Castillo. Betts’ drive proved to be the game-winning RBI in Boston’s 6-4 win over the Rays. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara)

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Mookie Betts and Mitch Moreland hit back-to-back homers for the go-ahead runs in the eighth inning and the struggling Boston Red Sox beat the MLB-best Tampa Bay Rays 6-4 on Friday night.

The Rays lost consecutive games for the first time this season Brandon Lowe hit his 6th home run of the season, tied for the team lead Charlie Morton looks to improve to 3-0 this season Saturday night vs. the Red Sox

With the game tied at 4, Betts hit a leadoff shot off Diego Castillo (0-2) and Moreland connected three pitches later.

Christian Vazquez also homered and Brandon Workman (1-1) went 1 2/3 scoreless innings for the Red Sox, who are 7-13 and trail the AL East-leading Rays by seven games. Ryan Brasier worked the ninth to pick up his fourth save.

The Rays are the last team in the majors to have consecutive losses this season. Castillo was also the loser in a 6-5, 11-inning loss to Baltimore on Thursday night.

After 20 games last season, the eventual World Series champion Red Sox (17-3) were 10 games up on Tampa Bay (7-13).

Daniel Robertson, mired in an 0 for 21 slide, got the Rays even at 4-all with a two-run double during the sixth. The inning was setup when Boston third baseman Rafael Devers misplayed what looked a double-play grounder from Avisail Garcia with one on and no outs.

Devers had a run-scoring double in the fifth for Boston’s first hit before Vazquez put Boston ahead 3-2 on his two-run shot to center.

Vazquez has three homers and eight RBIs in his last five games.

Betts, hitless in his previous 12 at-bats, doubled in the sixth and scored as the Red Sox grabbed a 4-2 lead when J.D. Martinez extended his hitting streak to nine games with an RBI single.

Martinez has a hit in 19 of 20 games this season.

Brandon Lowe hit his fifth homer in the last nine games, a solo drive that just cleared the fence at the 322-foot mark down the right-field line in the second before Garcia’s third-inning RBI triple as the Rays went up 2-0.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Red Sox: 2B Dustin Pedroia was examined by doctors Thursday and it was determined that his latest left knee injury is not serious. “We’re just going to let it calm down for a few days and then it should be all right,” Pedroia said. He was hurt in Boston’s game Wednesday night and went on the 10-day IL on Thursday.

Rays: Ace Blake Snell (fractured right fourth toe) will have a bullpen session Saturday. “He continues to heal really quickly, which we’re very encouraged about,” manager Kevin Cash. … C Mike Zunino went on the paternity list.

SPECIAL DELIVERY

Boston GM Dave Dombrowski and manager Alex Cora presented Rays LHP Jalen Beeks with his 2018 World Series ring. Beeks appeared in two games last season with the Red Sox before being traded to Tampa Bay July 25 for RHP Nathan Eovaldi.

UP NEXT

Red Sox RHP Rick Porcello (0-3, 11.12 ERA) and Rays RHP Charlie Morton (2-0, 2.18 ERA) are Saturday night’s starters. Porcello is 8-5 with a 2.86 ERA in 15 road starts against Tampa Bay.

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Brandon Girl, 9, Starts Online Business to Help Kids With Cancer

BRANDON, Fla. — A 9-year-old Brandon girl is making it her mission to uplift kids with cancer.

After donating her hair for cancer patients, Gaby Rivera was inspired to start an online business to help kids with cancer. It’s called ‘Gaby Fights 4 Kids.’

For every teddy bear, headband, or bracelet sold, she’ll donate one of each to a cancer patient.

"These bracelets have faith, hope, love, dream, courage, and a whole bunch of different writings on them," Rivera said.

Part of the proceeds will also go to help kids with cancer. Her goal is to raise $1,000 from sales.

WATCH the video above to hear from the young girl who hopes this small gesture will mean so much more:

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Real Estate Briefs

Real Estate Show: Homeowner association changes

James D. York, a local Realtor is the host with Realtors Michael and Morgan York of York Real Estate Group of Downing Frye Realty on the show “Southwest Florida Real Estate Update.” The show has different guests who specialize in relevant topics. This week’s show will discuss the topic: “Homeowner association changes.” Questions about upcoming topics or to suggest a topic for the show, email: JDY@YorkNaples.com. All shows can be viewed at www.NaplesYorkRealEstate.com under the online education icon.

Final Real Estate Seminar Wrap Up

2019 First Quarter Real Estate Trends. Buying Or Selling? Key Questions People Are Not Asking: Are Naples Buyers’ Demographics Changing? Where is the growth? The newest communities being built in 2019 and beyond. The Changes In Golf Course Community Memberships. Join Us To Learn & Bring Your Questions!. The seminar will held Friday, April 12 from 10 a.m. to noon in the Community Room of the Naples Daily News, 1100 Immokalee Road. The seminar is specifically for buyers and sellers. Reservations needed by April 11. Call Morgan, 239-821-0150 or email JDY@YorkNaples.com

Organize your at home office class

Marla Ottenstein will be presenting a class on how to organize your at home office at the Naples campus of Florida Gulf Coast University’s Renaissance Academy on Wednesday, April 10, 2019 from 5:00 to 6:30 p.m. The lecture also includes an interactive question and answer discussion further exploring the challenges and solutions of creating a highly functional home office. Participants may register online with a credit card at http://registerra.asapconnected.com/ or call 239-434-4737. The cost to attend is $25.00 ($20.00 for Renaissance Academy members). FGCU’s Naples Center is located at 1010 Fifth Avenue So. In Naples, FL.

CRE Consultants

D-Bat Fort Myers leased 21,000 SF of retail space at 14607 Ben C Pratt Six Mile Cypress Pkwy, Fort Myers from High Tech Ventures, LLC. CRE Consultants represented the lessee in the transaction

SWFL AFLAC – Kelly Irvine leased 4,175 SF of office space in Colonial Executive Park at 3860 Colonial Boulevard, Suite 200, Fort Myers from Winfield Partners II, LLC.. Enn Luthringer represented the lessor in the transaction.

Harmonia RE, LLC purchased a 3,400 SF office condo at 3425 10th Street N, Units 1-3, Naples from Collier Health Services, Inc. for $750,000. Fred Kermani represented the lessor in the transaction.

NTV Management, LLC leased 1,492 SF of office space in North Collier Corporate Center II at 1016 Collier Center Way, Suite 206, Naples from Klinger Properties NC, LLC. . Dave Wallace represented the lessee in the transaction.

Edward Jones leased 914 SF of office space in Metro Park Executive Center at 4415 Metro Parkway, Suite 214, Fort Myers from Coral Reef Metro, LLC. Randal Mercer and Brandon Stoneburner represented the lessor in the transaction.

ToastyInNaples.com, LLC leased 832 SF of office at 125 Airport Road, Suite 101-B, Naples from Red Group Trust. Dave Wallace negotiated the transaction.

CRE Consultants honored

CRE Consultants has earned CoStar Power Broker Awards as Top Sales Firm and Top Leasing Firm for 2018. The following CRE Consultants’ top-performing agents also garnered Power Broker awards for their exceptional performance in 2018: Top Office Leasing Broker: Randal L. Mercer, Brandon Stoneburner and Enn Luthringer; Top Industrial Leasing Broker: Enn Luthringer and Stan Stouder and Top Retail Leasing Broker: Biagio Bernardo

Investment Properties Corporation transactions

TBC 975 6th Avenue, LLC purchased approx. 10,764 SF Professional Office Building located in Naples at 975 6th Avenue South, from 975 6th Ave South, LLC for $6,000,000. David J. Stevens and Rob Carroll negotiated this transaction.

Harmonia RE LLC purchased 3,400 +/- square feet of medical/office space from Collier Health Services, Inc. located at 3425 North 10th Street, Suite 1-3. Clint L. Sherwood represented the seller.

Amaro Builders, Inc. leased 2,632 square feet of industrial condominium space from Bill Jones Repairs & Reroofs, Inc. located at 5780 Taylor Rd #3. William V. Gonnering negotiated this transaction.

The Palm Preschool – Marquesa, LLC d/b/a The Palm Preschool leased 2,840 square feet of retail space from Livingston and Pine Ridge, LLC located at 13020 Livingston Road, Suite 15. Tara Stokes negotiated this transaction.

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Near Brandon, FL

Brandon, FL 33510 Brandon, FL 33510

Property Overview – Excellent location, 5 acre Estate Lot . Build your dream home on this large private estate lot. Close to everything. Parcel Dimensions are 166′ x 1303′ deep. Good site for a church.Parcel is located on Williams Road, 1/4 mile south of East Broadway Ave in Brandon Florida. This parcel is directly west of Brandon Lakewood EstatesSubdivision and south of Brandon Trace Subdivision.

This property overview is from the previous listing when the home was listed for sale in May 18, 2016.

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American Landmark isn’t afraid of a multifamily cycle

COURTESY PHOTO — American Landmark Apartments' CEO Joe Lubeck believes it's a good time to buy Tampa-area multifamily properties.

Tampa-based investor says job, population growth more than justifies investments in area apartments

Tampa-based American Landmark Apartments last month spent $53.7 million to acquire the Carlyle at Crosstown multifamily community between Tampa and Brandon, its fifth area purchase.

But while some investors have begun to shy away from Tampa apartments, citing compressed capitalization rates, rising prices and flattening rental rates after years of continued growth, American Landmark remains bullish on both the area and the sector.

“We think it’s a great time to buy in Tampa,” says Joe Lubeck, the company’s CEO. “We love the opportunities here, driven by job and population growth.”

Lubeck adds the company also is largely undeterred by the run-up in apartment prices in the area. The 300-unit Carlyle, for instance, traded for a 30% premium to the price the complex sold for less than three years ago.

“I think there’s generally more and more interest in the rental lifestyle, and we’re seeing that in high occupancy in all our Tampa-area properties,” Lubeck adds.

The rebranded Luxe at 1820, at 1820 Crosstown Club Place, was 96.3% occupied at the time of American Landmark’s February purchase.

American Landmark intends to invest $2.3 million into the 20-year-old community to improve units with “smart” thermostats, closet cabinet systems and electronic key fobs. Package lockers and other amenity improvements also are planned.

American Landmark’s home city isn’t the only place the company is high on for acquisitions. Since the start of last year, it has invested $1.5 billion to buy 28 multifamily projects in all, according to its website.

“You have to pick your spots and carefully evaluate deals, and while a correction is due, I don’t think it will be that severe based on the date,” Lubeck says. “One thousand people a day are still migrating to Florida.

“We purchased this property off-market, so that was a help, and the market is competitive, but frankly, we’re not overly concerned about the notion of a cycle at this point.”

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Andreina Simmons (Andi), Real Estate Consultant • BRANDON, FL

I have been serving clients in the Real Estate Industry Since 2005. I have a Bachelor degree in Business Administration, and an Associate degree in Marketing, which I put to use every day in my Real Estate career! I acquired a lot of my training in Real Estate as a New Home consultant at Lennar Homes from 2005 to 2011. In the new home industry, I learned the construction process and quality of materials used on a home, the mortgage process, closing process, and most importantly customer service. Since then, I have gained the knowledge and skills to become a proficient, resourceful, and a successful Realtor.When I decide to go into general Real Estate in 2011, I quickly realized the importance of being backed by a well-established and reputable company like Century 21, who is the #1 real estate organizations in the world, allowing me to deliver top notch service to you!For 3 years in a row, I have been honored with the Centurion and Grand Centurion award, which is given to top producers … Show More

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Dwight Capital Closes Over $118 Million in Transactions this February

NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Mar 11, 2019–Dwight Capital ’s growth remains solid in 2019, closing over $118 MM in transactions this February. Most notably, a $31 MM loan on Tesora Apartments in NV and a $41.17 MM loan on The Preserve at Ballantyne Commons in NC.

Tesora Apartments is a 231-unit, Class A, garden-style apartment complex located in Las Vegas, NV, 20 miles from The Strip. The property was constructed in a single phase in 2004, consisting of 36 two-story apartment buildings, as well as a clubhouse, and several amenity spaces.

The $31,013,200 223(f) refinance closed on February 15th, 2019. With the help of Dwight Capital, the project was able to obtain the Energy Star for Existing Buildings Certification with an Energy Star score of 96, thereby qualifying the project for HUD’s reduced Green MIP program.

This transaction strengthened Dwight’s already established relationship with the Ovation team, with whom Dwight has closed several refinances in the Las Vegas MSA including Amalfi, Tivoli, and Venicia Apartments.

Dwight Capital also secured a $41.17 million HUD 223(f) loan for The Preserve at Ballantyne Commons, a 270-unit market rate apartment building located in Charlotte, NC. The non-recourse fixed rate loan had a 35-year term with a flexible step-down prepayment schedule.

Managing Director, Brandon Baksh, commented on the refinancing, “This was a big closing for Dwight Capital. We were able to achieve the National Green Building Standard (NGBS) certification despite the project needing a significant amount of capex to get there. We were able to use the necessary repairs to increase the appraised value of the project and our underwritten NOI. This is the type of renovation HUD had envisioned with the green program and we are glad we were able to achieve a win-win for both the borrower and HUD.”

Other Dwight closings in February 2019 include:

$3.96 MM Bridge loan on Indian Creek Healthcare Center, a 120-bed SNF in Overland Park, KS$2.34 MM Bridge loan on Underwood Manor, a 32-bed ALF in Hinsdale, NY$10.6 MM 223(f) loan on Executive House Apartments, a 100-unit multifamily property in Lansdale, PA$3.7 MM Bridge loan for a three-facility SNF Portfolio in WI$3.77 MM Bridge loan on Oceana Rehab and Nursing Center, a 116-bed SNF in Cape May Court House, NJ$17.3 MM 223(f) loan on Parc Central Apartments, a 151-unit multifamily property in Vancouver, WA$4.56 MM 223(f) loan on Nola Place Apartments, a 54-unit multifamily property in Salem, OR

Dwight Capital is a leader in commercial real estate finance and is one of the largest FHA/HUD lenders on multifamily and healthcare properties in the United States. Dwight has excelled in the industry as a top-5 Multifamily HUD lender by both transactions and dollar amount over the past four years. Our range of services include commercial lending across a variety of platforms such as CLO, USDA, Bridge, Mezzanine, and Preferred-Equity for both stabilized and new-construction properties.

For more information about Dwight Capital, please visit: www.dwightcapital.com

View source version on businesswire.com:https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190311005212/en/

CONTACT: Dwight Capital

Lindsay Morrison

KEYWORD: UNITED STATES NORTH AMERICA NEW YORK

INDUSTRY KEYWORD: BUILDING SYSTEMS ARCHITECTURE PROFESSIONAL SERVICES URBAN PLANNING FINANCE CONSTRUCTION & PROPERTY COMMERCIAL BUILDING & REAL ESTATE RESIDENTIAL BUILDING & REAL ESTATE

SOURCE: Dwight Capital

Copyright Business Wire 2019.

PUB: 03/11/2019 08:30 AM/DISC: 03/11/2019 08:30 AM

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Brandon: 5 Foreclosed Properties Near You

(Realtor)

BRANDON, FL — Don’t want to break the bank, but still looking to buy a home nearby? . A tour of the most recently foreclosed homes in the Brandon area might be your best bet!

Here are five new foreclosures on the market near you — many of them surprisingly affordable for their size and location.

Below, you’ll find an address, photo, price and size for each property on our list — including one with 3 beds and 3 baths for $134,900, and another with 4 beds and 2 baths for $192,400.

Click on any address for additional pics and details. Happy house hunting!

Price: $192,400 Size: 1,885 sq. ft., 4 beds, and 2 baths

Price: $202,500 Size: 1,406 sq. ft, 3 beds, and 2 baths

Price: $134,900 Size: 1,364 sq. ft., 3 beds, and 3 baths

Price: $189,900 Size: 1,680 sq. ft., 4 beds, and 2 baths

Price: $225,000 Size: 1,409 sq. ft., 3 beds, and 2 baths

Your search doesn’t have to end here! Keep scrolling for more listings. And there are even more foreclosures for you to check out in Patch’s real-estate section for the Brandon area.

Photos courtesy of Realtor.com

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Blue Sky Communities launches Hillsborough affordable housing project that’s ‘going to impact a lot of people’

The affordable housing to be provided at the Preserve at Sabal Park “is going to impact a lot of people,” Thaddeus M. Bullard, better known as World Wrestling Entertainment star Titus O’Neil, said Thursday. “There is no such thing as a bad kid. People are in bad situations, around bad influences and they make bad choices and bad decisions. Put those same quote-unquote bad people in a good situation around great resources and great people and they have a greater chance to succeed. That’s why I’m extremely excited about this project.” RICHARD DANIELSON | Times

MANGO — With rents rising and affordable housing becoming a leading issue in the Tampa mayor’s race, Blue Sky Communities of Tampa is launching construction on a 144-apartment complex for the working poor.

"These are families that have jobs, but they’re only making $10 or $15 an hour, so where do they live right now?" Blue Sky president Shawn Wilson said Thursday. Probably either in a nice apartment that costs $1,500 to $1,800 a month or a substandard one, maybe in an area with a crime problem, that costs $600 or $700 a month.

The Preserve at Sabal Park, he said, aims to combine safety and amenities (a pool, clubhouse, high-efficiency appliances and an after-school program for children) with rents within those families’ budgets, Wilson said.

Rents will range from a projected $418 to $898 per month, depending on family size and income. For example, a family of three renting a two-bedroom, two-bath apartment would pay $494 a month if they made less than 40 percent of the area’s median income (about $23,000 a year) and $782 a month if they made less than 60 percent ($34,560 a year).

"You’re not going to find a brand-new unit (elsewhere) like this for anywhere near that price," Wilson said.

The Preserve at Sabal Park will offer one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments on 23 acres in unincorporated Hillsborough County at the corner of Williams Road and E Broadway Avenue, about a half-mile east of Hillsborough Community College’s Brandon campus.

Financing for the $30 million project, which is expected to open after 14 months of construction, consists of $24 million from federal, state and Hillsborough County public funds, and $6 million in private bank financing. Affordable housing is desperately needed, County Commissioner Kimberly Overman said, especially with 1,700 people a month moving to Hillsborough County, which is contributing $551,000 to the project.

Advocates have begun hoping that more state funds will be available for this kind of project now that Gov. Ron DeSantis has proposed a state budget that does not, as in years past, sweep money out of the state’s trust fund for affordable housing and spend it on other things.

That trust fund is "intended for a purpose, and we need to return to those purposes," said state Rep. Lawrence McClure, R-Dover.

In partnership with Metropolitan Ministries, a second phase is expected to start in October with 112 units focused on providing housing, on-site case management and services for tenants emerging from homelessness.

"These families that are going to be served … I was that family," said Thaddeus M. Bullard, 41, who is better known as World Wrestling Entertainment star Titus O’Neil and who has helped Metropolitan Ministries raise more than $1 million. "My mother was raped at a very young age, at 11, had me at 12, against the wishes of a lot of people. We grew up dirt poor in government housing. There were several times when lights weren’t on and things weren’t available."

But Bullard said he found life-changing encouragement and acceptance at the Florida Sheriff’s Boys Ranch.

"There is no such thing as a bad kid." he said. "People are in bad situations, around bad influences and they make bad choices and bad decisions. Put those same quote-unquote bad people in a good situation around great resources and great people and they have a greater chance to succeed. That’s why I’m extremely excited about this project. … It is going to impact a lot of people."

Contact Richard Danielson at rdanielson@tampabay.com or (813) 226-3403. Follow @Danielson_Times

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Universal Forest Products Inc (UFPI) Q4 2018 Earnings Conference Call Transcript

Image source: The Motley Fool. Contents: Prepared Remarks Questions and Answers Call Participants Prepared Remarks:

Operator

Good day, ladies and gentlemen. And welcome to the Fourth Quarter Universal Products Incorporated Earnings Conference Call. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. Later, we will conduct a question-and-answer session and instructions will follow at that time. (Operator Instructions) As a reminder, today’s conference is being recorded.

I’d now like to introduce today’s conference call, Mr. Brandon Froysland, Director of Finance. You may begin, one moment.

Brandon Froysland — Director of Finance

Welcome to the Universal Forest Products Incorporated fourth quarter 2018 conference call. Hosting the call today are CEO, Matt Missad and CFO Mike Cole. Matt and Mike will offer prepared remarks and then the call will be opened up for questions.

This conference call is available simultaneously and in its entirety to all interested investors and news media through our webcast at www.ufpi.com. A replay will also be available at the website through March 21st, 2019.

Before, I turn the call over to Matt Missad, let me remind you that yesterday’s press release and today’s presentation include forward-looking statements as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the company’s expectations and projections. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, those factors identified in the press release and in the filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

At this time, I’d like to turn the call over to Matt Missad.

Matthew J. Missad — Chief Executive Officer

Thank you, Brandon and good morning everyone. Welcome to our fourth quarter 2018 investor call. As you know our challenge for 2018 was to be greater than before and once again our operations met that challenge and set annual records for sales and profits. They also set sales records for the fourth quarter, and posted pre-tax results from operations, which were a fourth quarter record.

Like the New Orleans Saints, we know that the final score is what matters and Q4 net income was not a record. Rather than trying to justify why it should be counted, we will use it as motivation to start a new streak of profit records in 2019.

A few highlights for the quarter include; sales reached a record $988.2 million for the quarter and unit sales were up 4%. Annual sales were $4.49 billion, up 14% over 2017. Earnings per share was down 1% for the quarter to $0.50 per share versus 2017. For the year earnings per share was $2.40, a 24% increase over 2017.

EBITDA for the quarter was $63.6 million, up 11% over 2017. For the year, EBITDA was $266 million, up 12% over 2017. New product sales were $103 million for the quarter and $513 million for the year. For 2019, we have sunset approximately $40 million of new products, which we still sell, but won’t consider new and established a new target of $525 million for the year. As you know, we use gross profit dollars per unit as a tool to measure performance. This measure takes out lumber market pricing as a variable. We were very pleased that gross profit dollars per unit grew at more than double the rate of unit growth in the fourth quarter.

Also during the fourth quarter, we closed on the acquisition of Pak-Rite, a mixed materials packaging (Technical Difficulty) We are excited about growing this presence throughout our network. We also hired a leader of our alternative packaging materials group, which will help us both with sourcing our internal packaging needs, as well as providing additional packaging solutions to our existing and future customers.

The industrial space remains a strong focus for growth, whether organically or by acquisition. The retail market remain solid, even though there was a slight dip in sales versus a hurricane recovery aided 2017. Our focus remains on new product sales and expansion of our customer base. We expect continued growth in our expanding portfolio of decorators brand products, coupled with professional installations through our growing base of certified decorators contractors. We are also expanding our mix of UFP-Edge products with even higher quality coatings and both smooth and rough surfaces.

In the construction market, we saw a solid results as well. Manufactured housing saw fewer FEMA orders in Q4 than in 2017, again due to the abnormal 2017 hurricane replacement orders. Site build construction remained good in the markets we serve and we expect the market to remain at levels, which will yield good results for UFP in 2019.

In the commercial construction and concrete forming area, we have streamlined our sales efforts and will be growing market share. Increased infrastructure spending could provide a boost too. As you can tell, we are excited about our business. We also recognize that we have areas of improvement, which we aim to correct. We have several underperforming operations that did not meet their ROI targets. They will receive extra attention and focus to get them to target.

We continue to analyze our SG&A spending to isolate expansion spending from core SG&A cost. Expansion SG&A spending includes design specialists, research and testing facilities and personnel, product development and new product launch, expanding our e-commerce capabilities and acquisition related costs. We view these expansionary SG&A costs as an investment in future profitability at higher rates of return.

Healthcare cost continue to exceed budget and the company absorbed nearly $10 million in excess cost in 2018. We are adjusting the budget for 2019 and we’ll be offering additional benefit options to help our employees better manage their healthcare cost where possible. Transportation cost have moderated due to lower fuel cost, which helped defray some of the rising cost for drivers, equipment and regulatory restrictions, which hurt drivers and companies in local delivery situations. We expect higher cost in Q2 and Q3, if volumes approximate 2018 levels, but we have taken steps to mitigate those increases.

Labor also remains a challenge, but we are seeing very good results from our investments in technology and automation, which reduced the need for unskilled labor, while still enhancing growth and career opportunities for our production teams.

Now, I’d like to turn it over to Mike Cole, who will provide more details on our financial performance.

Michael R. Cole — Chief Financial Officer

Thanks, Matt. Before reviewing the financials, I’ll briefly address the lumber market this quarter. The fourth quarter ended up being another challenging quarter for lumber market volatility, as prices dropped significantly from September through November, and then remain flat through the end of the year. This trend impacted our profit per unit on products we sell with fixed and variable prices.

Fortunately, the strong balance we have in our product mix along with other positive factors allowed us to overcome the impact of this volatility and report an improvement in our profit per unit again this quarter. The downward trend in lumber prices did impact our overall sales levels though, which I’ll walk through now.

Overall sales for the quarter increased 1%, resulting from a 4% increase in unit sales that was offset by a 3% decrease in selling prices. Organic unit growth this quarter was only 1% though, coming in below what we’ve reported in previous quarters this year, primarily due to the impact of hurricanes that lifted our retail and manufactured housing unit volumes in the fourth quarter of 2017. Our new product sales initiative was another bright spot this quarter, as new product sales grew 13%, and experienced 50 basis points of gross margin improvement.

Breaking down our sales by market. Sales to the retail market decreased $27 million or 8%, resulting from a decline in selling prices of 4%, combined with a unit decrease of 4%. Our unit sales decline was due to hurricane-related volume in the fourth quarter of 2017. Excluding the sales decreases, we experienced in our Golf and Texas regions,which were impacted by hurricanes. We estimate our organic unit growth to the retail market was about 3.5%, which is in line with results of previous quarters this year.

Our sales to the industrial market increased 11%, driven by a 12% increase in units, offset by a 1% decrease in selling prices. Acquisitions contributed 7% to unit growth, while organic growth was about 5%. The organic unit increase was primarily driven by adding 134 new customers, 160 new locations of existing customers and $7 million of new product sales growth, as our efforts to improve market share continue to gain traction.

Our overall sales to the construction market increased 1%, due to a 5% organic unit increase, offset by a 4% decrease in selling prices. Within the construction category, our unit sales increased by 18% to commercial construction customers; 7% to residential construction and decreased 3% to manufactured housing. We believe the decline in our unit sales to manufactured housing customers this year was due to an increase in their production last year to fill FEMA orders resulting from hurricane damage to housing.

Moving down the income statement. Our fourth quarter gross profit increased by $8.5 million or nearly 7%, surpassing our 4% growth in unit sales as our profit per unit improved. The overall gross profit increase was comprised of an increase in our construction market of $8.5 million to go along with a $6.5 million improvement in our industrial gross profits, offset by a $2 million decrease in retail and a $4.5 million decrease, due to unfavorable cost variances, due to factors such as higher labor, overhead and transportation costs.

Continuing to move down the income statement, SG&A expenses increased about $4.5 million or 5%, which was slightly above our increase in unit sales, but was on plan for the quarter as acquired businesses comprised most of the increase. I should also mention that accrued bonus expense was almost $10 million. This leaves about $82 million and what we call our core SG&A, which was down from about $88 million last quarter.

Gross profit improvements and heading (ph) plan on SG&A allowed us to report operating profit and EBITDA growth of 9.5% and 11% respectively, well in excess of our 4% unit sales growth.

Below the operating profit line, I should point out that our interest costs were up about $1.4 million year-over-year, due to higher rates and debt levels, and our investment income was down about $1.9 million, due to unrealized losses on investments we carry in our captive insurance subsidiary.

Finally, our effective tax rate this quarter was almost 23%, compared to 18% last year, when we reduced our net deferred tax liability by about $6.4 million as a result of the tax law change.

Moving on to the cash flow statement. Our cash flow from operating activities for the year was $117 million and comprised of net earnings and non-cash expenses, totaling $213 million, offset by a $96 million increase in working capital since year-end. As I’ve mentioned on previous calls, we measure our cash cycle to assess our working capital management. Our cash cycle for the fourth quarter increased to 61 days, compared to 53 days last year, primarily due to an increase in our days supply of inventory. Given the drop in lumber prices and anticipating a seasonal increase, our plans took advantage of the opportunity to position by inventory for the 2019 selling season.

Investing activities consisted of capital expenditures, totaling almost $96 million, including expansionary CapEx and purchases of real estate totaling $45 million. Proceeds from the sale of real estate, including our Medley, Florida facility in Q1 for over $38 million, and $54 million spent this year to acquire several companies that serve the industrial wood and packaging space.

Financing activities primarily consisted of $16 million in net repayments on our revolving credit facility, and $75 million in senior notes issued under our existing shelf facility. We also repurchased almost $25 million worth of our stock this year at an average price of almost $29 and paid over $22 million of dividends at a semi-annual rate of $0.18 per share, a 12% increase over last year.

With respect to our balance sheet and capital structure, our net debt was about $202 million at the end of Q4, compared to $144 million last year, primarily due to $54 million of funding for business acquisitions. Our balance sheet remains under-levered and strong with net debt at only 0.7 times EBITDA and less than 16% of our total capitalization.

Consequently, we believe we could add $300 million in debt to continue to grow our business and still feel comfortable with our leverage and capital structure. As we’ve discussed on previous calls, our highest priorities for capital allocation continue to be capital expenditures and acquisitions. We always seek the highest return for investors and will shift the share repurchases as we did in Q4, if the price falls to predetermined levels.

Finally, our trailing 12-month return on invested capital is 14%, exceeding our weighted average cost of capital and up from 13.2% last year, primarily due to the decrease in the federal corporate income tax rate.

That’s all I have in the financials, Matt.

Matthew J. Missad — Chief Executive Officer

Thank you, Mike. Now I’d like to open it up for any questions you may have.

Questions and Answers:

Operator

(Operators Instructions) Our first question comes from Ketan Mamtora with BMO Capital Markets.

Ketan Mamtora — BMO Capital Markets — Analyst

Good morning, Matt, Mike.

Michael R. Cole — Chief Financial Officer

Good morning, Ketan.

Matthew J. Missad — Chief Executive Officer

Good morning, Ketan. How are you?

Ketan Mamtora — BMO Capital Markets — Analyst

I’m good. First question, I wanted to touch upon, sort of a high level, what you are seeing in housing? Q4 wasn’t great, we know that H2 also back half of last year also had some affordability issues. But we’ve also seen now rates fall quite a bit in the last three months. So obviously a lot of pros cons (ph). Can you talk about what you guys are seeing in your various businesses, as you look into the spring season?

Matthew J. Missad — Chief Executive Officer

Yeah, I think that’s a great question Ketan, and I just was out at the International builders show and talking to a lot of builders and there’s still good optimism. They seemed to have a pretty steady flow. The size of the units and other things are things that are adjusting to make it more affordable, but they seem pretty bullish on 2019 still.

Ketan Mamtora — BMO Capital Markets — Analyst

Okay. Are you seeing sort of at least from a broad standpoint, any regions within the US that are doing either better or worse than you had expected?

Matthew J. Missad — Chief Executive Officer

Yeah, I think, as we talk about it, so on our site-built side, we do very well in the markets that tend to be more stable during the downturn many years ago, we exited from what we call the boom and bust markets and we haven’t gone back in there. For example, California, I think is probably been impacted more than others in a negative way. But we don’t have a huge exposure there, so it’s not a concern for us. But where we are heavily concentrated with our site-built operations, again we feel very good about those particular markets.

Ketan Mamtora — BMO Capital Markets — Analyst

Got it. That’s helpful. And then turning to the lumber market, as Mike mentioned, we saw a big drop in Q4, it seem like pricing at least on the Western SPF grades rallied in the last six to eight weeks, but seems like they’re plateauing. What are you guys seeing out there in terms of either inventories or kind of just activity?

Matthew J. Missad — Chief Executive Officer

Yeah, I think, what we’re seeing is kind of a typical seasonal uptick, and in conversations with a variety of our vendors, you know, they’re not looking to see the highs that occurred in 2018, but they look at this being a more typical year and obviously, the reorder process which will happen over the next 30 days will help in indicate whether inventories in the supply chain are at the appropriate levels or not, but they all feel pretty comfortable about where the inventories are in the chain today.

Ketan Mamtora — BMO Capital Markets — Analyst

Got it. That’s helpful. And then final question from my side. What are you all expecting in terms of CapEx for 2019?

Michael R. Cole — Chief Financial Officer

We’re planning for about $95 million, Ketan.

Ketan Mamtora — BMO Capital Markets — Analyst

$95 million, and how much of that on average is kind of just maintenance capital versus more discretionary or expansionary CapEx?

Michael R. Cole — Chief Financial Officer

We are planning for about $55 million to $60 million in maintenance CapEx, and about $35 million to $40 million then in expansionary and efficiency CapEx.

Ketan Mamtora — BMO Capital Markets — Analyst

Got it. That’s very helpful. I’ll turn it over. Good luck in 2019.

Matthew J. Missad — Chief Executive Officer

Thank you, Ketan.

Michael R. Cole — Chief Financial Officer

Thank you, Ketan.

Operator

The next question comes from Dan Jacome with Sidoti.

Dan Jacome — Sidoti & Company — Analyst

Good morning.

Matthew J. Missad — Chief Executive Officer

Good morning, Dan.

Michael R. Cole — Chief Financial Officer

Hi, Dan.

Dan Jacome — Sidoti & Company — Analyst

Just couple of questions. Thanks for your time. First on the construction segment, I saw the price is down 4%, obviously your lumber price volatility. I just — can you give us a sense on to — on that change versus last year. How much was lumber prices? Just for making sure, it wasn’t, anything else I’m missing?

Matthew J. Missad — Chief Executive Officer

Yeah, I think it’s primarily driven by just year-over-year lumber market.

Dan Jacome — Sidoti & Company — Analyst

Okay.

Matthew J. Missad — Chief Executive Officer

I think that’s what we’re seeing.

Dan Jacome — Sidoti & Company — Analyst

Okay, I figured. And then to SG&A, obviously you mentioned some discretionary SG&A spend this year. Do you have a sense of what SG&A dollars might be up. I’m not looking for something exact, but would — similar cadence to this year and the mid-single digit range or should we expect some sort of outlier movement in that?

Matthew J. Missad — Chief Executive Officer

No, I think you’re exactly right, kind of, mid-single digit is about the right level.

Dan Jacome — Sidoti & Company — Analyst

Got it.

Matthew J. Missad — Chief Executive Officer

(Technical Difficulty) unit sales too, Dan. Just to be clear, in case lumber market differences.

Dan Jacome — Sidoti & Company — Analyst

Sorry, I missed that last point?

Matthew J. Missad — Chief Executive Officer

Based on the unit sales basis, so…

Dan Jacome — Sidoti & Company — Analyst

Right, right. Yeah. Okay, thank you. And then on the Wolverine deal, I know you can’t comment on it yet. Any thoughts there, I was just wondering what percent of their maybe revenue or business is the hospitality segment per se. And how much it might be other industries?

Matthew J. Missad — Chief Executive Officer

Yeah, I think for the most part, there is furniture component supplier and we’re really excited about the technology that they have. So for us, that’s what we’re more focused on and hopefully we’ll get that transaction completed here in the next 30 to 60 days and we’re excited about it.

Dan Jacome — Sidoti & Company — Analyst

Terrific. It sounds like management is going to stay into the Universal family for the long-term for the next foreseeable future?

Matthew J. Missad — Chief Executive Officer

Yeah, we certainly hope it’s for the long-term.

Dan Jacome — Sidoti & Company — Analyst

Okay, great. And then lastly, I’m trying to pick your brain here on the infra spending. I don’t know, if you have any insights on what’s happening on the hill. How likely do you think we’ll see something in the next 18 months, just because of what’s happening now and then that was it?

Matthew J. Missad — Chief Executive Officer

Yeah, I think the infrastructure spending, obviously there seems to be a consensus that more infrastructure spending is needed, your guess is better than mine is to whether, they can come together and agree on anything, but I would expect that there will be something that happens mid-year or certainly end of Q3, but to spoke of it I couldn’t tell you.

Dan Jacome — Sidoti & Company — Analyst

Okay, thank you, guys.

Matthew J. Missad — Chief Executive Officer

Thank you.

Michael R. Cole — Chief Financial Officer

Thanks, Dan.

Operator

Our next question comes from Steve Chercover with Davidson.

Steve Chercover — D. A. Davidson — Analyst

Thanks. Good morning, Matt and Mike.

Matthew J. Missad — Chief Executive Officer

Good morning, Steve.

Michael R. Cole — Chief Financial Officer

Good morning, Steve.

Steve Chercover — D. A. Davidson — Analyst

So Matt, you indicated that retail had a tough comp versus 2017. How is it trending through the first half of Q1’19. And do you expect to post the mid-single digit growth that you enjoyed through the first three quarters of last year?

Matthew J. Missad — Chief Executive Officer

I can’t really comment on the specifics there, Steve, but I can tell you just kind of our outlook. Our outlook is that, it’s going to be kind of in that mid-single digit range of growth. So we expect again on a unit sales basis, obviously, because of the lumber market pricing being down, if you’re focused on unit sales growth, that’s kind of what we’re looking at and my conversations with the retail community indicate that that’s what their expectation is.

Steve Chercover — D. A. Davidson — Analyst

Yes, I don’t know how the market will react to the tiny EPS miss, but I thought your EBITDA performance was really good. And I know that’s how you focus on margin dollars. Switching to inventories, they were up 21% year-over-year, which I guess is little surprising given how lumber fell in the quarter. So would you see that maybe you took a bigger advantage of what was a pretty compelling lumber market that you have in the last several years?

Matthew J. Missad — Chief Executive Officer

Yeah, I think we were fairly aggressive on our position buying this year. Obviously, we can take long positions, because we are going to deliver the products and we feel very comfortable with what we’ve done so far and the takeaway so far has been consistent with what we expected. So we would expect our inventory levels to drop, as they typically would buy end of Q3 or first part of Q — end of Q2 or first part of Q3.

Steve Chercover — D. A. Davidson — Analyst

Yeah, I mean, I know you don’t speculate. So I’m, it’s a testament to your comfort, I suppose. And then finally we’re buying in stock at an average price of $29 seems pretty darn compelling to me. So would you say that your shares even up a little bit remain more compelling than most of the deals you’re seeing in the marketplace?

Matthew J. Missad — Chief Executive Officer

Yeah, I think, if you kind of look at the EBITDA multiples out there, although they have moderated a fair bit since kind of mid last year, they’re still aggressive for any deals of significant size. So obviously we love our company and we believe the value is there, so that’s certainly something that we look at all the time.

Steve Chercover — D. A. Davidson — Analyst

Yeah, well these (inaudible) risk is pretty low too. Alright, that’s it from me. I get back in the queue. Thank you.

Operator

And I’m not showing any further questions at this time.

Matthew J. Missad — Chief Executive Officer

Well, thank you again. And as you can tell, we are very excited about the future and the opportunities for both unit sales improvement and profit growth. Our focus is on providing an excellent returns to our shareholders over the long-term, and fortunately we have an outstanding team of over 12,000 members, who work hard every day to achieve that goal. I’m very proud of what they have accomplished so far and know that we are capable of much, much more in the future. And you can tell from our share repurchases last quarter that we see great value in our company. Especially when we can purchase at a significant discount to what we believe the fair value to be. Thank you again for your investment and trust in us. Have a great day.

Operator

Ladies and gentlemen, this does conclude today’s presentation. You may now disconnect and have a wonderful day.

Duration: 25 minutes

Call participants:

Brandon Froysland — Director of Finance

Matthew J. Missad — Chief Executive Officer

Michael R. Cole — Chief Financial Officer

Ketan Mamtora — BMO Capital Markets — Analyst

Dan Jacome — Sidoti & Company — Analyst

Steve Chercover — D. A. Davidson — Analyst

Transcript powered by AlphaStreet

This article is a transcript of this conference call produced for The Motley Fool. While we strive for our Foolish Best, there may be errors, omissions, or inaccuracies in this transcript. As with all our articles, The Motley Fool does not assume any responsibility for your use of this content, and we strongly encourage you to do your own research, including listening to the call yourself and reading the company’s SEC filings. Please see our Terms and Conditions for additional details, including our Obligatory Capitalized Disclaimers of Liability.

Motley Fool Transcribers has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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5 New Foreclosures In The Brandon Area

BRANDON, FL — Don’t have a lot to spend, but still looking to buy a house nearby? Why not check out foreclosures in the area? You may just find your dream home in the rough!

Here are five new foreclosures on the market near you — many of them surprisingly affordable for their size and location.

Below, you’ll find an address, photo, price and size for each property on our list — including one with 2 beds and 1 bath for $98,000, and another with 3 beds and 3 baths for $134,900.

Looking for more pics and details? Just click on any address to learn more. Happy house hunting!

Price: $134,900 Size: 1,364 sq. ft., 3 beds, and 3 baths

Price: $189,900 Size: 1,680 sq. ft, 4 beds, and 2 baths

Price: $225,000 Size: 1,409 sq. ft., 3 beds, and 2 baths

Price: $98,000 Size: 998 sq. ft., 2 beds, and 1 bath

Price: $163,100 Size: 1,379 sq. ft., 2 beds, and 2 baths

Your search doesn’t have to end here! Keep scrolling for more listings. And there are even more foreclosures for you to check out in our real-estate section for the Brandon area.

Photos courtesy of Realtor.com

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Florida rep’s blackface problem — Trump’s $64m vacay tab — Gaetz v. Parkland dad — Face-licker quits

Good Thursday morning. Well, blackface has come to Florida….or, well, it has been here for a while.

INTO THE BARREL — As Virginia, the new capital of political blackface, dominates the news cycle, one of the Florida-based byproducts has been once again putting focus on the high school blackface photo of state Rep. Anthony Sabatini, a Republican from just outside of Orlando. The 30-year-old said he does not think the high school picture is racist because he took it as part of a joke with a close high school friend who was black. The high school friend, Brandon Evans, backed Sabatini’s description, telling the Orlando Sentinel “I don’t know how it got to be seen as racial.”

THE POLITICS — Despite that explanation, the Florida Democratic Party pounced on the photo, which initially surfaced during the campaign. FDP Chair Terrie Rizzo called on Sabatini to resign, while Florida House Speaker Jose Oliva, a Republican, said blackface is “unacceptable.” He did, though, note that once the “facts were known” and Sabatini’s friend vouched for him, it became clear there was “no racial animus.” Despite that explanation, the story has caught media fire across the country.

—“State Rep. Anthony Sabatini dismisses Florida Democratic chair call for his resignation over high school ‘blackface’ photo,” by Orlando Sentinel’s Steven Lemongello: Read more

—“Florida pol rejects calls to resign over high school blackface photo,” by New York Post’s Joshua Rhett Miller: Read more

—“Florida politician says he won’t resign over blackface photo that surfaced during his campaign,” by Splinter’s Samantha Grasso: Read more

—“Florida state representative rejects calls for his resignation over high school blackace photo,” by Newsweek’s Christina Zhao: Read more

WELCOME TO THE PLAYBOOK FAMILY — Annabelle Dickson, POLITICO Europe’s London-based politics and technology correspondent, starting this Friday, will officially write the Friday edition of the London Playbook. Jack Blanchard will continue to oversee the newsletter and will write the other 4 editions. Subscribe

PERVERSION OF JUSTICE — “Justice Department opens probe into Jeffrey Epstein plea deal,” by Miami Herald’s Julie K. Brown: “The Department of Justice has opened an investigation into Secretary of Labor Alex Acosta’s role in negotiating a controversial plea deal with a wealthy New York investor accused of molesting more than 100 underage girls in Palm Beach. The probe is in response to a request by Sen. Ben Sasse, a Nebraska Republican and member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, who was critical of the case following a series of stories in the Miami Herald. The Herald articles detailed how Acosta, then the U.S. attorney for Southern Florida, and other DOJ attorneys worked hand-in-hand with defense lawyers to cut a lenient plea deal with multimillionaire Jeffrey Epstein in 2008.” Read more

‘POINT OF PRIDE?’ — via press release: “Allied Progress, which worked to raise public awareness about Acosta’s kid-gloves treatment of Jeffrey Epstein’s child sexual exploitation case during his Labor Secretary nomination process, is urging the more than 130,000 activists on its email list to share a new video, `Point of Pride,‘ on social media networks. Activists are also asked to sign a petition demanding the Senate hold Acosta accountable by moving forward H.R. 202, the bipartisan Inspector General Access Act, which cleared the U.S. House on January 15th and would allow a long overdue investigation to go forward. The video and petition are backed by paid ads on Twitter and Facebook.”

KA-CHING — “Eric Trump to hold fundraiser at Mar-a-Lago Thursday,” by Palm Beach Post’s Alexandra Clough: “President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address included a sweet spotlight on Grace Eline, a 10-year old girl who, at an early age, asked for donations to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital instead of presents, only to wind up battling cancer herself at age 9. Now 10, Grace Eline was seated next to First Lady Melania Trump during the speech and beamed with a broad smile when the president spoke about her story. The plug for St. Jude on national television came two days before Trump’s son, Eric, and his his wife Lara are set to co-chair a $750 per ticket dinner dance gala at Mar-a-Lago, the former Eric Trump Foundation benefiting St. Jude.” Read more

BAD LOOK — “Florida congressman Matt Gaetz clashes with Parkland dad at hearing on gun violence,” by Sun Sentinel’s Skyler Swisher: “A Florida congressman clashed Wednesday with a father who lost his son in the Parkland school shooting, inquiring at one point during a Congressional hearing on gun violence why the chair wasn’t enforcing decorum and having him removed. U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Pensacola, drew shouts from Parkland dad Manuel Oliver when he said expanding background checks for gun sales would do nothing to stop murders committed by people who are in the country illegally.” Read more

AIDS EPICENTER — “Trump vowed to ‘defeat AIDS’ in his State of the Union. Florida is ground zero,” by Tampa Bay Times’ Steve Contorno: “President Donald Trump on Tuesday vowed to `eliminate the HIV epidemic in the United States within 10 years‘ during his State of the Union address. ‘Scientific breakthroughs have brought a once-distant dream within reach,’ Trump said. ‘Together, we will defeat AIDS in America.’ It’s a surprising declaration for a president who has proposed cutting tens of millions of dollars from federal HIV and AIDS programs in his previous budget.” Read more

NOT AGAIN — “Second federal shutdown would put hurricane recovery at risk,” by POLITICO Florida’s Matt Dixon: A second federal government shutdown could hamper Florida’s hurricane recovery efforts by depriving the state of rebuilding funds for Hurricane Michael, the state’s emergency management director warned. Department of Emergency Management Director Jared Moskowitz said a second shutdown this month could prevent Congress from passing spending bills crucial to Florida. Read more

CHANGES COMING — “School safety changes proposed as Parkland anniversary nears,” News Service of Florida’s Ana Ceballos: “A week before the Parkland school-shooting anniversary, top Republican leaders in the Florida Senate have proposed plans to overhaul school-safety measures and expand a controversial program that allows school personnel to carry guns, a proposal that has overshadowed Democrats’ efforts to move away from arming school staff.“ Read more

SCHOOLS V. HOSPITALS — “The Sunshine Economy: The State Budget,” by WLRN’s Tom Hudson: “Familiar battlelines are being drawn over the biggest pieces Florida’s state budget — healthcare and education. Republicans plan on going after healthcare regulations they contend drive up the cost of care. Democrats say, after three failed attempts, Medicaid expansion returns as their priority." Read more

FOR WHOM THE TOLLS TOLL — “Lawmakers want tough stance on SunPass toll problems,” by News Service of Florida: “State lawmakers called Tuesday for transportation officials to maintain a hard financial line against a contractor blamed for a troubled project last summer to upgrade the SunPass system, as final toll invoices from a backlog go out to motorists this week.” Read more

CC. BROWARD COUNTY — “School board term limits proposal advances in Florida House,” by Tampa Bay Times’ Jeffrey S. Solochek: “Citing the importance of eliminating the ‘incumbency advantage’ and the need to generate fresh ideas, members of the Florida House PreK-12 Quality subcommittee unanimously backed a resolution (HJR 229) Wednesday to ask voters to approve term limits for school board members. Even with their support, several committee members signaled a desire to see some changes to the proposal for two four-year terms.” Read more

HISTORY UNEARTHED — “Hurricane Michael exposes WWII gun turret in St. Andrews State Park,” by News Herald’s Patti Blake: “A small piece of history was recently exposed by heavy wind and surge from Hurricane Michael and recent storms at St. Andrews State Park. A WWII gun turret is now visible on the Gulf side of the beach at the state park. According to Park Services Specialist David Morris, the turret is one of two built in 1943 to defend commercial vessels against attacking U-boats.” Read more

DEBRIS DOLLARS — “After Hurricane Michael’s blow, lawmaker pursues money for storm-ravaged Bay County,” by News Service of Florida’s Jim Turner: Read more

HANG ‘EM — “Roofing scammers stole nearly $500,000 from Volusia-Flagler residents after hurricanes, officials say,” by News-Journal’s Frank Fernandez: Read more

SHOCKED — “Maduro regime blocks international bridge to prevent aid from getting into Venezuela,” by Miami Herald’s Jim Wyss: “Venezuela’s determination to stop humanitarian aid from entering the country was on full display Wednesday, after the military dumped shipping containers and a tanker truck on a bridge that was supposed to be a thoroughfare for food and medicine pouring into the country.” Read more

THE OTHER HALF — “Report: Half of Marion households struggle to make ends meet,” by Star Banner’s Joe Callahan: “Half of Marion County’s households do not earn enough money to pay for basic necessities such as food, housing and child care, according to a study released today by the United Way of Florida. Even though Marion County’s unemployment rate is dropping and wages are rising, local United Way officials say many area residents are still struggling to make ends meet.” Read more

CC. MCCLATCHY’S CEO — “Booming economy? For South Florida residents, barely getting by is increasingly the norm,” by Miami Herald’s Rob Wile: “Miami-Dade’s unemployment rate sits at about 3.6 percent—the lowest in a decade. An all-time high of more than 1.2 million county residents have jobs. But for hundreds of thousands of Miami-Dade families, survival in the past decade has remained a struggle, according to the United Way’s latest ALICE report, a bi-annual study examining household finances by state and county.” Read more

ACCESSORY TO SUICIDE — “High court upholds manslaughter conviction of Michelle Carter, woman who sent texts urging boyfriend’s suicide,” by AP’s Alanna Durkin Richer: “A young woman who as a teenager encouraged her boyfriend through dozens of text messages to kill himself is responsible for his suicide, Massachusetts’ highest court ruled Wednesday in upholding her involuntary manslaughter conviction.” Read more

S.S. SLIME HUNTER — “FAU’s Self-Driving Sailboat Will Monitor Algal Blooms In Lake Okeechobee,” by WLRN’s Andrew Quintana: “With clear skies and breezy winds, Florida Atlantic University (FAU) revealed its newest invention Tuesday at Pahokee Marina, in the southern half of Lake Okeechobee: a solar powered sailboat that will monitor and test for harmful algal blooms. The Nav2 is the first autonomous vessel to be used for in-land algae monitoring.” Read more

— “Crestview chooses first city manager,” by Daily News’ Wendy Victora: Read more

— “Developers make their pitch for new JEA headquarters,” by Times-Union’s Christopher Hong: Read more

— “To avoid potential conflict, Duval School Board member stepping down from education nonprofit," by Times-Union’s Teresa Stepzinski: Read more

— “Commissioner seeks to rescind $10 million in funding for proposed aquarium at Port Canaveral,” by Florida Today’s Dave Berman: Read more

TRULY SORRY — “How Tampa’s James Cordier went from high roller to YouTube apology after losing $150 million,” by Tampa Bay Times’ Susan Taylor Martin: “The collapse of Cordier’s OptionSellers.com was perhaps not as surprising as it appeared. The company nearly ‘blew up‘ once before, as former employee Michael Gross put it, because of its connection to a brokerage whose CEO landed in prison for embezzling more than $200 million from clients’ accounts.” Read more

FACE LICKER — “Madeira Beach commissioner accused of face-licking, groping city manager resigns,” by Tampa Bay Times’ Sheila Mullane Estrada: “City Commissioner Nancy Oakley resigned Tuesday, days after being fined by the state ethics commission for sexually harassing a former city manager by licking his face and groping him.” Read more

Want to make an impact? POLITICO Florida has a variety of solutions available for partners looking to reach and activate the most influential people in the Sunshine State. Have a petition you want signed? A cause you’re promoting? Seeking to increase brand awareness amongst this key audience? Share your message with our influential readers to foster engagement and drive action. Contact Jesse Shapiro to find out how: jshapiro@politico.com.

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American Landmark Adds 300-Unit Multifamily Community to Its Fast-Growing Portfolio in Tampa

TAMPA, FL – American Landmark, one of the fastest-growing multifamily owner-operators in the country, has acquired Carlyle at Crosstown, a 300-unit garden-style community in Tampa. Located just 15 minutes east of Downtown Tampa, the asset marks the firm’s fifth acquisition in the Tampa market. The property was 96.3 percent occupied at the time of sale.

American Landmark, and its equity partner Electra America, continues to selectively acquire properties in excellent locations across the Southeast and Southwest. This is the company’s 27th property acquisition worth over $1.4 billion since the beginning of 2018, adding over 9,000 apartment units to its portfolio.

The firm plans to implement approximately $2.3 million of interior and exterior capital improvements. Unit enhancements will include smart thermostats, closet cabinet systems, and electronic key fobs. Community upgrades will include a package locker system, clubhouse improvements, and verdant landscaping.

“Tampa has always been an attractive market to invest and grow in, particularly because of its consistent opportunities in labor and economic growth,” said Christine DeFilippis, Chief Investment Officer of American Landmark. “Ranked as one of the best cities in the world by Resonance Consultancy, the metro area is receiving the recognition it deserves as a destination with high-quality infrastructure, institutions, and arts, areas that we’ve witnessed firsthand since our initial investment in the city.”

Built in 2009, Carlyle at Crosstown is located at 1820 Crosstown Club Place. One-, two-, and three-bedroom units include granite countertops, black appliances, plank flooring, ceramic tile flooring, and kitchen islands. Community amenities feature a large swimming pool with sundeck, fitness center, business center, clubhouse and lounge, pet grooming station, dog park, and car care center.

Situated between Tampa and Brandon, the community is surrounded by important transit routes offering access to major employers and the greater Tampa area. Selmon Expressway is less than five minutes away, offering a direct route to downtown Tampa, and Interstate 75 is less than 10 minutes away, providing a quick route to Interstate 4 and the rest of Central Florida.

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Dawson James Securities Announces Addition of Senior Banking and Capital Market Executives

BOCA RATON, Fla., Dec. 03, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Dawson James Securities, Inc., is pleased to announce the addition of Brandon Ross as Managing Director, Head of Capital Markets and Jonathan Blum as Managing Director, Head of Investment Banking residing in the Firm’s New York City office.

Robert D. Keyser, CEO of Dawson James, says, “We are excited to welcome back both Brandon and Jonathan to our Firm.” Keyser continues, “Dawson James has a long history with the team and we look forward to their contribution.”

Mr. Ross has over 20 years of investment banking and financial advisory experience. He was most recently Managing Director in Investment Banking and Head of Capital Markets at WestPark Capital. Prior to this, Mr. Ross was a Managing Director of Investment Banking with Dawson James Securities where his responsibilities included all aspects of evaluating and executing structured and fundamental PIPE and Registered Direct transactions. Previously, Mr. Ross had originated the institutional PIPE Group at Maxim Group and was SVP at Ladenburg Thalmann. Prior to this, Mr. Ross was a Partner and Managing Director of Barington Capital Group where he was responsible for the capital raising efforts of numerous investment banking transactions. He has completed over 100 public and private offerings, aggregating more than $1 billion in capital raised primarily for small and micro-cap companies. Mr. Ross holds a B.S. in Electrical Engineering Technology from Northeastern University and received an M.B.A. in Finance from the Stern School of Business, New York University.

Mr. Blum has 25 years of client consulting, advisory and fund-raising experience on Wall Street. He was most recently Managing Director, Investment Banking at WestPark Capital. Prior to this Mr. Blum was a Senior Managing Director at Dawson James Securities where he co-managed the New York Banking Group. Mr. Blum was responsible for capital raising for emerging growth companies with a life sciences focus. From 2002 to 2006, Mr. Blum was a Partner and Head of the Investment Banking practice at Jesup & Lamont Securities, a New York based boutique banking firm. Mr. Blum was a Managing Director at Prudential Securities Incorporated responsible for the firm’s Real Estate, Energy and Consumer M&A practices. Before joining Prudential Securities, Mr. Blum was a Director of M&A at Salomon Smith Barney. Prior to coming to Wall Street, Mr. Blum was a consultant at Bain & Co., a strategic consulting firm based in Boston. Mr. Blum graduated summa cum laude with a B.S. in finance from Boston University and received an M.B.A. with distinction from the Harvard Business School.

About Dawson James Securities, Inc.

Dawson James Securities specializes in capital raising for small and microcap public and private growth companies primarily in the Life Science/Health Care, Technology and Consumer sectors and is a full service investment banking firm with research, institutional and retail sales, and execution trading and corporate services. Headquartered in Boca Raton, FL, Dawson James is privately held with offices in New York, Maryland and New Jersey. www.dawsonjames.com.

Safe Harbor Statement

Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: This news release may contain forward-looking information within the meaning of Section 27A Of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, including statements that include the words “believes”, “expects”, “anticipates” or similar expressions. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.

Member FINRA/SIPC. For more information, please contact:

Elise Stern, Managing Director estern@dawsonjames.com

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Drake Lawn & Pest Control is the exterminator at Orlando, FL Serving Commercial and Residential Property Owners

(MENAFN – GetNews) Orlando, FL – Drake Lawn & Pest Control is the top rated lawn care and pest control service provider in Orlando, FL providing top of the line services to commercial and residential property owners. Being a locally owned and operated company, the team at Drake Lawn & Pest Control understands the need for a fast, efficient and reliable service which is aimed at establishing trust and overall creating the best experience for clients.

As the top-rated exterminator offering the service of pest control in Orlando , FL, Drake Lawn & Pest Control prides itself on the quality of services offered and as such has in its employ a team of highly trained and specialized pest control technicians who properly evaluate pest control problems and develop strategies aimed at completely solving the problem. Being a client health and safety-oriented business, Drake Lawn & Pest Control ensures that all pest control chemicals used are non-toxic thus eliminating health risks for clients.

The spokesperson for the pest control service provider, Drake Lawn & Pest Control, while describing the company noted: ‘Drake Lawn & Pest Control was established by individuals who boast of years of experience and extensive knowledge in the field and industry. Our company, aimed at providing stellar quality services to homes and commercial properties continues to set the standards in the industry through a combination of experience and expertise. We ensure that all pest control agents in our employ are subjected to continuous training and education which puts them ahead of others in the industry and further guarantees results and client satisfaction. We are in a never-ending pursuit for the delivery of perfect service and we are glad to handle your pest control needs as no job is too big or small for us to handle.

As a full service pest control service provider in the area, Drake Lawn & Pest Control has earned for itself a stellar reputation providing top of the line residential pest control solution for common pests such as ants, pill bugs, Brown dog ticks, centipedes, millipedes, beetles, European earwigs, silverfish, paper wasps, cockroaches, Box-elder bugs, cluster flies, spiders, yellow jackets, houseflies and more.

Serving Altamonte Springs, Apopka, Clermont, Kissimmee, Lake County, Lake Mary, Maitland, Orange County, Orlando, Osceola County, Oviedo, Sanford, Seminole County, Windermere, Winter Springs, Winter Parks and other areas, Drake Lawn & Pest Control also provides pest control services for commercial businesses with specialty in Foodservice, Apartment buildings, Retail businesses, Hospitality businesses, Office buildings, schools and more.

Drake Lawn & Pest Control is providing pest control services in Orlando and can be reached for all termite control needs, lawn care needs, bed bug control needs, wildlife management needs, and irrigation service need via its office located at 805 South Orlando Ave J, Winter Park, FL 32789 or call them on their hotline at (407) 532-3006. Online inquiries can be directed at Brandon Hill via email at

Media Contact Company Name: Drake Lawn & Pest Control Contact Person: Brandon Hill Email: Send Email Phone: (407) 532-3006 Address:805 South Orlando Ave J City: Orlando State: Florida Country: United States Website: http://www.drakepest.com/

MENAFN2101201900703268ID1098005140

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Playing for Miami Heat could save LeBron millions

The Miami Heat offers coveted NBA free agent LeBron James a chance to play for the legendary Pat Riley; home games in warm weather near the South Beach nightlife; and perhaps most important — millions of dollars in income tax savings during the life of his contract.

That could be huge for James – and any of the top free agents — expected to make the maximum $16.6 million free agent salary next year, no matter where he signs.

No compatible source was found for this media.

While James entertained pitches from a half dozen teams, including the Heat and New York Knicks, Martin R. Press, a tax attorney at Fort Lauderdale’s Gunster law firm and Brandon L. Chase, a summer associate with the firm, calculated the state income tax implications in states where James might play.

Using the Heat’s 2009-10 schedule and excluding Canadian taxes for the two trips the Heat made to Toronto, the pair determined if James stays with the Cleveland Cavaliers, his state income tax bill would be $894,228.

Although Florida doesn’t have an income tax, athletes are taxed for games they play in states that levy taxes. That means, if James joined the Heat, he’d pay $436,818 to other states. The same Florida tax savings also would apply if any of the free agents were to sign with the Orlando Magic.

Land instead with the New Jersey Nets, that bill would be $1.155 million. Or the Knicks, where he’d have to pay New York City taxes, too, and that’s a cool $1.449 million.

"New York is a wonderful state and [New York City Mayor] Michael Bloomberg believes it’s a wonderful place to play and live, but it’s going to cost you over $1 million," Press said.

The firm’s calculations do not consider real estate taxes or other sources of income, such as endorsement contracts, which also could be taxed.

The $16.6 million salary works out to $202,439 per game. Press and Chase applied each state’s tax rate for the number of road games played there. For example, the taxes were $15,891 for the one game in New York and $77,236 for the four games in California.

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5 Upcoming Open Houses In The Brandon Area

BRANDON, FL — Using the internet to shop for a home can be a frustrating process. Pictures won’t always demonstrate what a house has to offer, and they can often make a dud of a property appear quite a bit cuter than it really is. That’s the beauty of the IRL open house: A chance to try before you buy!

Ready to start hunting? For your convenience, we’ve made a list of the five most recent homes to hit the open-house circuit in the Brandon area. That way, you can get a feel for what kinds of properties are out there before making the big decision.

Below is an address, photo, price, home size and open-house time for each property on our list — including one with 3 beds and 2 baths for $285,000, and another with 3 beds and 3 baths for $179,900.

Want more photos or info? Just click on any address to learn more. Enjoy!

1. 1114 English Bluffs Ct, Brandon, Florida 33511

Price: $279,900 Size: 2,095 sq. ft., 3 beds, and 2 baths Open house: Sunday, January 13th at 1:00 pm

Price: $179,900 Size: 1,740 sq. ft, 3 beds, and 3 baths Open house: Sunday, January 13th at 1:00 pm

Price: $250,000 Size: 1,983 sq. ft., 4 beds, and 2 baths Open house: Friday, January 11th at 8:00 am

Price: $265,000 Size: 2,337 sq. ft., 4 beds, and 3 baths Open house: Saturday, January 12th at 11:00 am

Price: $285,000 Size: 2,060 sq. ft., 3 beds, and 2 baths Open house: Sunday, January 13th at 11:00 am

Your search doesn’t have to end here! Keep scrolling for more listings. And there are even more open houses for you to check out in Patch’s real-estate section for the Brandon area.

Photos courtesy of Realtor.com

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