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Tuesday's Daily Pulse
What you need to know about Florida today
Florida business owners’ optimistic after tax reform
Florida business owners feel optimistic about the coming year. That’s according to the recent JPMorgan Chase Business Leaders Outlook survey, which showed that about 91 percent of owners of the state’s small- and medium-sized businesses expect local economic conditions to be favorable in 2018. See the executive summary of the survey here. Also read more at the Tampa Bay Times.
45th Space Congress convenes in Cape Canaveral
The “next great steps” in space exploration and commerce are the focus of a three-day gathering of industry experts starting today in Cape Canaveral. The 45th Space Congress at the Radisson Resort at the Port continues a revival of the once can’t-miss conference, mirroring a comeback in the local space economy since the shuttle’s retirement nearly seven years ago. [Source: Florida Today]
Public support could end drilling in Florida waters
An amendment barring offshore drilling in Florida could appear on the ballot this November, but it needs public support to get there. Jacqui Thurlow-Lippisch, a member of the Florida Constitution Revision Commission, has submitted Proposal 91, which would prohibit oil and gas drilling for exploration or extraction in and beneath Florida's state and coastal waters. [Source: Pensacola News-Journal]
Florida Trend Exclusive
Pining for change
The pine tree has long been a staple of northwest Florida’s paper mill industry, which for many years has been among the region’s major air and water polluters. But wood pellet manufacturer Enviva, based in the tiny Jackson County town of Cottondale, is now using pine trees to create a source of clean and efficient power. Full story here (part of a business news roundup for Northwest Florida).
Florida lawmakers have two weeks to do something about guns. Here’s what’s possible.
Steve Bousquet, who has covered Florida's Capitol for 30 years, and Emily L. Mahoney, who is covering her first session this year for the Times/Herald, discuss what Florida lawmakers are doing, and can do, after the Feb. 14 mass shooting in Parkland. [Source: Times/Herald]
See also:
» Citing ‘systemic failure of government’, Florida House launches Parkland probe
ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:
› CareerSource Tampa Bay votes to fire CEO Edward Peachey
Hillsborough County’s workforce board voted to fire its CEO on Monday as it grapples with a series of investigations into whether the agency inflated its job placement numbers.
› At Jacksonville Zoo, teen employees get ‘hands-on’ with animals, become leaders
14 Jacksonville youths work at the zoo as part of its city-funded Wildlife Immersion and Leadership Development, or W.I.L.D., program. Started in 2016, the teen employment program incorporates leadership development, public-speaking training and studies in zoology and horticulture.
› Florida revamp of PIP auto insurance hits Senate panel
With less than two weeks left in the legislative session, a proposal to repeal the state’s no-fault auto insurance system has re-emerged in the Florida Senate. The Senate Health and Human Services Appropriations Subcommittee is slated Wednesday to take up the Senate’s version of the proposal. See text of Senate Bill 150, "Motor Vehicle Insurance," here.
› Fast internet and free beer: Miami is now America’s No. 1 city for co-working
Looking for a co-working space in Miami? You’ve got options — by one measure, more than any other city in the U.S. A new study has found Miami is now home to the most co-working space in America as a share of total commercial real estate.
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