LAKEWOOD RANCH -- The Sarasota Area Manufacturers Association along with several other groups are sponsoring a lunch with Congressman Vern Buchanan, R-Sarasota, from 11:45 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. Monday at the Holiday Inn in Lakewood Ranch.
Reservations are required. Cost is $25 for SAMA members and $40 for nonmembers. Call (800) 600-5906 for reservations.
Sarasota EDC narrows candidates to 5
SARASOTA -- Five candidates are the finalists for the position of president and chief executive officer of the Sarasota Economic Development Corp.
The five finalists are Rodney Carson, director of economic development at the Central Florida Development Council of Polk County in Lakeland; Mark Huey, economic development administrator for the city of Tampa, Paul Krutko, president and chief executive officer of Peloton Development in Aptos, Calif., Tammie Nemecek, president and chief executive officer of the Economic Development Council of Collier County in Naples and Charles Wood, former senior vice president for economic development at the Pensacola Bay Area Chamber of Commerce in Pensacola.
Current Sarasota CEO Kathy Baylis is retiring this year.
Opinicus Wealth Management relocates
BRADENTON -- Opinicus Wealth Management is moving to a new office at 1771 Manatee Ave. W. on April 1.
The two-story office will include a conference room with flat screens presenting market news and updates, said owner Griffin Dalrymple.
For more information, call (941) 896-9909.
-- Herald staff reports
GM plant shuttered in Japan to reopen in La.
SHREVEPORT, La. -- General Motors Co. will resume production at its assembly plant in Shreveport, La., one week after a massive earthquake and tsunami led to supply-chain problems that reached across the Pacific Ocean.
Doug Ebey, head of the United Auto Workers local, said Friday that the 800 employees at the plant will resume their normal four-day work week on Monday.
The plant operates one 10-hour shift per production day.
FDA clears first melanoma drug to extend life
WASHINGTON -- The Food and Drug Administration has approved a breakthrough cancer medication from Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. that researchers have heralded as the first drug to prolong the lives of patients with melanoma.
The federal health agency approved the injectable drug, called Yervoy, for late-stage or metastatic melanoma.
The agency has only approved two other drugs for advanced melanoma, the last of which was cleared more than 13 years ago.
Neither drug has been shown to significantly extend patient lives
Sallie Mae brings back deferred payment option
NEW YORK -- Sallie Mae says it’s bringing back an option that lets students wait until after graduation to start repaying loans.
The private student lender, formally known as SLM Corp., had done away with its signature deferred payment option loan during the credit crisis in 2009.
At the time, Sallie Mae began requiring borrowers to make interest payments right away while in school.
The company said the in-school payments helped defray long-term costs for students by reducing the amount of interest that accumulated on the loan.
-- Associated Press
