Friday's Daily Pulse

Posted 5/31/2013

Updated 1 decade ago

Florida braces for another active hurricane season

Florida enters the 2013 hurricane season on Saturday riding a seven-year quiet streak. But quiet, as last season showed, is a relative term when it comes to the tropics, which are expected to produce a higher-than-average number of named storms over the next six months. Last year, Florida once again dodged a direct hit from a hurricane but didn’t exactly escape unscathed. Ask anyone in Sopchoppy. [Source: Miami Herald]

Surfer and businessman Nicholas Mohnacky catches a wave. » Full story

Florida Trend Exclusive
Florida life: Riding the wave

Nick Mohnacky started surfing in the ninth grade. “Friends and I used to take the bus down Beach Boulevard, then walk to the pier to surf every weekend,” he recalls. Mohnacky turned his hobby into a business with Surfr, a software company that is creating a web and iOS application targeting the surf community. Read more about him, other Florida CEO surfers and some of the Sunshine State's best surf spots.

Redistricting secrets could get aired out in court

A Leon County judge is set to decide this morning whether to order the release of a trove a private records related to last year's redistricting fight produced by a Republican political consulting firm attempting to study how the re-drawn maps changed the electoral playing field. [Source: Orlando Sentinel]

Americans regain half of wealth lost since crisis

The research from the St. Louis Fed shows that households had accumulated net worth totaling $66 trillion at the end of last year. After adjusting for inflation and population growth, the bank found that meant families on average have only made up 45 percent of the decline in their net worth since the peak of the boom in 2007. [Source: Washington Post]

Related graphic:
» Where the nation's highest earners live

Gov. Scott concerned over Florida National Guard furloughs

Gov. Rick Scott says federal budget cuts known as the sequester are his biggest concerns for the upcoming hurricane season. Scott says the cuts threaten to strain Florida's readiness capability. According to the governor, the cuts mean nearly 1,000 Florida National Guardsmen and technicians will have to take furloughs during the summer. [Source: AP]

ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› College of Central Florida president announces layoffs [Ocala Star-Banner]
College of Central Florida can no longer rely on reserve funding to balance its budget and will eliminate 28 positions for the 2013-14 year.

› LeBron James seeks interns; no basketball skills required [Miami Herald]
Some lucky college students will be taking their talents to South Beach working as Miami Heat’s LeBron James interns. The NBA MVP’s official website posted a listing asking for “students who have an interest in online content development and digital sports marketing.”

› CurtCo moves to Innovation Square to recruit tech talent [Gainesville Sun]
Last month CurtCo Robb Media, publisher of the international luxury consumer guide Robb Report, moved to Innovation Square to recruit software engineers, social networking talent and other employees in the tech field as the publisher shifts to more digital products.

› Gov. Scott signs bill to ban EBT cards at casinos [AP]
Florida is banning welfare recipients from using EBT cards at "adult entertainment establishments" like strip clubs and casinos. Gov. Rick Scott on Thursday signed the bill (HB 701) into law. It was one of 36 bills that Scott signed.

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› Polk History Center Refocusing to Become More Relevant to Residents [Lakeland Ledger]
Polk’s history is full of memorable eras. Now the Polk County History Center is entering a new era of its own. Call it the Era of Exciting History. That’s the way Myrtice Young, Polk’s historical preservation manager, sees it. “We want to make it relevant to the public,” she said. “We have a collection; we need to have a program.”

› Nationals want to break part of Space Coast Stadium lease [Florida Today]
The Nationals have been seeking to leave their Viera spring training home, partly to be closer to other Florida major league spring training sites, most of which are in western and central Florida, so the team can reduce travel time to road games.

› Filmmakers: We don't get no respect [Miami Today]
Miami's cinematic identity is evolving, but it will not be complete until we stop wondering "what Los Angeles thinks of us," said some participants in a workshop at CAMACOL's Miami Media and Film Market last week. They observed that a Miami native is only considered a success when that success occurs elsewhere.

› Gov. Scott giving 'Great Floridian' award to Spurrier [Gainesville Sun]
Florida Gov. Rick Scott is calling famed football coach Steve Spurrier a "Great Floridian." The "Great Floridian" designation" is given in recognition of the outstanding achievements of men and women who have made significant contributions to the progress and welfare of Florida.