March 19, 2024

Thursday's Daily Pulse

What you need to know about Florida today

| 9/22/2016

Homebuilder Lennar to buy WCI in $643 million deal to expand in Florida

Lennar Corp, the No. 2 U.S. homebuilder, said it would buy WCI Communities Inc., which makes luxury homes, in a $643 million-deal that will combine two of the largest homebuilders in Florida. Lennar's offer of $23.50 per share – half in cash and half in stock – represents a premium of about 37 percent to WCI's Wednesday close. WCI shares rose to $23.50 premarket on Thursday. Full story from Reuters, here.

Statements:
» From WCI: WCI Communities announces merger agreement with Lennar Corporation
» From Lennar: Lennar to acquire WCI Communities

Florida's Zika image problem

After health officials found Zika in Wynwood, sales in the area slumped 50 percent . Business owners pressured Scott to do something about the trendy arts neighborhood’s new stigma. They complained that maps with an giant box that labeled much of Wynwood a Zika “hot zone” were over the top. [Source: The Atlantic]

See also:
» Hotel, travel industries join forces to urge congressional action on Zika funding
» A pregnant reporter talks about covering the Zika outbreak in South Florida
» One new local Zika infection in Miami Beach
» A proactive approach to protecting elementary students from mosquitoes
» Collier Mosquito Control Unit invests in new technology to prevent Zika outbreak in SW Florida

Florida businesses sell in excess of $10 million at Farnborough International Airshow

Gov. Rick Scott announced the mission to the Farnborough International Airshow resulted in $10.5 million in actual sales and $73.2 million in projected export sales, as reported by the 11 small businesses and organizations that attended from Florida. See the news release, here.

Uncertainty on the I-4: Puerto Rican Florida voters eye hard choice

An estimated 1,000 Puerto Rican families are moving to Florida from the U.S. territory each month. Unlike other immigrant groups, they arrive as American citizens and become eligible to vote almost immediately in the nation's premiere battleground state. [Source: AP]

See also:
» 'I-4 will decide this election,' expert says

Opinion: Unemployment high among Floridians with criminal records

Businesses have a powerful role to play in giving individuals with criminal records a second chance. Nationwide, some 650,000 incarcerated individuals rejoin society every year, and they desperately need jobs to help them transition back into society and to provide for themselves and their families. [Source: Fort Myers News-Press]

ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› Gov. Scott announces retirement of AHCA Secretary Liz Dudek
Gov. Rick Scott announced Secretary Liz Dudek’s retirement from the Agency for Healthcare Administration, which will be effective on October 3, 2016. She has served in this role since 2011 and has been an employee with the State of Florida for more than 40 years.

Seeking your input:

In our December issue, Florida Trend will highlight software entrepreneurs and innovative startups of all kinds around the state. If you know of a Florida company that has successfully launched an innovative product or service within the past two years, we'd like to hear about it. We're looking for companies that have progressed beyond the idea stage and are actively marketing a product. Email associate editor Amy Martinez by Sept. 30.

› FSU report: Good fences make for good bosses
Employees who experience an imposition of work on their home lives experience a much higher level of stress, according to new research by Florida State University business professor Wayne Hochwarter.

› 2016 already a 'disaster' for Caloosahatchee watershed
It's not even close to over, but Caloosahatchee advocates are already reaching to find ways to describe just how bad a year it's been for the river.

› Population of downtown Miami grows by a third in six years
Young professionals are increasingly making their homes in the central business district, says a new report by Miami’s Downtown Development Authority: the population has increased 33% since 2010 “and the majority of the population within downtown Miami are highly educated, young working professionals.”

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