Tuesday's Daily Pulse
Florida prepares for hurricane season
In Florida, it's not tornadoes, but hurricanes state leaders are prepping for. With hurricane season about two weeks away, members of the Florida Division of Emergency Management ran through some of the drills for the next four days in their annual statewide hurricane exercise. More form WTSP and WTXL.
See also:
» 2013 Hurricane preparedness guide
Florida Trend's
Viva Florida 500 Travel Guide
There's much to see and do as Florida commemorates the 500-year anniversary of Ponce de León arriving on its eastern shore.
The statewide festivities planned to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the discovery of Florida — Viva Florida 500 — invite residents and visitors alike to launch their own explorations.
Gov. Scott OKs sales tax holiday for August
Florida shoppers this August will get to buy computers without having to pay sales taxes. Gov. Rick Scott on Monday signed into law a bill reauthorizing the state's popular back-to-school sales tax holiday. This year's sales tax holiday will take place from Aug. 2 to Aug. 4. [Source: AP]
State launching website to match businesses with Florida graduates
Workforce Florida Inc., the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity and regional workforce boards announced the June launch of HireFloridaGrads.com, a web portal for work-ready graduates seeking employment. [Source: Crestview News Bulletin]
Company hopes to fuel growth at KSC
A satellite-fueling company will take over a former space shuttle facility at Kennedy Space Center, NASA announced Monday. United Paradyne Corp., of Santa Maria, Calif., next month will begin a 15-year lease of a building at the center’s Hypergolic Maintenance Facility, or HMF, where shuttle thrusters were serviced. [Source: Florida Today]
» Pain Relief: Northrop Grumman is expanding in Melbourne
Home-buying frenzy: Strong demand collides with scarce inventory
Rising buyer demand is colliding with a shortage of supply, making the always-emotional experience of buying a home all the more intense. Multiple offers are competing for a scant supply of homes and condominiums for sale. Bidding wars are breaking out. Properties are fetching asking price – and often more. [Source: Miami Herald]
ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:
› Sarasota Golf Club to be sold, developed into housing [Sarasota Herald-Tribune]
The Sarasota Golf Club, a 52-year-old regional staple and one of the oldest public courses in Southwest Florida, will close after the Memorial Day holiday weekend.
› Orlando offers jobs incentives for Creative Village, SunRail projects [Orlando Sentinel]
Orlando revamped an economic development program Monday to offer job-creation incentives to companies that match the Dyer administration's favored downtown projects: the Creative Village and SunRail.
› Gov. Scott approves rowing park funding to lure world championships [Sarasota Herald-Tribune]
Scott approved the state Legislature’s budget but used his line item veto to kill dozens of community programs from the Panhandle to Miami. But Sarasota and Manatee counties were left relatively unscathed.
› Spirit Airlines keen on domestic growth [South Florida Sun-Sentinel]
Spirit Airlines remains keen on growth as airline mergers and rising airfares continue to create opportunities for the Miramar-based low-cost carrier to expand its network, executives said Monday during the airline's 2013 Analyst Conference.
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› Delray Beach frowns upon too many street festivals [South Florida Sun-Sentinel]
It is official: There are too many special events in Delray Beach. Once conceived as a way to attract visitors to downtown shops and restaurants, special events are now viewed as a nuisance keeping regular patrons and Delray residents from visiting businesses downtown.
› Chile trade mission aims to boost Florida ports [Tampa Bay Business Journal]
Chile is Florida’s seventh largest trade partner with nearly $7.7 billion in bilateral trade. Florida-origin exports to Chile have expanded by 53 percent in the last two years, and the state has experienced a two-way trade growth of 262 percent since the implementation of the U.S.-Chile Free Trade Agreement in January 2004.
› UF President Machen will not seek tuition hike for next year [Gainesville Sun]
UF President Bernie Machen said Monday that because of the increased funding in the state budget, he would not seek a tuition hike for next year. "The reality is we got real, net new dollars coming into the university for the first time in five years," Machen said Monday.
› Universal parks 1st with 1-day pass above $90 [Orlando Sentinel]
Universal Orlando raised ticket prices once again over the weekend, becoming the first of Orlando's big theme-park operators to lift base prices above $90. The price of a one-day, one-park Universal ticket is now $92, before tax. That's a 3.4 percent increase from the previous price of $89.