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Tuesday's Afternoon Update
What you need to know about Florida today
Charter Communications to buy Bright House
Charter Communications Inc. agreed to buy cable operator Bright House Networks LLC for $10.4 billion in cash and stock, the latest deal in a rapidly consolidating pay-television industry. Bright House is the sixth largest cable operator in the United States, with 2 million customers, mostly in Tampa and Orlando, Florida, but also in Alabama, Indiana, Michigan and California. The full announcement from Charter is here. Also, see articles at South Florida Sun-Sentinel, the Wall Street Journal, and Reuters.
Miami home prices outpaced national growth in January
Miami home prices continued to rise in January, outpacing national growth, according to a closely watched market barometer. The housing market in Miami grew 8.3 percent year-over-year, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices. More at the Miami Herald.
Legislature opens door to for-profit mental health services
Florida legislators have proposed bills that make the most dramatic changes to the state's mental health delivery system in decades. Under the proposals, they would change everything from the way the mentally ill are treated by law enforcement, doctors, child welfare workers and courts to the way the state matches federal mental health money. More at the Times/Herald.
Florida is the new front line in the battle for Venezuela
Miami has its Little Havana. Now it has its Littler Caracas. Venezuelans fleeing the late Hugo Chavez’s Bolivarian Revolution have transformed pockets of south Florida, and if you take President Nicolas Maduro’s word for it, they’re trying to transform Venezuela, too. More at Bloomberg.
As lobster season comes to a close, a commercial success in the Keys
Harvest numbers of spiny lobster apparently dipped this year but a second straight solid season coupled with record-high wholesale prices made it a success for the Florida Keys commercial fleet. More at the Miami Herald.
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