Wednesday's Afternoon Update

What you need to know about Florida today

| 12/28/2016

Legislature gets lots of little stuff done, but not many big things in 2016

Florida's 2016 Legislative session will be known as much for what did not get accomplished as for what did get done. The Legislature sent two bills that were top priorities of the leadership to Gov. Rick Scott early on, but failed to pass three of Scott’s priorities. More from the Tallahassee Democrat.

Florida cancels robust insurance plan for kids with few other options

Florida Healthy Kids, a public-private organization, offers health insurance to children ages 5 to 18 whose families make too much money to qualify for Medicaid. Most participating families make less than $48,600 and are therefore eligible for government-subsidized coverage. Families who make more can also buy coverage, but must pay the full premiums. More from the Tampa Bay Times.

Big changes coming to South Beach to restore lost luster

Big changes are coming to South Beach, and business operators there are opening their checkbooks to pay for them. The new rules were partially driven by a city threat to cut off alcohol sales at 2 a.m. as the district became more raucous. More from Miami Today.

Opinion: Space Florida doesn't dole out incentives — it lassos top guns

New Florida House Speaker Richard Corcoran's crusade to defund Enterprise Florida and Visit Florida has raised questions about the future of Space Florida, another economic development agency. But the speaker's gripes with the other two agencies don't apply to Space Florida. More from the Orlando Sentinel.

Florida gas tax set to rise in 2017

The state’s taxes will rise to 36.7 cents per gallon to balance budgets for road construction and maintenance as federal funding hasn’t kept pace with inflation and more fuel efficient cars, state transportation officials said. More from WINK News.

Out of the Box
Florida Researchers Want Your Bed Bugs -- Dead or Alive

The University of Florida's food and agricultural science researchers are asking people who have bed bugs to send them samples in an effort to learn more about the species after researchers said a super bed bug popped up in Brevard County.

» More from the Palm Beach Post.

Profile
Transnational Foods Inc.

Miami-based Transnational Foods imports more than 500 lower-priced canned and packaged products from food-processing companies in 25 countries and sells them to supermarket chains, dollar stores and other retailers throughout the U.S. and overseas.