March 28, 2024

Tuesday's Daily Pulse

What you need to know about Florida today

| 3/26/2013

Florida's basketball success boosts business

With three college basketball teams from Florida in the NCAA Tournament's Sweet 16, a new wave of basketball fans are flooding restaurants and sports bars and snatching up merchandise at record paces. Florida Gulf Coast University, the biggest surprise in this year's NCAA tournament, is suddenly the hottest school in terms of new fan interest too. More from the South Florida Sun-Sentinel and CNNMoney.

See also:
» Sunshine State a basketball powerhouse? Sweet 16 says so


Local food makes up 20 percent of Florida’s eat-at-home market

Floridians are buying more food grown locally or regionally and retail sales are higher here than in other states, according to a University of Florida study. It showed local food represents about 20 percent of all Florida food purchased for at-home consumption, except restaurant take-out food. [Source: UF News]


Battle brewing between Florida Senate and insurance, business lobbyists

A clash is building between the GOP-controlled Florida Senate and the state’s insurance and business lobbyists over the fate of a more than two-decade old tax exemption for insurance companies. The plan would pay for the fee reduction by eliminating an insurance premium tax credit insurance companies receive based on the aggregate salaries of their employees. [Source: Jacksonville Business Journal]

 


Florida House seeks 6 percent tuition hike

House Appropriations Chairman Seth McKeel, R-Lakeland, said that House leaders believe the tuition hike is appropriate given the financial needs of the schools as well as the fact that Florida’s tuition remains low compared to other universities and colleges nationally. [Source: Sarasota Herald-Tribune]


Most workers unfazed by payroll tax hike

A majority of working Americans haven't noticed the higher payroll taxes -- with the lowest income households the least likely to have been affected, Bankrate.com reported Monday. Some 48 percent said they hadn't noticed the 2 percent increase in Social Security tax that began to be taken out of paychecks at the first of the year, the North Palm Beach-based website reported. [Source: South Florida Sun-Sentinel]


ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› Gas prices expected to slide into Easter
Retail gas prices fell last week nationwide about 2 cents a gallon, and drivers likely will see pump prices decrease another 3 to 5 cents before Easter. "March is expected to end with falling gas prices in time for those who plan to travel during the Easter holiday,” said Jessica Brady, AAA spokeswoman, The Auto Club Group.
RELATED: Check current gas prices in Florida by zip code here.

› Deerfield suspends sign code to help local businesses
Stephen Brewer of Brew Dogs finds that a human sign makes all the difference. On days worked by Brewer's "sign girl," an employee who waves a big rectangular sign advertising cold beer and hot dogs, Brew Dogs makes a profit. On days when she isn't out there waving a sign, Brew Dogs takes a loss, Brewer said.

› Sarasota, Florida: where the circus comes to town
In its heyday at the turn of the 20th century, the Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus toured America in a 100-car train carrying hundreds of animals. In winter the self-billed “Greatest Show on Earth” headed south to Sarasota, where the mild climate and grassy savannahs suited the performers and their (mainly) African menagerie equally well.

› Is Miami really a sports town?
Michael Lipman runs a ticket brokerage in Miami. By his math, he’s enjoying the country’s most lucrative market for basketball and perhaps the worst for baseball. But he knows those dynamics won’t last forever.


Go to page 2 for more stories ...

Tags: Daily Pulse

In case you missed it:

Florida Trend Video Pick

Bitter-to-swallow cocoa costs force chocolate shops to raise prices
Bitter-to-swallow cocoa costs force chocolate shops to raise prices

Central Floirda chocolate shops are left with a bitter taste as cocoa prices hit an all-time high earlier this week.

Video Picks | Viewpoints@FloridaTrend

Ballot Box

Should Congress ban the popular social media app TikTok in the U.S.?

  • Yes
  • No
  • Need more details
  • What is TikTok?
  • Other (Comment below)

See Results

Florida Trend Media Company
490 1st Ave S
St Petersburg, FL 33701
727.821.5800

© Copyright 2024 Trend Magazines Inc. All rights reserved.