Thursday's Afternoon Update

Posted 6/13/2013

Updated 1 decade ago

Florida again leads in foreclosures, but maybe that's not a bad thing

Florida and South Florida returned to the top of the nation's foreclosure rankings in May, but that probably isn't as bad as it sounds, RealtyTrac Inc. says. "These are inevitable foreclosures that need to happen for the market to be completely healthy," said Daren Blomquist, a spokesman for the Irvine, Calif.-based listing firm. More at the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

Miami Herald dedicates its new Doral headquarters

With the snip of a scissors, the Miami Herald Media Co.’s new Doral headquarters officially opened to the community Wednesday morning, capping a two-year transition from its longtime home on Biscayne Bay. The ribbon-cutting ceremony drew executives from Herald parent the McClatchy Co., and business leaders from South Florida. More at the Miami Herald.

Census: Florida has highest rate of seniors

Trends in Utilities:

Fallout

First, Duke Energy announced it would permanently close the damaged Crystal River Nuclear Plant rather than fix it, costing Citrus County 585 jobs. Then, the North Carolina-based utility announced that its $35-million property tax bill was too high and it would only pay $19 million of it. Now, says Citrus County Commission Chairman Joe Meek (photo), it’s time to make sure the county never gets itself in this position again.

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New 2012 U.S. Census estimates released Thursday show that 18.2 percent of Floridians are over age 65, the highest rate of any state in the nation. Just under half of Sumter County's residents are over age 65, the highest share of any county in the nation. More at the AP.

Gov. Scott to showcase Florida aerospace, aviation in Paris

A planned three-day air traffic controller strike in France has forced Enterprise Florida to scramble in getting its trade mission advance team on flights to reach the International Paris-Le Bourget Air Show. However, the strike isn’t expected to impact the arrival of the bulk of the Florida delegation, led by Gov. Rick Scott, that departs for France on Friday. More at the Jacksonville Business Journal.

South Florida still under a cloud of foreclosures and negative equity

Even as South Florida’s housing market has posted impressive gains in prices and sales volume, new data on foreclosures and negative equity show the region is still in some ways digging out from the housing debacle. Corelogic reported that 40.7 percent of the mortgaged homes in the greater Miami area and 39.3 percent of those in the greater Fort Lauderdale area remained underwater in the first quarter. More at the Miami Herald.

Health Technology
Matching patients with clinical-research trials

In Orlando, more than 550 clinical trials are looking for participants to help find better treatments and cures for such chronic diseases as cancer, AIDS and diabetes. Across Florida, nearly 2,500 studies are looking for subjects. "We have a lot of clinical trials going on here, and they are a struggle to fill," said Dr. Jason Lang, a pediatric pulmonologist at Nemours Children's Hospital in Lake Nona who is leading a clinical trial for hard-to-control asthma. A new service helps participants connect with the trials.

» Full story from the Orlando Sentinel