Friday's Daily Pulse

Will Short Gorham | 2/24/2012

Florida's deficit of registered nurses on the rise

If you’re one of the thousands of people in Florida who needs a job, the nursing field might be a good place to start looking. A survey conducted by the Florida Center for Nursing revealed that Florida is in dire need of nurses and will face a shortage of more than 15,000 registered nurses in 2012. A report released by the F.C.N. stated that because of the combination of the economy recovery, the glut of Baby Boomers entering their golden years, and health care reform; the need for nurses has grown but the supply has decreased. Read more from CBS Miami and the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

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There's money to help Florida's housing market but no consensus on how to spend it

Florida's sputtering housing market has produced one silver lining: enough home sales to generate $98 million in tax revenue for an affordable housing account created to repair foreclosed homes and place more middle- and low-income families into houses. But there's one problem: Gov. Rick Scott and the Florida House want to sweep the money into the general revenue fund to balance the state budget. On Thursday, the Senate voted to restore $29.6 million of the money into the affordable housing account. [Source: Times/Herald]

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Need for skilled workers remains strong

President Obama last week shared some good news — for a change — about U.S. manufacturing. Master Lock in Milwaukee had brought jobs back to America, a boost for the president's plan to restore American manufacturing. Closer to home, though, some Florida manufacturers wonder where we'll get all the skilled workers to fill the factories. [Source: Tampa Tribune]

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Florida among top states for app jobs

A new TechNet-sponsored study suggests that Apple’s App Store ecosystem has generated nearly 500,000 jobs for the US economy in under five years’ time. Florida ranked 10th on the list of app economy jobs. [Source: Florida Technology Journal]

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The Impulsive Traveler: In Florida, a taste of tropical fruits

Everyone knows that Florida grows fruit: It produces about 70 percent of U.S. oranges and grapefruit, according to the state Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. But growers here in the Redland agricultural area near Homestead also cultivate smaller quantities of less-well-known fruits, some of which don’t grow anywhere else in the continental United States: carambola (starfruit), mamey, sapodilla, jackfruit, lychee and many others. [Source: Washington Post]

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ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› HSN sales up 4% but TV network sales stagnate [Tampa Bay Times]
Sales at HSN Inc. rose a respectable 4 percent during the Christmas holiday quarter but were flat at the St. Petersburg e-commerce company's TV shopping business. Overall, the quarter ended Dec. 31 "was positive," said Mindy Grossman, chief executive officer. "But the final weeks (of the holidays) did not live up to our (sales) expectations."

› Florida families among many who face adoption heartbreak [NBC Miami]
Some families in South Florida have waited for years to adopt children from foreign countries. The process is often mired with bureaucracy and red tape. Chris Cruz, an administrator at Miami-Dade College, knows how painful international adoption can be. For four years she spent many sleepless, tearful nights worrying the Guatemalan newborn that she says she fell in love after seeing his picture for the first time, would never be coming home to Miami.
Related Florida Trend Archived Content
» International Adoption: Whose Standards?

U.S. Bound Adoptions 12,753 -- Children adopted by American families from foreign countries between October 2008 and September 2009 543 -- Florida families that adopted internationally last year [Map: Jeff Papa]

› Mild winter boosts Darden's sales [Orlando Sentinel]
A mild winter helped boost sales at Olive Garden, Red Lobster and other chains owned by Orlando-based Darden Restaurants during its third quarter, the company said today. Darden pre-released some earnings information ahead of its annual conference for investors Friday in New York. Darden's third quarter ends Sunday, and it will give a full earnings report next month.

› Tax break would help commercial airport bases [Orlando Sentinel]
The Florida Legislature this year is advancing tax breaks for private airplane repairs, aircraft engine manufacturers, onshore oil drillers, citrus packers and even the parking garage at the Miami Marlins’ baseball stadium. Now add to the list: Commercial airport bases.

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