March 19, 2024

Monday's Daily Pulse

What you need to know about Florida today

| 11/24/2014

Retail outlook fuzzy for holiday season

We've heard it all before. Pent-up demand. Cautious optimism. Earlier store openings. Online versus brick and mortar. Predictions for retailing this holiday season remain fuzzy. Some, like the National Retail Federation are optimistic that this could be the turn-around year for retail. Others believe consumer confidence isn't quite there yet. [Source: Sarasota Herald-Tribune]

See also:
» Florida retailers looking to outshine national gains this holiday season


As Florida charter schools grow, critics watch

Each year across Florida more families are choosing charters, which use tax dollars but are run independently of school districts. The expansion is raising practical concerns about how some charters are governed and whether the schools, free to experiment, are falling short on the promise that they would light the way as classroom innovators. [Source: Tampa Bay Times]


Trouble with the wage gauge

Finding work is easier these days, five years after the Great Recession officially ended, but scratch the surface of the recovery and it becomes clear that many people are still struggling — even those with steady employment. [Source: Sarasota Herald-Tribune]


Judicial elections getting more political with new campaign spending

Judicial campaigns once were typically sedate affairs, little noticed outside of bar association dinners, but that is changing rapidly under a new wave of campaign spending driven by outside political groups and unlimited donations. [Source: LA Times]


Trauma fees growing across the nation at 'absurd' rate

Many hospitals in Florida are exploiting trauma fees, which are levied like a cover charge just to get in the door. Floridians have been charged as much as $33,000 depending on where the ambulance pulls up. The fee winds up on the bill, even if the patient needs little more than first aid. [Source: Tampa Bay Times]


ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› Everglades alligators wasting away while Congress controls their fate
They are the symbol of the Everglades, the animal that for decades most tourists have anticipated seeing during a visit to the national park. But the alligators that inhabit the Everglades are showing signs of serious trouble. Their population has dropped, and the ones that are still around tend to look starved.

› Housing prices an impediment to many seeking financial stability
Florida has significant reliance on low-wage workers — and plenty of people who need those jobs. But upsetting that simple equation is the fact that there is a short supply of housing that those making $8-10 an hour can possibly afford.

› Fanatics goes from small Jacksonville store to billion dollar business
This month, the conveyor belts that snake through the 550,000-square-foot warehouse at the Fanatics Inc. headquarters in Jacksonville are carrying plenty of sports apparel for holiday season orders. But those conveyor belts are just getting warmed up.

› On financial field, Sun Life Stadium surges ahead
Despite the Miami Dolphins’ half-decade playoff drought, Sun Life Stadium’s three biggest revenue streams — premium seating, non-NFL events and sponsorships — all grew in the last fiscal year.


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