Friday's Afternoon Update

What you need to know about Florida today

| 12/4/2015

Solid U.S. employment report a green light for rate hike

U.S. job growth increased solidly in November in a show of the economy's resilience, which most likely paves the way for the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates this month for the first time in nearly a decade. More at Reuters.

PSC lets Florida’s utilities continue to ‘hedge’ fuel purchases

Florida regulators unanimously voted Thursday to continue allowing the state’s electric utilities to hedge the price of natural gas despite $6 billion in losses and calls by customer groups to end the practice. More at the Times/Herald.

Florida is getting closer to driverless cars

Self-driving cars, boats, and even drones have been on display this week in Jacksonville as part of the Florida Automated Vehicles Summit, a conference that's designed to help Florida take the lead in driverless cars. More at WTSP.

'Spark District' set for downtown Jacksonville designed to encourage startup businesses

Jacksonville’s startups and entrepreneurs now have their own area of downtown to concentrate on cultivating their own business ecosystem. More at the Florida Times-Union.

Florida-Cuba ferry service not likely before late 2016, executives say

If you've been itching to take a ferry from Florida to Cuba, be patient. It probably won't start before the second half of 2016 and could take longer, according to ferry executives. More at the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

Scam Alert
BBB Warning: Avoid these holiday scams

Santa isn’t the only one keeping track of who is naughty and who is nice! Better Business Bureau is warning consumers to beware of these common holiday scams.

» Read the full story here.

Research
UF researchers develop way to treat urine, save drinking water

UF researchers have developed a low-cost treatment system to remove pharmaceuticals in source-separated urine using water materials. The final result is a local fertilizer for use in developed and developing countries and resulting in substantial water savings.