Budget plans show Legislature and Scott not on same page

This week, Floridians will begin learning how lawmakers intend to spend around $81 billion. Now that subcommittees have rolled out their priorities Senate and House full appropriations committees will decide what to leave in and what to take out of the state budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1. [Source: Tallahassee Democrat]

See also:
» Does Florida have a budget surplus or deep holes to fill?

Florida Trend Exclusive
Hacking as a business model

Three former FSU students are accused of being part of a wide-ranging criminal enterprise conducted through cyber-space. This article, the cover story from Florida Trend's February issue, looks at the enterprise began and profiles key players in a sprawling cyber-criminal enterprise with hundreds of employees in more than a dozen countries. Access the full story here and see also: Insider knowledge and data breaches

U.S. economy crawled in late 2015

The American economy barely grew last quarter, finishing the year much as it had started and stoking concern about its momentum in 2016. Over all, the economy expanded at an annual rate of just 0.7 percent in the fourth quarter of 2015. [Source: Sarasota Herald-Tribune]

See also:
» US economy is expected to strengthen after weak 4th quarter

Less than 7 percent of Florida's workforce is in a union

A little less than 7 percent of Florida's workforce is in a labor union. That's about 546,000 wage-earners who were union members in the Sunshine State last year. The numbers were released last week by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. [Source: AP]

Consumer confidence dips in Florida

Consumer sentiment in the state edged down to 91.5 in January, one-tenth of a point lower than December's 91.6 and 1.6 points lower than a year ago. The lowest score possible is two, the highest 150, bench marked to 1966 at a value of 100. The survey's margin of error is 5 percent. More from WCTV and the South Florida Sun-Sentinel]

ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› Deseret Ranches fights Brevard landfill, other invaders [Orlando Sentinel]
Florida is poised to approve the rise of a trash mountain in wetlands of the St. Johns River, a project that history may eventually identify as helping to father a new city near Orlando.

› St. Pete wage dispute office gets employers to pay [TBO.com]
St. Petersburg is the first Florida city to adopt a wage theft ordinance and set up an office to advocate on behalf of workers who have been denied fair compensation. In other places, county governments have assumed that role.

› Cold weather could boost python hunt in Florida [Bradenton Herald]
With Florida already on track to break its previous python hunt record, now may be the perfect time to deploy your stuffed coyote as snake bait.

› Latin American headquarters could add 50 jobs in Miramar [South Florida Sun-Sentinel]
Broward County Commissioners will consider a $35,000 match in economic incentives Tuesday for a company to establish it Latin American headquarters in Miramar and create 50 jobs.

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› Staples continues fight for Office Depot despite obstacles [South Florida Sun-Sentinel]
As the long and bruising fight to merge Staples and Office Depot approaches the one-year mark, experts say Staples might be laying plans for a day it will have to leave the arena on its own.

› Brevard tax abatement program continues after 20 years [Florida Today]
Nearly 20 years ago, a company called Tru-Mension Manufacturing had big plans for Titusville. Tru-Mension also was the first company to take advantage of a relatively new voter-approved initiative in Brevard County called the ad valorem tax abatement program.

› Space plays a nice role in Florida's new marketing [Orlando Sentinel]
It’s certainly not the first time Florida has marketed its space industry, but it’s the first time in a few years – since the shuttle program wound down – that Florida itself has featured space so prominently.
» See also: How to expand space business in Florida

› Flush with technology, new Pinellas magnet program caters to young 'digital natives' [Tampa Bay Times]
11- and 12-year-olds were born fidgeting with devices. So instead of limiting their use in classrooms as educators have done in the past, a new magnet program at St. Petersburg's Tyrone Middle School is flooding them with technology — and nearly eliminating the need for a paper notebook.