Oil price hits lowest level in 6½ years

The price of crude oil hit its lowest level in 6½ years Friday amid concerns over a slowing economy in China, a huge energy consumer, and strong global production. More from the AP, the Wall Street Journal, Reuters, and Bloomberg.

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» $65 Oil Prices the New Normal?

Lawmakers resist tinkering with proposed congressional district lines

State lawmakers delved into the trenches Thursday in a battle over how to redraw congressional district lines to comply with a Florida Supreme Court mandate, and it wasn’t pretty. More from the Times/Herald and the Sarasota Herald-Tribune.

Floridians complain about credit cards more than average

Floridians file more complaints about their credit cards than the average American, a new study determined. Floridians filed 6.3 complaints with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau per 100,000 residents in 2014. [Source: South Florida Sun-Sentinel]

Citrus greening fight goes to Washington

The newly named director of the Citrus Research and Education Center Michael Rogers was in Washington, DC, recently to testify before the House of Representatives’ agriculture subcommittee. Rogers had served as interim director of the Lake Alfred-based facility since November 2014. [Source: Growing Produce]

The surprising life of a childcare worker

The cost of caring for a child in America keeps rising, but childcare workers' salaries are not. What's it like to take care of someone else's kid all day while you are being paid subpar wages for your work? [Source: Miami Herald]

ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› ScaleUp North Florida to accept more small businesses in 2016 [Florida Times-Union]
The ScaleUp organization designed to help Jacksonville area small businesses get more established is about to enter its second year of operations and it’s widening the scope of involvement.

› $140M in conservation work proposed for Gulf of Mexico [Tampa Bay Times]
Ten watersheds around the rim of the Gulf of Mexico - from Florida to Texas - are being looked at as sites for $140 million in proposed conservation projects under a plan to restore the Gulf from BP's catastrophic 2010 oil spill.

› Strong demand pushes apartment rents higher [South Florida Sun-Sentinel]
Rents have steadily increased over the past few years as former homeowners struggle to qualify for mortgages and young professionals prefer to remain mobile. Analysts say renters can expect to pay more into 2016, when more new buildings will be available to meet strong demand.

› Tampa Bay has 73 of the 5,000 fastest growing companies in the U.S. [Tampa Bay Times]
A 37-employee specialized toxicology lab that provides drug testing of urine enjoyed a 4,415 percent growth rate in revenues for the past three years, making Physicians Toxicology Laboratory the No. 1 fastest growing private company in the Tampa Bay area.

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› South Florida had second-most construction starts in first half of 2015 [South Florida Business Journal]
The South Florida metropolitan area had the second-most contraction contracts awarded in the first half of 2015, according to Dodge Data & Analytics. The company recorded $2.96 billion in commercial and multifamily construction starts in the tri-county area, behind only New York with a massive $17.3 billion.

› Cvent Ranks the Top 50 Meeting Destinations in the US [Travel Pulse]
The nation's capital may reside in Washington, but Orlando, Florida is the capital of U.S. business travel in 2015. Orlando's ascent to No. 1 — the city also ranked first in 2013 — came at the expense of Chicago, which fell to two spots to No. 3, with Las Vegas rising up to No. 2.

› Cruise lines bring Broadway and more to Florida this fall [Orlando Sentinel]
The formula for having a good time on a cruise ship has grown to a complicated equation over the years, but the simple math stays the same: People want dinner and a show.

› Miami police recruiting in overdrive amid political pressure [Miami Herald]
Under intensifying pressure to quickly increase the number of officers on the street, Miami’s police chief and city manager have gone into recruiting overdrive this summer to better protect the public — and their own jobs.