March 29, 2024

Friday's Daily Pulse

What you need to know about Florida today.

Welcome back to 2003

The recovery may be in doubt, but South Florida’s economy has seen some progress in recent months. The Economic Time Machine’s reading of the local economy shows a big gain from just a few months earlier. Thanks to an improving labor market, the ETM’s gauges see the economy moving about nine months closer to recovery. [Source: Miami Herald]

Related:
» Less hesitation, more hiring needed to boost Florida's economic recovery
» Small-business lending picking up at Jacksonville banks
»


Odyssey and the lost Spanish treasure

The case, which set a small, high-profile, money-losing public company against governments in both Madrid and Washington, featured WikiLeaks revelations about U.S. diplomatic overtures and art stolen by the Nazis. It drew attention to the possibilities of profiting from deep-sea exploration using sophisticated robotic vehicles. And it convinced the co-founder and chief executive officer of Odyssey, Greg Stemm, that if anything, his company’s ambitions were not grand enough. [Source: Businessweek]


South Florida real estate leading the rebound this year

Believe it or not, Miami real estate actually is doing better than the real estate in the rest of the country. It’s all relative, of course. The deeper the hole, the more impressive the climb back to the top. But the Case-Shiller housing index shows South Florida’s rebound is going better than in other major cities. The index lumps Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach into the umbrella term “Miami.” [Source: Miami Herald]


Florida Trend Exclusive
No slowdown at the Villages

Growth at The Villages is showing no sign of letting up. The 26,000-acre retirement community in Sumter, Lake and Marion counties was among the top three fastest-growing “micropolitan” areas in the country last year, with 4,336 more residents, up 4.6% and pushing the total population to 94,261, according to the latest Census figures. Only the oil and gas boomtown of Williston, N.D., grew faster in percentage terms, from a far smaller base. In 2007, before the energy boom, The Villages ranked No. 1 nationwide. Full story...

The Villages
Population at The Villages rose 4.6% last year to just under 95,000.

Florida ranks No. 35 in affordable energy

A report titled “Energy Cost Index 2012,” which evaluates the affordability of energy, placed Florida No. 35 out of all states. The study tracked the cost of gas, electricity and other energy in all 50 states plus the District of Columbia. [Source: Jacksonville Business Journal]


ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› State takes aim at mercury pollution
Could the construction of power plants in Shanghai make it less safe to eat fish caught in the Everglades? That's the difficulty Florida's environmental managers are grappling with as they try to write the state's first limits on mercury pollution in rivers, lakes and coastal waters.

› State launches investigation of 3 Florida justices
The state opened a criminal investigation Thursday of three justices on Florida's Supreme Court, responding to a lawmaker's accusation that they violated a law against using on-duty public employees to help their election campaigns, authorities said.

› Get ready to pay more for Florida toll roads
Get ready to shell out more money if you drive Florida’s Turnpike, Alligator Alley and other state-operated toll roads in two weeks. And this time, SunPass customers also will feel the pinch. Tolls will go up by a quarter at most locations for both cash and SunPass customers at 6 a.m. June 24.

› Edison State College shows off new housing
Edison is officially stripping off its “commuter school” moniker this fall when it opens its first on-campus dorm, LightHouse Commons, in south Fort Myers.
Related Florida Trend Archived Content
» Sweet Dreams: Trendy Dorms in Florida


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Florida Trend Video Pick

Bitter-to-swallow cocoa costs force chocolate shops to raise prices
Bitter-to-swallow cocoa costs force chocolate shops to raise prices

Central Floirda chocolate shops are left with a bitter taste as cocoa prices hit an all-time high earlier this week.

Video Picks | Viewpoints@FloridaTrend

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