A company with ties to a business empire of old will be joining a more modern dynasty soon with the purchase of Tampa's Vitality Foodservice Inc. by Nestle of Switzerland. ...more

November 24, 2009

Tuesday's announcement that Smithfield Foods will cease local operations means not only the departure of this city's largest private employer, but loss of a meat-packing plant that has provided jobs for generations. ...more

February 18, 2009

Virginia-based Smithfield Foods' closing of its Plant City meat-packing plant – the city's largest private employer – may be the largest layoff in the city's history. ...more

February 17, 2009

Verenium Corp. and Tampa-based Lykes Bros. unveiled plans Thursday to build the nation's first commercial cellulosic ethanol plant in Central Florida. ...more

January 16, 2009

Verenium Corp. and Tampa-based Lykes Brothers Inc. unveiled plans this morning to build the nation's first commercial cellulosic ethanol plant in central Florida. ...more

January 15, 2009

Gov. Charlie Crist on Monday appointed seven new members to the state's policy-making team on energy and climate change. The new members of the Florida Energy and Climate Commission are: Debra S. Harrison of Marathon, Florida director of the World Wildlife Fund; Timothy T. Jackson of Orlando, chief executive officer, Glatting Jackson Kercher & Anglin; James F. Murley of Miami, director of the Center for Urban and Environmental Solutions; Kathy Baughman McLeod of Tallahassee, deputy chief of staff to Florida Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink; Nils J. Diaz of St. Pete Beach, former chairman of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission; Howell L. Ferguson of Tallahassee, CEO of Lykes Bros.; and Nicholas C. Gladding, a Sarasota lawyer with Ruden McClosky. ...more

December 2, 2008

SEBRING — When Ave Maria opened last year in Collier County, two large landowners in Highlands County started working on a plan to conserve their land so they could organize the same kind of city, minus the controversies that surround that development. But after a series of fits and starts, the Rural Land Stewardship Area Program appears dead in Highlands County. First, Lykes Bros. dropped out of the program. Now, Atlanticblue has put in a more traditional rezoning request. Susie Bishop, an Atlanticblue spokeswoman, said Atlanticblue got tired of waiting for the state to review the program rules, and was discouraged by what she described as a new leadership in Tallahassee that stripped the program of incentives. ...more

June 8, 2008

SEBRING – John Tallent told the Highlands County commissioners last week he "didn't want to be the skunk at the church picnic." ...more

December 25, 2007

SEBRING — As Florida goes into its second winter of a drought that is expected to persist as far as official projections can go, growers are complaining that ongoing water restrictions are leaving their plants parched. Highlands County Lakes Manager Clell Ford told Highlands Today that Joe Collins, an engineer with Lykes Bros., complained that Lykes could use any water they could get from Lake Istokpoga for some of the crops it was growing. The South Florida Water Management District had shut off the water permits using the lake's canals since October. ...more

December 14, 2007

AVON PARK – More than than 40 area companies and government agencies will be participating in the 2007 Fall Employment Fair at South Florida Community College. The event will run from 4 - 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 1 at Building B on the Highlands campus, 600 W. College Drive., Avon Park. The participating companies include: Alan Jay Automotive Network, AFLAC, Avon Park Youth Academy (Securicor), Bank of America, Children's Home Society of Florida, Cohan Radio Group, Comcast Cable, Country Mortgages by Farm Credit, Cross Country Automotive Services, CTL Distribution Trucking, DeSoto Memorial Hospital, Florida D.O.T. Motor Carrier Compliance, Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Florida Hospital Heartland Division, Florida Institute of Neurological Rehab, Florida Integrated Neurological Group, Florida's Natural Growers, Four Points by Sheraton, Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation, H&R Block, Heartland National Bank, Heartland Sun Times, Highlands County Board of County Commissioners, Highlands County Family YMCA, Highlands County School Board, Highlands County EMS, Highlands County Sheriff's Office, Highlands Independent Bank, Hope Hospice & Community Services, Lake Placid Health Care Center, Lykes Bros. Inc., Merrill Lynch, Michaels, Moore Haven Correctional The GEO Group Inc., Newsom Eye & Laser Center, Quality Inn & Conference Center, Resolve Staffing, Sears, SeaBreeze Homes Inc., SFCC Public Service Academy, SFCC Human Resources, Sunshine Staffing, The Palms of Sebring and Verizon Wireless. ...more

October 28, 2007