Friday's Daily Pulse
Lawmakers propose overhaul of utility regulation
Lawmakers are making it clear early on this year: they want to reign in utility companies in the state, and a new bill is putting up a fight against powerful corporations. Utility companies regularly fuel candidates with hefty campaign contributions, something that the bill’s sponsors would consider outlawing or limiting. Read more from the Capitol News Service, WTSP, the Orlando Sentinel, and TBO.com.
Bitcoin: Future, fad or fakery?
Bitcoin fans say it’s a revolutionary way to move money quickly and anonymously from one point to another. Detractors counter that these purported strengths of the bitcoin are really weaknesses. [Source: Miami Herald]
Baby Boomers could be next big wave of new-home buyers
Retirement surge. Those words are real estate consultant John Burns' "big idea" for 2015. More Americans were born in the 1950s — 41 million — than any other decade, he blogs. And they will be "dropping out of the workforce in droves" this year as they begin turning 65. [Source: Investor's Business Daily]
Ag coalition seeks end to Cuba embargo
Major U.S. farm groups, Cargill, and CoBank were among nearly 30 organizations that launched the U.S. Coalition for Cuba in Washington Thursday. The new group drew support from Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and a number of members of Congress. [Source: Agriculture.com]
Drone revolution draws near, but big obstacles remain
Drones will help spray crops, inspect high-voltage power lines and hover over movie sets to provide directors with new vantage points. They will also work for insurance companies, real estate agencies, ski resorts and dozens of other businesses. Eventually. [Source: AP]
ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:
› Florida teachers union says it will drop voucher lawsuit [AP]
Florida's union that represents teachers says it is dropping a lawsuit aimed at blocking an expansion of the state's main private school voucher program. Chief Circuit Judge Charles Francis in late December tossed the lawsuit. The judge ruled those who filed the lawsuit didn't show how the expansion would harm them.
› Manatee beekeeper helps farmers around the state pollinate crops [Bradenton Herald]
The millions of bees that Cristian Oslobanu raises at Beerom Apiaries Inc. help farmers across Florida and as far afield as California to pollinate crops. He sent 100 hives to Palm Beach County on Wednesday to help pollinate squash plants and in a few weeks, will be sending a semi-tractor load of bee hives to California.
› Liquefied natural gas plant proposed in Titusville [Florida Today]
Florida East Coast Industries wants to build a $250 million liquefied natural gas production and distribution plant on undeveloped land it owns west of U.S. 1 in Titusville — a project the company says would be the first of its kind in Florida.
› Need to chill out? New Florida cruise ship has snow room [WFLA]
Floridians seeking winter-like temperatures might want to consider a cruise to the Caribbean. A new Norwegian Cruise Line ship that will be based in Miami features a snow room. It's the first time the cruise line has offered the feature.
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› Hospital mergers likely, health care executives say [South Florida Sun-Sentinel]
Broward County's hospitals are under-used, and some health care systems may need to consolidate to stay financially healthy, the county's top health care leaders agreed Thursday.
› Florida, usually a top 10 finisher, drops to 28th in national ranking of public schools [Tampa Bay Times]
Florida, often considered a leader in school reforms, wasn't ranked among the top 10 in the nation for public education this year. It wasn't even in the top 20.
› Online and mobile sales grew fastest this holiday season [Sarasota Herald-Tribune]
Shopping online, especially on mobile devices, is the fastest-growing sector of the retail industry, analysts say. Online retail sales were up 13.9 percent during the holiday season in 2014 compared with the same period last year.
› Florida Institute Funds Gainesville-based Verigo [Gainesville Business Report]
The Florida Institute for Commercialization of Public Research (the Institute) has announced that it has finalized a funding agreement with Comm-N-Sense (DBA: Verigo), a company that provides monitoring and tracking solutions to improve operations for businesses that rely on perishable supply chains.