Holiday hiring reaches highest level in six years

Retailers ramped up holiday hiring in the final three months of 2012 to its highest level in six years, according to an analysis of government data released Monday by the global outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas. In Florida, holiday hiring increased as well, according to the state. More at the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

---

Florida university to take over operations of undersea lab Aquarius

A lack of federal support and local funding has forced the University of North Carolina Wilmington to stop operations at Aquarius, the world's only permanent undersea laboratory. But the program is not completely lost. It will soon be operated by Miami-based Florida International University. More at StarNews.

---

Warnings about drug interactions don't stall grapefruit sales

CEO Sounding Board The Year Ahead: Five Key Sectors Paul Tang, Chairman of Visit Orlando tells us: "In the last two years, we had a lot of hotels open up; we’re taking a little breather now. The economy is slowly climbing back." » See more...

As some Florida citrus officials predicted at the time, another spate of national news stories in late November about potentially harmful interactions between widely prescribed drugs and grapefruit juice appeared to have little negative impact on juice sales. More at the Lakeland Ledger.

---

Securing commercial service a top priority for Naples airport

Last year's fallout with JetBlue has made Naples airport commissioners more determined to secure commercial service in 2013, despite uncertainty in the industry. More at the Naples Daily News.

---

Norwegian Cruise Line to go public

The company has registered an initial public offering of 23,529,412 ordinary shares with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The shares will be traded on the NASDAQ; no price has set been set. More at the Miami Herald.

Health Trends Florida earns a 'D' in dental health report Florida needs to put more teeth in its policies to protect children's dental health, if the results of a new national report by the Pew Children's Dental Campaign is any judge. The report, released publicly Tuesday, gives the Sunshine State a "D" for failing to provide adequate access to what health officials consider a critical yet painless and cost-effective prevention tool. » Full story from the South Florida Sun-Sentinel » See the full report

---