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Tuesday's Daily Pulse
What you need to know about Florida today
Lawmakers insist on better jobless-benefits system
The increased pressure from lawmakers comes on the heels of a report from Florida International University showing that fewer than 19 percent of unemployed workers receive benefits in the state, the fourth-lowest in the country. [Source: Orlando Sentinel]
Legislative Roundup:
» House drops plan to revamp state retirement system
» Controversial campus guns bill advances in Florida Senate
» House committee rejects attempt to repeal Florida's nuclear fee
» Public supports keeping gambling pact, Seminole Tribe says
» Police public record exemption passes House committee
» Unanimous death sentences bill clears 1st Senate committee
Surge of no-party-affiliation voters continues across Florida
The trend of newly-registered Florida voters rejecting both major political parties continues unabated as the combined total of voters known as NPAs (no party affiliation) and minor-party voters has surpassed the total of a major party in 11 counties. [Source: Tampa Bay Times]
Survey: Young adults do consume news in their own way
Young adults have a reputation for being connected to one another and disconnected from the news. But a survey has found that mobile devices and social networking are keeping them more engaged with the broader world than previously thought. [Source: AP]
What the rise of luxury toilet paper says about the economy
Sales in the U.S. of what the industry calls "luxury" rolls -- anything quilted, lotioned, perfumed or ultra-soft, from two- to four-ply -- climbed to $1.4 billion last year, outpacing all other kinds of toilet paper for the first time in nearly a decade. [Source: South Florida Sun-Sentinel]
Are you rich? Depends on your perspective
A majority of Americans — 54 percent, according to a Pew Research Center poll last year — favor raising taxes on the wealthy to expand programs for the poor. The problem with this, from a policy standpoint, is that nearly everybody thinks “rich people” are those who make more money than they do — no matter how much they actually make. [Source: Miami Herald]
ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:
› Publix is buying up property in Florida
Publix Super Markets went on a buying spree over the past year, bagging six shopping centers in Southwest Florida for $86 million. But the state's largest grocery-store chain is hardly finished — it has earmarked $1.3 billion this year to buy more centers, build new stores and remodel others.
› No longer wasteland, Orlando' cultural scene grows up
Long derided as a cultural wasteland, Orlando's restaurant and performing arts scene has grown up in recent years, and it is starting to attract attention from national arbiters of taste.
› Cuban Exile museum may get company on Miami waterfront
The administration of Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez is considering a cultural complex behind the AmericanAirlines Arena that would include a new black-history museum and a relocated History Miami museum.
› Gas prices falling again
Drivers are paying less for gasoline than they have at this time in six years, travel club AAA said Monday. And prices could fall more.
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