Tuesday's Afternoon Update

What you need to know about Florida today

| 3/14/2017

Florida adds construction jobs as firms fight to keep up with demand

38 states and Washington, DC, added construction jobs in January, a 13-state uptick from December. Florida gained the most jobs from December to January (10,700 jobs) and was also the year-over-year winner with a boost of 34,600 jobs. See the report from AGC America, here. Also read more at Construction Dive.

SpaceX required to carry more insurance for launches from Kennedy Space Center

The FAA launch license awarded to SpaceX for the EchoStar 23 mission stated that the company has to carry $63 million in liability coverage for any damage to government property during prelaunch activities. The company previously only had to carry $13 million in coverage. More from Space News.

Florida Gov. Scott signs death penalty fix into law

Florida will now require a unanimous jury recommendation before the death penalty can be imposed under a bill signed late Monday by Gov. Rick Scott, who has remained relatively quiet about the problems with the state's death penalty law in recent months. More from the AP.

New-home construction spikes in Metro Orlando

New-home construction in Metro Orlando spiked 25 percent from a year earlier with the biggest boost in The Villages and communities near theme parks, a new report shows. More from the Orlando Sentinel.

Defunct Clearwater private jet company goes from boom to bankruptcy to federal court

In early 2012, Avantair was the darling of the charter plane industry and Tampa Bay business executives, a publicly traded company with a fleet of 56 executive airplanes and hundreds of employees based at St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport. That's all gone now. More from the Tampa Bay Times.

Editor's Page
Time to serve: Be a community volunteer

Each winter for the past several years, those of us at Florida Trend’s main office have taken half a day to group-volunteer at the St. Petersburg Free Clinic, which provides emergency help to people and families who need food, shelter or health care.

» Access Mark Howard's full column here.

Slideshow
South Florida Demolition Through the Years

The complexion of South Florida has changed drastically over the years, and many historic or memorable buildings have been demolished to make way for new construction. Browse the gallery to see photos from the demolition of some former local landmarks.