Regional growth, national concerns.

Orange County’s annual economic summit highlighted the Orlando region’s steady growth in the number of jobs Thursday.

But there was also more concern expressed about the slowing national economy, and the need for more high-paying jobs and education in the region.

“The economy nationwide is close to stall speed,” UCF economist Sean Snaith said in his keynote address to hundreds at the Orange County Convention Center. He cited slowing growth nationally and globally, and stock market woes this year.

Snaith politicized his speech more than usual, slamming the Dodd-Frank Act and the Affordable Care Act as burdensome regulation. Snaith said after his speech, “The stock market is of particular concern now. It may not have immediate effect on consumers, but it affects retirement planning, company hiring and so forth.”

Snaith said Central Florida’s attractions, like the Harry Potter themes at Universal and Star Wars’ plans at Disney, are the region’s “shale oil deposits,” but he avoided mention of concerns over lower-paying jobs or growing poverty rates in the area.

Angel de la Portilla, a local lobbyist for hospitality businesses, said he enjoyed hearing about the booming tourism economy. But he also applauded efforts to attract more diverse jobs here.

County Mayor Teresa Jacobs unveiled a new initiative to name the greenest business in Central Florida, and announced that the next Modeling, Simulation and Training summit would be held Sept. 22.

West 192 effort

Osceola County is rolling out a new plan to revitalize and clean up its tourism corridor just south of Walt Disney World along U.S. 192. It includes efforts to help families who have lived in motel rooms there to find long-term housing.

Even though it is deteriorating, one-third of all Osceola jobs are located along the corridor, and almost half of the county’s sales tax is collected by its businesses.

According to an announcement Wednesday, the county will start by focusing on the hotels with the highest percentage of calls for police, fire and medical emergencies, as well as code-enforcement complaints.

Commissioner Michael Harford said the county wants to work with hotel owners and “help them, but the option is theirs to decide. Our goal is to work to improve hotel/motel conditions.”

Orlando’s richest

David Siegel, CEO and founder of Westgate Resorts, was named richest person in Orlando by Forbes. According to Forbes, Siegel, 81, is “self-made” and worth $900 million.

Siegel has had a tumultuous and tragic year. In October, he said he was backing off day-to-day operations at Westgate, mostly to focus on his new passion: crusading against drug addiction. His cause emerged after his daughter Victoria Siegel died at 18 of an overdose in June.

Sleep Chapter 11

A chain of sleep-disorder labs based in Orlando has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, citing a tougher insurance environment that cut into revenue. It declared $750,000 in liabilities on its bankruptcy filing.

Total Sleep Management once had 13 locations in Central and Southwest Florida. They’ve now retreated to six locations in the Orlando market. The company still has about 32 employees, with locations in downtown Orlando, Baldwin Park, Oviedo, Orange City, DeLand and Titusville.

CNL & Foundry

CNL Commercial Real Estate rebranded as Foundry Commercial. The company announced the new name four months after it separated from its former parent company, CNL Financial Group, in a management-led buyout.

The company has grown to 240 employees from 200 when it separated, according to a news release. Paul Ellis, CEO, said the name suggests where “commercial real estate begins; with the creation of steel that will later serve as the foundations for building structures.”