Tuesday's Afternoon Update

What you need to know about Florida today

| 4/2/2013

State may change how sports teams get help

An attempt to give the Miami Dolphins the ability to make stadium improvements morphed Tuesday into a catch-all sports incentive package that could provide tax dollars for everything from Major League Soccer in Orlando to spring training improvements statewide. More from the Orlando Sentinel and the AP.

Legislature poised to ban internet cafes despite outcry

Florida lawmakers are moving ahead with a ban of internet cafes despite protests that the ban could also shut down other businesses. The Senate Rules Committee approved the ban on Tuesday and the legislation could go to the desk of Gov. Rick Scott later this week. More at the AP and the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

Florida celebrates 500-year birthday

Sales Trends

Florida background checks for gun purchases soaring

In the first three months of the year, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement got nearly 300,000 requests for background checks for potential gun owners statewide. That's more than 100,000 checks above the same period last year and almost the total number of checks in 2004.

Florida officials are rolling out a vast history lesson to commemorate the first wave of Europeans to hit the state's beaches half a millennium ago. A replica of a 16th-century Spanish galleon will make port calls up a strip of the Florida coast in coming weeks, and a three-day exhibit this week will feature rarely seen historical documents. More from the AP.

Florida Capital board buys one quarter of bank's shares

Florida Capital Bank, based in Jacksonville, is one of the largest community banks based in the area with $66.7 million in assets. The bank operates nine branches and two commercial loan offices throughout the state. More at the Jacksonville Business Journal.

Facelift forthcoming for downtown Sarasota

The Community Redevelopment Agency will fund the project through tax-increment financing, a process that dedicates county and city property tax revenue to certain uses. The 30-year-old agency has covered many projects downtown and is scheduled to sunset in 2016 — though commissioners have talked about extending it. More at the Sarasota Herald-Tribune.

Out of the Box
Defrost Your Swimsuit

A marketing campaign for the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention and Visitors Bureau has been named as a finalist for the 2013 Big Apple Awards, presented by the New York chapter of the Public Relations Society of America. Recognized was “Defrost Your Swimsuit,” a campaign that featured bathing suits in giant ice blocks around Times Square in New York (and in other cities worldwide.) Read more from the South Florida Sun-Sentinel and see the campaign.