While people are still moving into Florida and the Tampa Bay area the numbers are actually decreasing. About 200,000 less people moved into Florida in 2007 than in 2005. While the state still realized a gain of 35,000 people in 2007 this was only the second time since 1990 that fewer than 50,000 people moved [...]

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Head on out to the Pinellas Folk Festival and hear dozens of Tampa Bay’s premier folk musicians, watch historical demonstrations, enjoy great food and more from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Saturday, January 25, 2008 at Heritage Village, 11909 125th St., Largo, Fl. Admission, Parking and Shuttle are Free. For more information call (727) 582-2123.

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The Dunedin Fine Art Center, 1143 Michigan Blvd., presents 10 PODS interiors, each designed by a different artist to reflect their unique take on the space. A kickoff party with $10 admission starts at 8 p.m. Friday with John Kilduff, host of the cable access television’s Let’s Paint TV, and the exhibition will be open [...]

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The invasion of Jose Gaspar’s band of monied pirates is kind of like Mardi Gras, and kind of like a high school play if the actors could have alcohol.
It begins with a flotilla at 11:30 a.m. at the south end of Hillsborough Bay north to Seddon Channel and docks at the Tampa Convention Center in [...]

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Miami and Tampa rank among the top 10 U.S. cities for suspected mortgage fraud, a federal crime that cost the beleaguered U.S. economy at least $1.4-billion last year.
In most cases, you can’t have mortgage fraud without an appraiser. A fraudster is not going to pay cash for a home. They have to get a lender, [...]

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The insurance industry should not be allowed to thumb its nose at regulators and lawmakers, an expert told a Senate panel Tuesday.
J. Robert Hunter, an actuary who has spent 45 years in the business, testified there was no doubt rates would be a significantly higher in Florida if the Legislature had not passed a bill [...]

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The Florida Association of Realtors® (FAR) created the Great Time To Buy Florida Web site, which debuts today at http://buynow.floridarealtors.org.
GTTBF is a Realtor® reservoir that can be tapped daily for success strategies and the latest good news about Florida’s real estate market. Best yet, as an FAR member service, feel free to share [...]

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Cash back at closing is a form of fraud that is particularly prevalent and destructive. The reason it has become focused on so much is because many people think that cash back at closing is acceptable and that at its very worst, it is a victimless crime. A buyer simply agrees to pay more for [...]

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The Memorial Highway Bridge, which runs over Double Branch Creek in western Hillsborough County, Fl was closed for repairs in August 2007 just after the Minnesota bridge collapse happened. Hillsborough county now has money available through the Department of Transportation to replace the bridge.
The DOT says other Bay area bridges being replaced include the John’s [...]

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Impact fees would drop more than 60 percent in most categories beginning in April if Citrus County commissioners adopt a revised fee schedule Wednesday.
Fees for a single-family home of up to 1,500 square feet would drop from $9,313 to $4,703. Fees for commercial construction would also decrease to 2002 levels.
For more information on Citrus County [...]

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