Thursday's Afternoon Update

What you need to know about Florida today

| 5/22/2014

Tampa developer, prominent civic leader Al Austin dies at 85

Al Austin, a game-changing civic leader and developer and a prominent Republican fundraiser, has died at age 85. A businessman who caught Florida's development boom at the right time, Austin ingratiated himself with new businesses in Tampa, always seeking to enhance the city's image. His efforts paid off in the West Shore business district he helped build and the 2012 Republican National Convention. More at the Tampa Bay Times

Related, from Florida Trend:
» Southwest Florida Newsmaker of the Year: Al Austin
» Quote of the Day from Al Austin: "I believe in doing stuff that other people haven't done."

Tallahassee Trend

Spending big on lobbyists in Florida

AT&T tops the list with almost $1.5 million spent lobbying lawmakers in 2013. Other biggest lobby spenders include U.S. Sugar Corp.; Honeywell International; Dosal Tobacco; Florida Crystals Corp.; Florida Justice Association; Seminole Tribe of Florida; Associated Industries of Florida; Florida Hospital Association; Florida Power & Light. Find out who rounds out the top 25 in Florida as well as the amounts they’ve spent lobbying and who they hire to lobby for them.

» Access full story

Teens still face tough summer job market

Unemployment is down, but experts say it will still be tough – though not impossible – for teenagers to find jobs this summer. Teens have faced an uphill battle for summer gigs over the past few years, as older workers displaced by the recession took jobs that historically have gone to youngsters. More at the Orlando Sentinel.

Hackers stole employee data from Florida’s new testing company

Hackers stole employee data earlier this month from the American Institutes for Research, the company chosen to produce Florida’s next standardized test. No student information was stolen More at StateImpact Florida.

Darden's board of directors faces possible ouster

Starboard Value plans to try to oust Darden Restaurants' entire board of directors, it said Thursday morning. The hedge fund investor is putting up its own slate of nominees for the 12-member board. More at the Orlando Sentinel.

Best & Worst Cities to Start a Career

WalletHub analyzed the 150 largest cities in the U.S. to determine the relative strength of their job markets, the attractiveness of their social scenes, and various other factors that are important to new job market entrants. More at Wallethub.

Profile
Hotel at Home

A better way of marketing and organizing a high-end cleaning service was the idea behind the winning team at the recent Lean Startup Machine workshop in Orlando. The idea, which was called Hotel at Home, attracted a $50,000 letter of intent from a potential client – a property management company.