Florida Senate defeats redistricting map; session crashes

A last-ditch effort to keep the courts from drawing state Senate districts collapsed Thursday, as senators voted down a plan proposed by the House and a special session called to draw the lines crashed to an end. More from the Florida Times-Union, the Times/Herald, the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, the Orlando Sentinel, and BizPac Review.

U.S. housing recovery divided on age, race and place

It's the most profitable time to sell a house since the Great Recession started in late 2007. But first-time buyers are increasingly scarce. More Americans are qualifying for mortgages, yet minorities still get disproportionately rejected. [Source: AP]

Citizens plans to drop more policies next year

The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation announced Thursday that five private insurers have been approved to acquire up to 127,266 personal-residential policies and 3,268 commercial-residential policies in January through a process known as “takeout.” More from the Miami Herald and the Tampa Bay Times.

State can't ban credit-card surcharges, court rules

Pointing to the First Amendment, a federal appeals court has struck down a Florida law that bars businesses from imposing a surcharge on customers who pay with credit cards. [Source: Orlando Sentinel]

Florida Lottery has record-breaking October

The Florida Lottery says it had a record-breaking October. Lottery officials announced Thursday it reached an all-time high for ticket sales last month, surpassing $471 million. This was a 6.9 percent increase in sales over last October. [Source: AP]

ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› Seminole Tribe airing ads calling for new gaming compact [Tampa Bay Times]
The Seminole Tribe is turning up the public pressure on Florida lawmakers to renew a gaming compact that would allow them to continue offering various card games at its casinos in Florida.

› Gulf Coast’s debt-per-capita among Florida’s best [Business Observer]
Counties along the Gulf Coast are among the best in Florida in terms of debt management, according to a recent index created by SmartAsset, a financial technology company.

› 'Project Revere' seeks financial incentives for 250 IT jobs in downtown Jacksonville [Florida Times-Union]
A software and technology services company is seeking $1.83 million in city and state financial incentives to bring 250 jobs to an office located on downtown’s Southbank.

› Orlando's small conventions sometimes pack healthy punch [Orlando Sentinel]
Some of the smaller crowds at the Orange County Convention Center — especially groups in the medical field — are being sought out for their higher-end attendees and international crowds.

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› SeaWorld stock takes a dive after disappointing earnings report [South Florida Sun-Sentinel]
SeaWorld Entertainment issued a disappointing earnings report on Thursday that has sent its stock diving. The stock (SEAS) was down as much as 11 percent Thursday morning after SeaWorld lowered its expectations for the year.

› UF/IFAS computer program saves nurseries water, plants and money [IFAS News]
A web-based irrigation system developed by researchers at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences saved 21 percent in water use without reducing growth of container-grown landscape plants.

› Do instructional coaches help Florida schools? [Tampa Bay Times]
As Florida's schools increasingly adopt the instructional coach model, Florida lawmakers want to know if they're getting a good return on the money spent.

› Miami retail tech company gets boost from big investor [South Florida Business Journal]
Summit Partners, a global private equity firm with over $6.5 billion in investments globally, said Wednesday it would be investing an undisclosed sum into Miami's Mi9 Retail.