SHARE:
Thursday's Daily Pulse
What you need to know about Florida today
Obamacare enrollment surges in Florida, nation
Nearly 300,000 Floridians selected a health-insurance plan under the Affordable Care Act as of Feb. 1, federal officials announced on Wednesday. Nearly a quarter of them – 23 percent – are age 18 to 34, a sign that younger people have joined the late surge of applications. More from the Miami Herald, the Orlando Sentinel and the South Florida Business Journal.
See also:
» Most states lag in health insurance sign-ups
 Cattle on parade in the Charlie Lykes Arena at the Florida State Fair. » Story |
Florida Trend Exclusive
A day at the state fair (in photos)
The Florida State Fair is almost hard to describe. It's a combination of a theme park, flea market, mall, animal nursery, pub and food court — with neon thrill rides to top it all off. But the fair can also be quaint, with agricultural and educational exhibits, homemade crafts and entertainment. Read more and see a photo gallery.
Donald Goodman is a 'Florida Icon'
The founder of Kanapaha Botanical Gardens in Gainesville shares life’s lessons. One quote: "I measure the whole thing in terms of dead versus alive as opposed to one arm versus two arms. I’d much prefer to be right-handed, but I’m just glad to be handed." Read more...
Zombies are attacking Florida's small businesses
In a number of states, small businesses have high delinquency rates—they’re late on lots of payments—but a relatively low numbers of bankruptcies. In other words, struggling, debt-ridden companies are still hanging on, and they’re eating up sales that might otherwise flow to businesses with brighter futures. The report says this problem is particularly severe in Florida. [Source: Businessweek]
South Florida foreclosures top nation in January
South Florida began 2014 where it left off the year before – leading the nation in foreclosure filings, according to a study by RealtyTrac. There were 10,302 foreclosure filings here in January, a 50.4 percent surge from December although a 4.56 percent decline from January 2013.
[Source: South Florida Business Journal]
ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:
› NSU to open $80 million research center
Nova Southeastern University is expanding its role in research, building a new $80 million facility that could boost South Florida's efforts to become a hub for studies of cancer, heart disease and other problems.
› APR Energy lands pre-fab power plant contract with Myanmar
Jacksonville-based APR Energy has landed a contract for its “fast-track” power plants in Myanmar, a Southeast Asian country most known as Burma.
› Bradenton economic growth projected to be in top 20 percent of US
The Bradenton-North Port-Sarasota metro area averages a little better than mediocre when it comes to recovering from the recession, but the forecast for this year makes the area stand out.
› Expanded Aventura Mall would be nation’s second largest
Florida’s largest shopping mall is planned to get even larger. The owners of Aventura Mall are proposing to add a three-story, 241,000-square-foot retail wing and a seven-level parking garage to the massive shopping center north of Miami.
Go to page 2 for more stories ...
In case you missed it:
