Tallahassee Democrat Business News

Hotel Duval announced Wednesday its affiliation with the Marriott International Inc. Autograph Collection. The new designation becomes official today.

LOCAL BUSINESS

The Turner family of furniture fame has opened a pair of showrooms about 2.5 miles north of the state line in Beachton, Ga., hoping to serve customers throughout the region.

Krispy Krunchy Chicken is a new franchise that has arrived in Tallahassee.

Local apartments have new owners

A restaurant construction project at the Evening Rose development marks the first use in Florida of a California company's new type of brick — a green product that has 40 percent recycled content and requires only 15 percent of the energy required to make conventional clay bricks.

CAPE CANAVERAL — The Federal Aviation Administration has approved a launch site operator's license for Space Florida to facilitate commercial launches from Space Launch Complex 46. The decision means Space Florida may actively pursue commercial customers for launch commitments at the facility. Once a customer signs up, the launch complex could be ready for use within 12 months. "This is great news for Florida," said Lt. Gov. Jeff Kottkamp. "Commercial customers now have an additional option for launch from our nation's premier spaceport. This announcement just reinforces the fact that our state is rapidly facing the emerging space market and is ready for business."

On top of the increasing impacts of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, its business costs and environmental harm, crooks see an opportunity to defraud the public.

LOCAL BUSINESS

Florida Commerce Credit Union opened its new Thomasville Road office Thursday at noon — a branch with a new design that is not the traditional setup for financial services.

Most business owners wind up needing a lawyer at some point to help with legal matters. Selecting an attorney is an important task for a number of reasons.

Tallahassee-based eLayaway, the Internet's patent-pending layaway payment processor, began trading its common stock Wednesday on the OTC Bulletin Board under the symbol ELAY.

Milestones is a roundup of accomplishments, honors and awards of individuals in the business community. It appears Thursday and Sunday as space permits.

Engineer Tom Painter, working in a technology area with profound implications for electric power generation, found the path that leads from the research laboratory to the marketplace.

Milestones is a roundup of accomplishments, honors and awards of individuals in the business community. It appears Thursday and Sunday as space permits.

Briefcase is a roundup of business openings, new hires and promotions of individuals in the business community. It appears Thursday and Sunday as space permits.

Small high-tech companies trying to make their start in the commercial marketplace will have one more resource soon as the Economic Development Council of Tallahassee/Leon County prepares to roll out its Entrepreneurial Excellence Program to support business incubation in the area.

I've been writing these columns on the first Sunday of each month for three years, so it was only a matter of time before the first Sunday landed on the Fourth of July.

Ford Motor Co.'s traveling safety exhibit stopped Friday at Capital Regional Medical Center to display several vehicles and a demonstration unit for the auto industry's first production-ready rear inflatable seat belts.

LOCAL BUSINESS