Physician shortage looming for Florida

A physician shortage could be looming in Florida because of a wave of retirements, according to a study by the Association of American Medical Colleges. In Florida, 29.4 percent of the physicians were 60 and older in 2012, which is above the national average of 26.5 percent. Within 10 years, it’s likely that most of them will be out of the workforce or at least scale back their hours. Read more from the South Florida Business Journal and see the full report and an interactive map from the AAMC.

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Florida Poly announces first industry partnership

Bill Brown, President and CEO of Harris Corporation and Ava Parker COO of Florida Polytechnic University sign the University's first industry partnership agreement. » More

Officials from Florida Polytechnic University and Harris Corporation gathered Wednesday to sign the university’s first official industry partnership agreement during a special ceremony at Harris’ headquarters in Melbourne. The inaugural agreement follows Florida Poly’s successful Industry Partnership Summit held last month, in which 44 leading firms expressed interest in partnering with Florida Poly. Read more: Florida Poly's full press release is here.

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Obamacare count: 100,000 so far, 3,500 in Florida

More than 3,500 Floridians selected a health insurance plan using the federally run Health Insurance Marketplace at healthcare.gov.. The federally run healthcare.gov serves 36 states, including Florida, which led those states using the federal site in number of applications completed, number of individuals applying for coverage, and number of plans selected. More at the Miami Herald and the Tampa Bay Times.

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State CFO credits small businesses with state comeback

Improving numbers today are the result of small businesses using their money wisely to help bolster the economy, according to Jeff Atwater, the state’s current chief financial officer. State government set its sights on keeping as much money as possible in the hands of small businesses, while Florida weathered the recession. And it worked, he said. [Source: TBO.com]

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In the Caribbean, sea-level limbo could affect tourist hot spots

From the Bahamas to Belize, Grenada to Guyana, scientists fear rising sea levels could leave some Caribbean islands virtually uninhabitable. That’s important for Florida and the rest of the United States because the Caribbean is a strategic hemispheric crossroads and it’s home to some 50 million people. [Source: Miami Herald]

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ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› Outdoor seating along state roads to grow more expensive for businesses [Gainesville Sun]
Bars, restaurants and coffee shops along state roads will see costs rise to offer customers a seat outside. Under new Florida Department of Transportation regulations, businesses with sidewalk cafes -- or outdoor seating in the state right of way -- will see new requirements for lease payments and increased costs for liability insurance.

› Miami cracks Top 10 luxury residential markets [Miami Today]
Miami’s in with the in-crowd, tastemakers say, debuting on Christie’s International Real Estate’s list of top 10 luxury residential markets.

› SeaWorld posts record sales and profits for third quarter [Orlando Sentinel]
SeaWorld Entertainment Inc. posted record sales and profits during the third quarter, the company announced Wednesday, buoyed by higher prices and especially strong performances at its namesake marine parks.

› Sarasota tourist season gets off to early start [Sarasota Herald-Tribune]
Throughout the region, shops, restaurants, attractions and area beaches have swelled earlier than usual with international tourists, transient visitors and snowbirds — all hoping to get the jump on seasonal tourism traffic that clogs roads and adds to dinner wait times during winter months.

Go to page 2 for more stories ...

› A celebrity endorsement for Miami tech by ... Pitbull [Miami Herald]
The South Florida tech community reaped an unusual endorsement: from the rapper Pitbull. "Count me in," he told a group of young leaders gathered for a breakfast event Tuesday to talk about supporting eMerge Americas, the technology conference Manny Medina and his team are bringing to Miami next May.

› Housing on rebound, next hotspot could be North Fort Myers [Fort Myers News-Press]
Housing construction in Southwest Florida is on the rebound, but industry leaders should be cautious to not repeat past mistakes that caused the market to crash.

› Michelle Obama comes to Disney to talk about veterans, jobs [Orlando Sentinel]
First Lady Michelle Obama will join Walt Disney Companies Chairman and CEO Bob Iger and others at Walt Disney World on Thursday to talk about how companies can and should hire military veterans.

› Sweetbay to lay off 346 as it closes its Tampa headquarters [Tampa Bay Times]
Sweetbay Supermarkets plans to lay off 346 employees at its Tampa headquarters and Plant City distribution center amid the grocery chain's pending sale to Jacksonville-based Bi-Lo Holdings.