ORLANDO HOTELIERS TAX THEMSELVES FOR STADIUM

     The Central Florida Hotel and Motel Association's board of
directors supported a "tourist tax increase on their industry" to
help Orlando's bid for a MLB franchise.  The hoteliers supported
a $.01 increase to the $.04 tourist tax on Orange County hotel
rooms to help finance a $150M ballpark should Orlando get an
expansion team.  The support of the industry was "key" to the
expansion efforts, and the three principals behind Orlando's bid
-- Boca Racon Real Estate investor Norton Herrick, and Denver
partners Paul Jacobs and Steve Kurtz -- were "pleased" by the
vote.  County commissioners are "expected" to approve the raise
by mid-October (Lawrence Lebowitz, ORLANDO SENTINEL, 9/23).