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Wednesday's Daily Pulse
What you need to know about Florida today
Budget stalemate finally ends for Florida Legislature
Florida's contentious and messy budget stalemate that divided the state's Republicans and threatened to force the shutdown of state government is finally over. With just days left, the Florida Legislature has reached a deal on a nearly $79 billion budget. The final budget was delivered to legislators late Tuesday afternoon. More from the AP and the Times/Herald.
See also:
» K-12 students gain in Florida's budget plan
» State Budget Details Funding for Water Projects
» UCF's downtown campus OK despite less funding, officials say
Major U.S. companies support new group that will lobby to lift sanctions against Cuba
Major U.S. companies like Cargill, Procter & Gamble and Caterpillar have thrown their support behind Engage Cuba, a bipartisan coalition that formally began operating out of the nation’s capital on Tuesday and will focus on lobbying Congress to lift restrictions on travel and trade with Cuba. [Source: Miami Herald]
Investors gird for storage wars
A new bidding war is breaking out in real estate. The targets of attention aren’t luxury properties or waterfront land, but something far less fashionable: self-storage warehouses. [Source: Wall Street Journal]
State health officials call beach bacteria scare overblown
Health officials are doing their best to convince tourists and residents that Florida beaches are safe after their recent warning about a summertime bacterium generated overblown headlines. [Source: Tampa Bay Times]
Businesses don't always get what they want, but try to get what they need
Although most citizens tend to believe that big business owns Washington D.C., a team of researchers suggests that business may have a less dominant and more complicated relationship with government than previously thought. [Source: PHYS.org]
› New law could prioritize funding for logistics zones like Jacksonville
Jacksonville, “America's logistics center,” has the chance to be a state leader, with a new Florida bill that prioritizes funding for areas deemed “freight logistics zones.”
› Publix plans $15.6M expansion of pharmacy operations
The Lakeland-based grocer applied for tax-exemption incentives that would excuse part of the company's tax obligations for a warehouse it plans to acquire and renovate. The upgraded facilities would help the supermarket chain fill and distribute prescription medicine.
› Florida defense company to pay $7.1 million to settle U.S. bribery probe
Florida-based defense company IAP Worldwide Services Inc will pay $7.1 million to settle a U.S. investigation into an alleged conspiracy to bribe Kuwaiti officials to win a government contract, the U.S. Justice Department said on Tuesday.
› USF ranks 10th in the nation for U.S. patents
The University of South Florida ranks 10th nationally and 13th among universities worldwide for U.S. patents granted in 2014, according to a new report released by the National Academy of Inventors (NAI) and the Intellectual Property Owners Association (IPO).
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