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Monday's Daily Pulse
What you need to know about Florida today
Florida lawmakers struggle with how to respond to shooting
Lawmakers have just three weeks left in their annual 60-day session and normally are trying to wrap up work on a new state budget in the final days. But the shooting Wednesday at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland has revived an ongoing legislative debate about how to respond to gun violence. Democrats want take up gun control bills, while Republicans are talking about more mental health programs in schools, improving safety on campus. More from the AP and Today.
See also:
» Shooting survivors on potential collision course with Trump
» Rubio faces pressure after Parkland: “It’s not our job to tell you, Senator Rubio, how to protect us’
» Rick Scott’s A-plus NRA rating, and what it means now
» Parkland students to march on the Capitol this week to demand change to gun laws
It’s a (Canadian) snowbird’s market in South Florida
South Florida realtors are rolling out the welcome mat to Canadian snowbirds. Brokers who are pushing new, upscale condos north of Miami—from Hallandale Beach to Fort Lauderdale to Boca Raton—say they’re betting on a convergence of promising circumstances to attract Canadians. More from Mansion Global and the Real Deal.
Florida is afraid of its prison system. Here’s what lawmakers want to do about it.
Some lawmakers say the state is overdue for reforms to sentencing policies that have created an expensive revolving door for non-violent criminals. Lawmakers are considering a package of reforms aimed at shrinking prisons. Some reforms would divert non-violent drug felons from prison to local jails. Other reforms would treat those with mental illness and addiction while they are locked up. But politicians don't want to appear soft on crime during an election year. [Source: Times/Herald]
Mark Howard
Florida Trend Column
Words, chosen carefully
Journalists have trouble sticking to the simple and direct. We lapse into clichés and stumble into bad habits as readily as anyone. Of concern in Florida Trend’s sphere of business reporting is a cohort of adjectives that mask imprecision and sloppy thinking. Read Executive Editor Mark Howard's full column.
Florida restaurants, groceries try harder to identify food sources
Darden Restaurants, Publix, Winn-Dixie and other grocers have launched their own "sustainable seafood campaigns," and other companies are rallying around commitments to animal welfare and curbing overuse of antibiotics. It comes in response to a growing consumer desire for cleaner foods such as organic and locally grown products. [Source: Miami Herald]
ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:
› After Irma, new energy for Interstate 75 relief
In mid-2016, a regional task force that spent almost two years exploring ways to improve safety on a crowded Interstate 75 decided to take a conservative approach: make changes to the highway rather than build or expand other roads. Then Hurricane Irma blew into Florida.
› Federal government moves to seize Florida storage properties
Three storage properties in various stages of development by Wheat Capital Management will likely be seized by the federal government as the company founder awaits trial.
› Spring training great for fans, tourism industry
Orioles, Pirates, Rays — and soon, Braves, too — make Grapefruit League a lucrative industry in Sarasota, Manatee, Charlotte counties.
› Inexpensive Tampa Bay homes gain the most value of any in U.S.
Owners of affordable homes in the Tampa Bay region are seeing the biggest gains in equity among the nation’s top 20 housing markets. A bay area home now worth $110,000 rose 20 percent in value over the past year while a house now worth $337,400 increased only 1.4 percent.
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