ORLANDO-W.D. Childers, the former president of the Florida Senate and chairman of the Escambia County board of commissioners, will be sentenced in mid-July after a six-member jury convicted him of illegally discussing public business in private with another commissioner.

ORLANDO-The little-known, 50-member Orlando/Kissimmee Hotel Motel Association has until Aug. 1 to convince a state judge that elected officials in Osceola County erred by selecting Orlando-based Xentury City Development Co. to build the 500,000-sf center away from its core business district.

ORLANDO-The timeshare developer bought the former 1,700-acre River Ranch Acres near Lake Wales, FL, 75 miles southwest of Downtown Orlando for $6 million, then sank another $4 million in renovations.

ORLANDO-The 20-year, 160,000-sf International Drive shopping center is the first local big-name retail casualty to formally file for protection from creditors this year under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code.

ORLANDO-T. Keith Hall held his elected position longer than any other Florida property tax collector except for Earl K. Wood, the 85-year-old Orange County collector now in his 38th year on the job in Orlando. Hall worked out of offices in the county seat of Tavares, 32 miles northwest of Downtown Orlando.

ORLANDO-Apparently angered that it couldn't swing the transaction itself four years ago with the city, the Bentonville, AR-based retailer is refusing to sell or donate right-of-way land Clermont needs to widen roads for the commercial/residential explosion occurring in south Lake County, 25 miles west of Downtown Orlando.

MIAMI-The former property manager for the Fort Lauderdale, FL-based theater chain will be in the same role for the Boca Raton, FL-based investment firm's Florida portfolio of shopping centers. Boca Raton is 70 miles north of Downtown Miami.

ORLANDO-The Columbus, OH-based lender has closed a $17 million bundled loan for the 238-room Hilton Tampa Westshore in Tampa, FL and a $1.3 million mezzanine loan for the 119-room Hilton Garden Inn in Jacksonville, FL.