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Monday's Daily Pulse
What you need to know about Florida today
Under radar, Florida spent $240 million on lawyers
Gov. Rick Scott and other top Florida Republicans frequently complain about government spending, but they have quietly spent more than $237 million on private lawyers to advance and defend their agendas, an Associated Press investigation has found. Attorney General Pam Bondi oversees a budget of $309 million a year that helps pay for 450 state lawyers, but all that in-house legal firepower hasn't stopped state leaders from hiring private attorneys.
Alligator hunting has become big business in Florida
It’s a well-known fact that Florida has a lot of alligators. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission estimates the state is home to about 1.3 million of the freshwater reptiles. So how many of them are hunted? [Source: Miami Herald]
The first Cuba tourism boom is over. Here comes the next wave: cruises
The embargo is still in place. But rules relaxed in 2014 by the U.S. government that allow its citizens to visit for cultural exchanges brought about 615,000 U.S. tourists last year to taste the long-forbidden apple in the Caribbean’s Garden of Eden. [Source: Miami Herald]
Florida officials haggle over medical marijuana
Florida voters approved medical marijuana by an overwhelming majority, patients are clamoring for it and investors are eager to get in on the business of growing and selling it. But industry advocates have big concerns about how the Legislature is establishing the rules surrounding the drug. More from the Panama City News-Herald and the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
Blue chip dividends
Florida Sea Grant provides future marine scientists and other environmental professionals with financial support and valuable, real-world work experience through its network of people, universities, governments and businesses. This article interviews 7 of these future scientists, to hear how they are working to protect Florida's coastal resources. Read the full sponsored report here.
› State reports poor wading bird nesting for 2016 season
Officials say unseasonable rainfall and poor conditions caused by the El Nino weather phenomenon contributed to a poor wading bird nesting season in Florida's Everglades.
› With One Spark festival uncertain, Jacksonville’s small business community sees brighter days ahead
Given the announcement this month that One Spark will not return in April and that organizers are still trying to decide if the event will come back later this year.
› Flipping houses stays red hot and Tampa Bay remains one of its favorite markets
Not since the bubble days of 2005-2006 has home flipping been as popular as it is today. Among the 117 major metro areas with at least 250 flips, Tampa Bay had the fourth-highest flipping rate.
› Number of restaurants drops in crowded Central Florida market
For the first time in at least a decade, the Metro Orlando area has fewer restaurants than the year before. Overall, there were 186 fewer restaurants in the region in 2016 than a year before, a 2.4 percent decrease.
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