Friday's Daily Pulse

Posted 5/9/2014

Updated 10 yearss ago

Florida ranked 2nd best state for business by CEOs

In Chief Executive’s tenth annual survey of CEO opinion of Best and Worst States in which to do business, Texas continues its 10-year historical position as the best state overall; but Florida, which ranks No. 2, is edging up and even overtaking Texas in its quality of living environment. More from the Orlando Sentinel and Chief Executive.

Legislative Wrap-Up: What passed and failed for Florida taxpayers in 2014

A new report from Florida TaxWatch highlights the final status and fiscal implications of major legislation considered during the 2014 Legislative Session. The report, 2014 Legislative Wrap Up, analyzes bills aligning with Florida TaxWatch research and recommendations, and explains how they will impact taxpayers. Read the full report.

Jobs supporting infrastructure are growing

Jobs connected with South Florida's infrastructure are expected to grow in coming years. Already, they number 217,000, or 10 percent of all jobs in the Pompano Beach-Fort Lauderdale-Miami metro area, according to a report Friday from the Brookings Institution's Metropolitan Policy Program. [Source: South Florida Sun-Sentinel]

Gold Rush on for Florida medical marijuana business

State lawmakers want to keep Florida pot home-grown. But the low-THC medical marijuana recently authorized by the Legislature has sparked an out-of-state “green” rush before the bill has even been signed into law [Source: Florida Times-Union]

9 tips for moms who own businesses

This is the time of year we celebrate the women who’ve raised us and make the sacrifices to bring up the next generation. Moms these days do far more than change diapers and bake cookies. Many of them also start and run their own companies. Someone even coined a term for them: “mompreneurs.” [Source: Gannett]

ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› Clearwater Beach has another booming spring break [Tampa Bay Times]
The official numbers aren't in, but anecdotally, Pinellas County beaches had another banner spring break. Up and down Pinellas County's premier tourist beach, businesses and hotels reported revenues up significantly from last year's record-breaker season.

› Melbourne merchants eager for expanded disposable income [Florida Today]
Boutique owners along the New Haven Avenue downtown retail district cheered news of Northrop Grumman's 1,800-job "Project Magellan" expansion at Melbourne International Airport.

› TEDx thinker's conference Friday at FAU [South Florida Sun-Sentinel]
TED, the popular thinker's conference where people hear an idea worth spreading from various speakers, has a new satellite event in Boca Raton.

› Nation's largest shrimp farm opens in Florida [Florida Times-Union]
The country’s largest closed-water shrimp production facility opened Wednesday in Indian River County. Located in Fellsmere, a little more than 200 miles south of Jacksonville, Florida Organic Aquaculture is expect to create 512 jobs.

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› Emergency loans available for businesses impacted by flooding [WEAR]
Governor Rick Scott announced Thursday the activation of the Florida Small Business Emergency Bridge Loan Program for businesses impacted by last week’s flooding.

› Experts on human-centered computing are coming to UF [UF News]
In an effort to become a national leader in making computers more secure and more personalized to individual needs, the University of Florida has recruited a team of computer scientists with specialties in what’s known as human-centered computing.

› AutoNation CEO Jackson and wife donate $3 million to nonprofits [South Florida Sun-Sentinel]
AutoNation Chief Executive Mike Jackson and his wife Alice are donating $3 million of their personal funds to help fight cancer in South Florida and provide scholarships to at-risk youth nationwide.

› St. Petersburg to consider allowing businesses to put their names at medians [Tampa Bay Times]
The City Council will again consider allowing businesses to "sponsor" medians, providing a way for companies to literally take their names to the street while allowing the city to offset maintenance costs.