Retailers expect "Super Saturday" to eclipse Black Friday

"Super Saturday," or the last Saturday before Christmas, is expected to eclipse Black Friday and become the busiest shopping weekend of the year, retail analysts say. Retailers, eager to capitalize on the throng of bustling buyers, are responding with longer hours and some heavy discounts. More from the Tampa Bay Times and the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

New business coalition calls for elimination of Florida rent tax

In a new video released Thursday, the Business Rent Tax Coalition, a group of small businesses and other business interests, calls for lawmakers to eliminate Florida’s 6 percent business rent tax over the next six years. [Source: Florida Politics]

Medical marijuana ballot language approved for 2016 in Florida

Supporters of medical marijuana logged an important victory Thursday as the Florida Supreme Court approved the wording of a constitutional amendment legalizing the drug. The court’s support means the question can appear on the ballot in 2016 — if supporters gather enough petition signatures. More from the Times/Herald, the AP, and the Business Journals.

Study finds Florida business leaders upbeat about 2016

A study released on Thursday shows that business owners and executives in Florida are overwhelmingly confident about the prospects for growth in their companies in 2016. [Source: Jacksonville Business Journal]

Florida state colleges to ask Legislature for $74M to enhance campus security

Regardless of what happens to a controversial plan to allow guns on Florida's 40 state college and public university campuses, college presidents say they want to take steps to make their campuses safer. [Source: Tampa Bay Times]

ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› Take IT to the Cloud [Sponsored]
No longer an emerging technology, cloud infrastructures have evolved into essential components of lean operations that maximize use of internal IT resources for business-critical activity. This report from Brighthouse Enterprise Solutions explains the many benefits of working in a cloud environment.

› UF ranked second-best value for public universities [Gainesville Sun]
Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine ranked UF as the second-best value among public colleges in the country for in-state residents, behind only the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

› Florida Poly launches STEMStudy.com website & app for high school students [Florida Trend]
Florida Polytechnic University has launched STEMStudy.com, a new website designed to help high school students interested in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) degrees as they begin researching and applying for college.

› Puerto Rico's PRISA Group plans more hotels in Florida [Orlando Sentinel]
San Juan, Puerto Rico-based PRISA Group is tackling its first hotel project off the island with two planned Marriott brand projects near the Mall at Millenia.

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› The Hidden Hungry: South Florida seniors struggle to put food on the table [South Florida Sun-Sentinel]
South Florida retirees think they will spend their golden years living the good life. Instead, some seniors find themselves struggling to put food on their tables.

› The Force awakens 'Star Wars'-inspired food, fun and fireworks at Disney parks [Orlando Sentinel]
Chew on this: You now can buy a Chewbacca cupcake at Walt Disney World. The sweet treat doesn't include hair of a tall wookiee warrior. It's just a bite of the resort's offerings tied to "Star Wars: The Force Awakens."

› Tampa Bay area hotels are adapting to the smartphone generation [Tampa Bay Times]
Despite misconceptions that they're all broke, many millennials do travel. They're nearly twice as likely to travel for business as baby boomers these days. The hospitality industry has noticed.

› Nemours profit margins improving but still negative [Orlando Sentinel]
Finances for Nemours Children's Hospital, the newest hospital in Central Florida, is slowly improving, although the hospital is yet to turn a profit.