Tuesday's Daily Pulse

Posted 5/12/2015

Updated 9 yearss ago

The multibillion-dollar global space rocket war

As the privately-held company SpaceX and its reusable Falcon 9 rocket gets closer to receiving U.S. Air Force certification to launch military and spy satellites, fierce competitors are nipping at its heels in hopes of grabbing a piece of the $5.4 billion niche market SpaceX continues to grow. [Source: CNBC]

Gov. Scott names 9 to health care funding commission

Gov. Rick Scott on Monday named nine people to his newly created Commission on Healthcare and Hospital Funding. None of the members are hospital executives. Only one is a medical doctor. See the full list of who is on the Commission, here. Also read more news on this topic from the Tampa Bay Times and the Tallahassee Democrat.

37.2 million Americans planning a Memorial Day getaway

AAA Travel projects 37.2 million Americans will journey 50 miles or more from home during the Memorial Day holiday weekend, a 4.7 percent increase from the 35.5 million people who traveled last year and the highest travel volume for the holiday in 10 years. [Source: Florida Trend]

Fitness vacations favor fun, adventure over weight loss

Fitness vacations have ventured far from the fat farm. Today’s fit-focused travelers want to pair exercise with escapades and fitness with fun, whether it's yoga among the sea turtles, bootcamp on the beach or a zumba cruise. [Source: Reuters]

Online Common Core testing lays bare tech divide in schools

Across the country, school districts in rural areas and other pockets with low bandwidth are confronting a difficult task: Administering the new standardized tests to students online, laying bare a tech divide in the nation's classrooms. [Source: AP]

ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› How the creative class is giving Northeast Florida a boost [Jacksonville Business Journal]
Call it creative juices. Something is flowing through Northeast Florida's art scene, increasing the city's return on investment several times over, according to those who support more culture in the area.

› Gov. Scott faces looming deadline to sign online registration bill [CBS Miami]
Governor Scott has little more than a week to decide on whether to approve a bill that would lead to online-voter registration in Florida. The bill was approved despite opposition from Secretary of State Ken Detzner.

› Florida health centers get $5M from federal government [AP]
The Obama administration is spending $5 million to fund 10 new community health centers in Florida. Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell announced the new funding, saying the centers would serve some 46,160 patients.

› Marketing Amish-made furniture online [Sarasota Herald-Tribune]
Jim Miller and his wife, Linse, have found a unique business niche, one that makes perfect sense when you think of Sarasota as a southern outpost for the nation's Amish and Mennonite communities.

Go to page 2 for more stories ...

› Jacksonville's Crowley Maritime lands contract to build pier in Puerto Rico [Florida Times-Union]
Jacksonville-based Crowley Maritime Inc. is deepening its commitments to Puerto Rico with a contract to build a $48.5-million pier there.

› Citrix develops iPad mouse for virtual work [South Florida Sun-Sentinel]
Fort Lauderdale-based software company Citrix Systems is uncharacteristically launching a new hardware product — an iPad mouse — at its annual Synergy customer conference Tuesday in Orlando.

› Visit Tampa Bay trolls for in-state tourists [TBO.com]
Once again this summer, Visit Tampa Bay will be heavily marketing this area to in-state tourists, hoping to lure them to Lowry Park Zoo, Busch Gardens and other major attractions.

› Darden keeps job tax incentives even after Red Lobster sale [Orlando Sentinel]
Darden Restaurants will get up to $7.5 million in employee-related state tax incentives for 2014 even though about 200 jobs left the company with the sale of Red Lobster.