Florida property-tax burden shifting away from homeowners

A boom in apartment construction and declines in homeownership have recast the property-tax landscape in a state where tax breaks favor longtime homeowners. In short, renters are picking up the biggest tab for property taxes in the state and get fewer tax exemptions than owner-occupied property. [Source: Orlando Sentinel]

See also:
» Owning still beats renting ... but where will you get the down payment?

More retirees leaving New York for Florida

They used to call them snowbirds, but each year tens of thousands now stay long after the snow flies. There are two big reasons, weather and taxes, and one government watchdog group says its costing New York State. [Source: WRGB]

Florida Trend Exclusive
Of counsel: Setting the pace

As an ecotour guide right out of college in the Virgin Islands, Erin Deady felt as if she could do more to save the environment than her educational tours allowed. So she returned to Florida and got her law degree. Access full story.

Foreclosures in Florida fall 25 percent

The state accounted for 18.5 percent of all the foreclosures nationwide in the past year. But the number was down by 30,875, or 25 percent, from the year before. [Source: Sarasota Herald-Tribune]

Petition aims at putting Medicaid expansion in Florida to a vote

The political action committee Florida Health Solutions launched a petition drive this week to get a constitutional amendment supporting Medicaid expansion onto the Florida ballot in 2016. [Source: Florida Times-Union]

ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› $50 Million Wertheim gift is the largest in UF history [Gainesville Business Report]
Dr. Herbert Wertheim and the Dr. Herbert and Nicole Wertheim Family Foundation have committed $50 million to launch a $300 million public and private investment in the University of Florida’s College of Engineering.

› Florida ranks 41st in access to physicians [Orlando Sentinel]
When it comes to having access to doctors, Florida isn't doing so well, according to a study. Florida ranked 41st among the 50 states, according to the Physician Access Index, compiled by the physician search firm Merritt Hawkins.

› Mike and Alice Jackson donates $1 million to Nova Southeastern University [Florida Trend]
For Mike and Alice Jackson, cancer is personal; so much so that they are joining with Nova Southeastern University (NSU) researchers in the fight against one of the nation’s deadliest diseases.

› Parking fees soar along with theme-park prices [Orlando Sentinel]
When Walt Disney World raised the price of its park passes last month, a less-noticed increase went into effect. Parking fees jumped from $17 to $20, one of their biggest increases ever.

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› By income, Tampa ranks in top ten of 'most unequal' larger U.S. cities [Tampa Bay Times]
As if rising income inequality in this country isn't already a front burner debate, now we learn that Tampa again ranks in the top ten "most unequal" larger cities in America.

› Culinary business brings fresh Florida ingredients to its twist of an old art [TBO.com]
Two Tampa natives have a new take on the can-do spirit. Marte Watson and her son, Armin, pamper Mother Nature’s colorful palate of produce from garden to jars within days.

› How to respond to an inappropriate question during an interview [Florida Times-Union]
The interview is designed to help the manager and the prospective employee get to know each other. But sometimes interviews don't go as planned.

› UF/IFAS study: Strawberry growers must pick, harvest earlier for best profit [UF News]
Florida strawberry growers must produce more fruit earlier in the growing season — in November and December – to keep a competitive advantage in the global market, a new University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences study shows.