To develop his clients' vast land holdings, attorney Glenn Storch met with Volusia and Brevard county officials, bordering property owners and conservation groups.

They talked about roads. They talked about water. They discussed residential densities and jobs creation, debated how much land should be preserved, explored the impact on school construction planning. The company pulled together a panel discussion of national experts to critique their plans in public.

"We have spent four years thinking about how to do the right thing, and we're only halfway there," Storch said recently.

The following represent city-, county-, and regional-level news stories around the state relating to the BEBR Population Program's recent release of the April 1, 2009 preliminary population estimates.

Brevard's population dipped last year - Florida Today - August 24, 2009
UF: Polk Is Losing People - The Ledger - August 22, 2009

Nine of Brevard County's 16 municipalities lost population from 2007 to 2008, according to newly released Census data. Of the nine, five were beachside communities.

Population experts say the leveling off or decline in population is the result of economic factors, not just within Brevard County, but in Florida overall.

Statewide, the population grew by 0.7 percent from 2007 to 2008, reaching 18.33 million. Since 2000, Florida's population rose 14.2 percent.

Brevard County keeps growing, graying and diversifying.

More than one in every five Brevardian is 65 or older, and about one in every 14 is Hispanic, according to figures released today by the U.S. Census Bureau.

Civic leaders worry that the county's aging diverse population could stress social safety nets.

Brevard is "a little bit older than the state as a whole," said Stanley Smith, program director for the Bureau of Economic and Business Research at the University of Florida in Gainesville. "But its growth rate is very similar to the state average."

Several questions loom large among many raised by Miami Corp.'s 50-year plan for its 59,000 acres in Volusia and Brevard counties.

If Miami Corp. builds it, will homebuyers, manufacturers and businesses appear? If they do, can the area afford them?

Another question promises to pit cities and counties against each other: Who decides where and when growth should occur? Such decisions play a huge role in future decisions about water supply, transportation, schools and even migration away from rising seas.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Consumer confidence among Floridians rose five points to 67 in December, reflecting optimism about new presidential leadership in January despite unprecedented pessimism about personal finances, a new University of Florida study finds.