Tuesday's Daily Pulse
Governor Scott takes tax-cut idea on the road
In a series of pre-arranged meetings with local chambers of commerce in five important TV markets, Scott will amplify an evolving theme of his re-election campaign: that as the economy improves, taxpayers should get some of their money back. More from the Times/Herald and the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
 This green device, the size of a soda can, is a computer-guided robot by Mazor Robotics of Orlando. The robot is used by surgeons to insert implants during minimally invasive spinal surgery. » Story here |
Florida Trend Exclusive
Florida's I-4 Corridor is a High Tech Hotbed
Tourism, retirees and agriculture might have put Florida on the map, but the state is also becoming a mecca for high-tech industry. Nowhere is the transformation more evident than along what’s known as the Florida High-Tech Corridor, a 23-county area that runs from Tampa through Orlando to the Space Coast and bumps up to include Gainesville and Alachua County. Read the full story here and see our regional profiles below:
» Tampa Bay: High Tech Hotbed
» Alachua County: High Tech Hotbed
» Central Florida: High Tech Hotbed
» Space Coast: High Tech Hotbed
Watchdog group critical of taxpayer-funded overseas trips
Since 2011, Gov. Rick Scott has led nine overseas trade missions designed to bring jobs and new economic opportunities to Florida. This summer, the governor led a delegation of 100 community, business, and political representatives to France for the Paris Air Show. The cost to taxpayers was $332,659. [Source: WFTV]
As rates increase, lending rises also in Florida
Despite rising interest rates, financial institutions in Florida have found plenty of eager borrowers so far this year. In fact, Florida banks are lending at a faster pace in 2013 than the rest of the nation's banking industry. [Source: Sarasota Herald-Tribune]
Is Florida becoming a national biosciences hotspot?
One week before life science companies from around the state gather in Tampa for BioFlorida's annual conference, the conference chair is describing Florida as "an evolving epicenter" for the industry. [Source: Tampa Bay Business Journal]
ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:
› State approves Citizens Property Insurance hikes [AP]
The Office of Insurance Regulation announced Monday that it has approved an overall statewide rate hike of 6.3 percent for Citizens Property Insurance Corp. Citizens is the state's largest property insurer with 1.22 million policyholders.
› Miami’s TissueTech gets $10M investment [South Florida Business Journal]
TissueTech received a $10 million venture capital investment from Ballast Point Ventures and River Cities Capital Funds. The Miami-based company was founded in 2011 by President and CEO Amy Tseng and Chairman and Chief Scientific Officer Scheffer Tseng.
› SeaWorld to cut hours for part-time workers, avoiding health-insurance law [Orlando Sentinel]
SeaWorld Entertainment Inc. is reducing hours for thousands of part-time workers, a move that should allow the Orlando-based theme-park owner to avoid offering those employees medical insurance under the federal government's health-care overhaul.
› Univision CEO sees profits in English-language news [Miami Herald]
Randy Falco spent his career in television and media, and he thinks he and his staff have cracked the code for selling news to the next generation.
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› Deer decline in South Florida [South Florida Sun-Sentinel]
The white-tailed deer, an all-too-abundant consumer of gardens and hazard to drivers in much of the United States, faces an uncertain future in South Florida.
› Startup NEXT comes to Jacksonville [Jacksonville Business Journal]
Aspiring entrepreneurs who brainstormed creative and clever business ideas at Jacksonville’s Startup Weekend may have wondered what came next. Event founders are responding with Startup NEXT, a pre- business accelerator course to help re-engineer startup ideas to be more responsive to market needs.
› SIME MIA, a European tech conference, coming to Miami area [Miami Herald]
A two-day conference that aims to bring together leading technologists, media innovators and investors to explore new ideas for the digital space is coming to South Florida in December.
› Miami Dolphins name Tom Garfinkel President and CEO [South Florida Sun-Sentinel]
Tom Garfinkel was named President and Chief Executive Officer of the Miami Dolphins and Sun Life Stadium on Monday. Garfinkel replaces Mike Dee, who ironically replaced Garfinkel in July as president and CEO of the Padres.