Lawmakers insist on better jobless-benefits system

The increased pressure from lawmakers comes on the heels of a report from Florida International University showing that fewer than 19 percent of unemployed workers receive benefits in the state, the fourth-lowest in the country. [Source: Orlando Sentinel]

Legislative Roundup:
» House drops plan to revamp state retirement system
» Controversial campus guns bill advances in Florida Senate
» House committee rejects attempt to repeal Florida's nuclear fee
» Public supports keeping gambling pact, Seminole Tribe says
» Police public record exemption passes House committee
» Unanimous death sentences bill clears 1st Senate committee

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Surge of no-party-affiliation voters continues across Florida

The trend of newly-registered Florida voters rejecting both major political parties continues unabated as the combined total of voters known as NPAs (no party affiliation) and minor-party voters has surpassed the total of a major party in 11 counties. [Source: Tampa Bay Times]

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Survey: Young adults do consume news in their own way

Young adults have a reputation for being connected to one another and disconnected from the news. But a survey has found that mobile devices and social networking are keeping them more engaged with the broader world than previously thought. [Source: AP]

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What the rise of luxury toilet paper says about the economy

Sales in the U.S. of what the industry calls "luxury" rolls -- anything quilted, lotioned, perfumed or ultra-soft, from two- to four-ply -- climbed to $1.4 billion last year, outpacing all other kinds of toilet paper for the first time in nearly a decade. [Source: South Florida Sun-Sentinel]

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Are you rich? Depends on your perspective

A majority of Americans — 54 percent, according to a Pew Research Center poll last year — favor raising taxes on the wealthy to expand programs for the poor. The problem with this, from a policy standpoint, is that nearly everybody thinks “rich people” are those who make more money than they do — no matter how much they actually make. [Source: Miami Herald]

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ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› Publix is buying up property in Florida [Sarasota Herald-Tribune]
Publix Super Markets went on a buying spree over the past year, bagging six shopping centers in Southwest Florida for $86 million. But the state's largest grocery-store chain is hardly finished — it has earmarked $1.3 billion this year to buy more centers, build new stores and remodel others.

› No longer wasteland, Orlando' cultural scene grows up [AP]
Long derided as a cultural wasteland, Orlando's restaurant and performing arts scene has grown up in recent years, and it is starting to attract attention from national arbiters of taste.

› Cuban Exile museum may get company on Miami waterfront [Miami Herald]
The administration of Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez is considering a cultural complex behind the AmericanAirlines Arena that would include a new black-history museum and a relocated History Miami museum.

› Gas prices falling again [South Florida Sun-Sentinel]
Drivers are paying less for gasoline than they have at this time in six years, travel club AAA said Monday. And prices could fall more.

Go to page 2 for more stories ...

› Tampa treasure hunter Odyssey Marine gives up control to Mexican firm [Tampa Bay Times]
Tampa's Odyssey Marine Exploration, the treasure hunting business whose bottom line can resemble the shipwrecks it is so good at finding, hopes to salvage its own future in a company overhaul.

› Cruise Shipping Miami 2015 launches in Miami Beach [South Florida Business Journal]
Cruise Shipping Miami 2015 is expected to bring thousands of global cruise businesses to South Florida this week. The event is expected to attract 11,000 attendees and about 800 exhibitors from 125 countries to the Miami Beach Convention Center from March 16-19.

› Record 6,063 manatees counted in Florida [South Florida Sun-Sentinel]
A record 6,063 manatees have been counted in Florida waters, exceeding the previous high by nearly 1,000, the state wildlife commission announced Monday.

› Orlando company wins $30,000 from PayPal at South by Southwest [Orlando Sentinel]
An Orlando company made good at South by Southwest on Saturday. Earhoox, which produces small attachments that stabilize headphones in a listener’s ear, won $30,000 in a pitch competition judged by “Shark Tank” investor Daymond John and sponsored by PayPal.