Builders eager for new convention center hotel, homebuilder to lay off employees … and more

1. Builders eager for new convention center hotel [Palm Beach Post]
2. Florida law may allow Ruth Madoff to keep home [Sun-Sentinel]
3. Sunny Isles Beach attorney disbarred for mortgage fraud [SFBJ]
4. On Watson Island, developers’ plans are still ambitious [NYT]
5. Deerfield Beach attorney sentenced in mortgage fraud case [Mortgage Fraud Blog]
6. Homebuilder TOUSA will lay off employees, stop building homes [SFBJ]
7. Palm Beach County home sales up 33 percent [Palm Beach Post] and [Miami Herald]
8. Glenn Straub resends stadium memo to commissioners before vote [Miami New Times]
9. Green lodging becomes more popular in Florida [Miami Herald]
10. Decorator leaves with renovations unfinished, takes money [Palm Beach Post]
11. Some housing markets in state heat up with distressed sales [CNBC]
12. Foreclosure suits filed in Coral Gables, West Palm Beach [SFBJ] and [SFBJ]
13. Palm Beach County projects set for foreclosure sales [SFBJ] and [SFBJ]
14. Chinese drywall gives off gases and odor when exposed to heat and moisture, state investigation finds [SFBJ]
15. General Growth extends deadline for approval of new debt terms [Bloomberg]
16. Brokerage president said to be Obama’s choice to lead FHA [Bloomberg]
17. Banks face increase in commercial loan delinquencies [Bloomberg]