Friday's Afternoon Update

What you need to know about Florida today

| 8/29/2014

Consumer sentiment unexpectedly rises August

U.S. consumer sentiment rose in August, while an index of current economic conditions hit its highest since July 2007, a survey released on Friday showed. More from Reuters and Bloomberg News.

Lakeland hosts debate over medical marijuana

The debate, organized by the Ledger of Lakeland pitted Orlando attorney John Morgan, who bankrolled the effort to get the measure on the ballot, against Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd, the spokesman for the Don't Let Florida Go to Pot coalition. More at the AP and the Lakeland Ledger.

Tampa Bay region leading Florida in retail construction

Transportation

Awaiting the green light in Pinellas County

Pinellas County voters will decide in November if they want to spend $2.2 billion for a public transportation plan called Greenlight Pinellas that would increase bus service and build a light rail system linking downtowns in St. Petersburg, Clearwater and Tampa.

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Some major retail developments under way in Tampa Bay have catapulted the region to the top spot in Florida, in terms of square footage under construction. More at the Tampa Bay Business Journal.

Report calls Florida's minimum wage insufficient

Just in time for Labor Day, a new report finds that Florida’s minimum wage is less than half what workers need to cover basic expenses. The report finds that a single adult in Florida should make about $16.98 an hour to pay for necessities like rent and utilities. More at WGCU.

Let Your Employees Bring Their Interests to Work

Research repeatedly suggests that levels of employee engagement in the workplace are low and worsening. But what really perplexes executives when we talk to them is that their employees are often fully engaged in a host of other activities. More at HBR.

Florida Wildlife
Manatees may soon lose endangered species status

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is reviewing whether the manatee should be reclassified as a "threatened" species, which would allow some flexibility for federal officials as the species recovers while maintaining most of the protections afforded to animals listed as endangered.