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Monday's Daily Pulse

Old tax breaks hang on, even as new ones pass

The Florida Legislature is proving this spring that it's a lot easier to pass a new tax break than it is to get rid of an old one. It's a sign of the influence that businesses wield in a Republican-controlled Legislature, where many lawmakers are philosophically inclined to support tax cuts. [Source: Orlando Sentinel]


Lawmakers seek to draw medical tourists to Florida

Florida lawmakers have a new vision for the tourism industry. Forget Mickey Mouse and the beaches. Their goal is to make Florida an international destination for people seeking top-notch medical care. [Source: Times/Herald]

See also:
» Legislative budgets have money to boost tourism


Rush begins for legal marijuana money

If medical marijuana becomes legal in Florida, someone is going to make money from it. Already, a crowd of would-be investors and entrepreneurs are forming on the ground floor. Since last summer, more than 60 businesses have incorporated in Florida with names suggesting the founders intend to get into the medical marijuana business. [Source: Orlando Sentinel]


An Everglades restoration project that's working

Much of the massive plan to restore the Everglades exists in theory, a vast and complicated circuit of interconnected canals, culverts, gates and reservoirs, mostly located far inland and far from people. Few sections have been built. Far more exist only in computer models. But in the last two years, engineers have been fine-tuning a small but uniquely accessible project. [Source: Miami Herald]


Blueberry bushes and business blooming in Florida

In the early years of Florida's foray into growing blueberries, there were a lot of naysayers. We were a citrus state, a tomato state, a strawberry state. But the area of blueberries harvested in the state has roughly tripled over the last 10 years, and this year's crop is likely to reach 25 million pounds. More at the Tampa Bay Times and the AP.


ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› Lack of room for tourists seen by some as a critical void
Is Southwest Florida poised to be the victim of its own success? Since the recovery, visitor bureaus in Manatee and Sarasota counties have reported year after year of record-breaking growth. But to some local tourism officials, those days may be numbered.

› Rising sea level will dramatically change South Florida landscape
Few parts of the United States are as vulnerable to sea level rise as South Florida. As the water level rises in the coming years and decades, the impact will dramatically change South Florida’s landscape.

› Broward's housing market one of nation's most overvalued, says real estate website
Recent price spikes have turned Broward County's housing market into one of the nation's most overvalued — but it's still far too soon to worry about another bubble, analysts say. As of the first quarter of 2014, Broward homes were worth 6 percent more than their fundamental values, according to real estate website Trulia.com.

› Need for more HCA trauma centers not clear-cut
Officials at one of the nation's largest hospital chains have made a powerful argument to defend their unprecedented expansion of Florida's trauma system: Hospital Corporation of America is saving lives.


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› Brevard craft brewer expands its reach
In 2003, Jim Massoni's gut instinct told him that the American craft brewery market was going to explode. Putting his money where his gut instinct was, Massoni, along with partner Ed Scott, invested in a struggling but award-winning Melbourne-based craft brewery called the Indian River Beverage Corp.

› Shifting drug smuggling routes bring contraband to Florida
Like a flashback to the cocaine-cowboy days of the 1980s, drug running is making a comeback in Florida, and federal authorities are harnessing new technology to try to catch the smugglers.

› MIA moves into top-10 list of busy U.S. airports
Miami International Airport became one of the top 10 busiest U.S. airports in 2013, according to information released this week. The Airports Council International, a nonprofit association of airports, released a preliminary ranking of the world’s busiest airports based on passenger traffic data.

› Florida Blue Names New President
The state’s largest insurer has a new president. Florida Blue announced this week that Dr. René Lerer has been appointed president. Lerer’s duties also carry over as president of the GuideWell group.