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Friday's Daily Pulse
What you need to know about Florida today
Bloom and bust: Algae takes a heavy toll on Florida tourism
The harmful algae bloom affecting some South Florida beaches has driven away half of people considering visiting the Sunshine State and could deter nearly three-fourths of those thinking of traveling to the affected counties, a new study shows. Half of visitors questioned for the study who indicated they would change their travel plans -- have indeed postponed their travel, while 32 percent went to other destinations in Florida. Full story from UF News here. Also see more at WJXT.
Clinton pulls into lead in Florida, Rubio leads in Senate race
Hillary Clinton holds a six-point lead over Donald Trump in Florida, according to the latest Suffolk University survey of likely voters in the state released Thursday. Matched head-to-head, Clinton took 48 percent, while Trump earned 42 percent. Regarding Sen. Marco Rubio, the survey says that after his failed attempt to win the Republican nomination for president, Marco Rubio now has a double-digit lead over each of his likely Democratic opponents in a bid to hang on to his seat. See the full survey here. Also read more at Politico, the Times/Herald and USA Today.
See also:
» Poll shows Trump losing Hispanic vote, big time
» Less than 13 percent of Florida Hispanics back Trump
Floridians very worried about Zika, poll finds
A poll released Thursday found 42 percent of Florida voters were "very concerned" over the mosquito-borne virus spreading in the U.S. over the next several months. Another 34 percent were somewhat concerned. [Source: South Florida Sun-Sentinel]
Teachers now face what is arguably the most difficult and demanding stampede of challenges in the contemporary history of public education. And that’s not good for students who face, in turn, a range of contemporary social challenges they might not have experienced en masse in previous generations. [Source: Florida Weekly]
Florida retailers optimistic for shortened tax holiday
While Florida's back-to-school sales tax "holiday" has been scaled back from last year, a major retail-industry organization said it anticipates a rush of traffic for the event, which runs Friday through Sunday. [Source: Tampa Bay Business Journal]
› Higher-paying jobs being added in Orlando, analysis says
An increasing share of jobs being added in the Orlando area are at higher-than-average wage levels, according to an analysis by the Orlando Economic Development Commission.
› Publix buys naming rights to Lakeland stadium
Publix Super Markets has announced their support of the City of Lakeland, the Detroit Tigers and the Lakeland Flying Tigers by sponsoring the naming rights of Tigertown field for $3 million. The stadium will be renamed Publix Field at Joker Marchant Stadium.
› FAU offers entrepreneurship courses to public
Interested in learning more about entrepreneurship? Florida Atlantic University's Adams Center for Entrepreneurship will be hosting a special topic series this fall.
› Jacksonville tourism sees more record-setting visitation figures in June
Visit Jacksonville, the city’s tourism bureau, reported Thursday that the June hotel occupancy rate was 73.6 percent, a 6.5 percent increase over the same time in 2015 which was a record then.
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