Friday's Afternoon Update

What you need to know about Florida today

| 12/6/2013

Unemployment Rate Falls to 7.0%

The U.S. economy added 203,000 jobs in November, according to government data released Friday morning, continuing several months of solid gains and raising hopes that the recovery is finally ready for takeoff. More from the Wall Street Journal, the AP, and the Washington Post.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Bright Ideas for Florida in 2014

Call them New Year's resolutions if you like. As 2014 approached, Florida Trend asked dozens of Floridians — businesspeople, politicians, academics and citizens of all political stripes and persuasions — this question: What's something Florida could do — in 2014 — to make the state a better place to live?

» Read more

Jobless benefits are about to expire for thousands of Floridians

The White House is warning that more than 260,000 Floridians will lose long-term unemployment benefits in 2014 unless Congress extends them before year’s end. [Source: Fort Myers News-Press]

Gulf gets more restoration projects from BP fund

U.S. Interior Secretary Sally Jewell says coastal resiliency is important to President Barack Obama's climate action plan. Jewell was at a national park outside New Orleans Friday to describe the latest round of efforts to help the Gulf Coast recover from the 2010 BP oil spill. [Source: AP]

» FRIDAY PREVIEW: Coming next week to FloridaTrend.com:

Florida Trend at 55: Florida Trend turned 55 this year. My, how things can change.
Post-Panamaxed: The post-Panamax in Florida came one step closer to reality in October.
Special Report: Hospitals : A movement to redesign hospitals is leading to better health outcomes.

» You'll find all these stories first on the Daily and Afternoon Pulse e-mails.

Higher Ed
Proving Value

Incoming students at Flagler College in St. Augustine this year got a rude awakening if they thought standardized tests were something they left behind with their SAT prep books. The Flagler students all had to sit for something called the CLA+, a test that measures critical thinking, communication, reasoning and analysis. They will take it again as seniors.