After billions in customer losses, state okays plan to reduce utility hedging

Floridians are poised to lose another $560 million in 2016 as the state's investor-owned electric utilities continue to lose big at the poker table by hedging their purchases of natural gas. That would mean nearly $6.6 billion in total losses since 2002, and $1.38 billion since the start of 2015 alone. See the statement from Florida's Public Service commission here. Also read more at the Tampa Bay Times and the Miami Herald.

New U.S.-Cuba ties fuel bitter Havana Club rum trademark fight

Both Bacardi and Pernod Ricard hope to capitalize on consumers' growing appreciation for premium rums, as well as U.S. excitement for easier travel to Cuba and its once-forbidden rum and cigars. [Source: AP]

Capital spending still meager, damping economy

Capital spending fell 6.2% at an annual rate in the first quarter following a 2.1% drop late last year, its worst such stretch since 2009 and a big reason the economy nearly stalled in that period, Commerce Department data shows. [Source: USA Today]

Florida adopts limit on full-contact high school football practices

Beginning this fall, high school football players in Florida will be limited to no more than 80 minutes of live contact in practices per week during the regular season Read the new policy from the Florida High School Athletic Association here. Also see more at Education Week.

Congressional delegation to get Zika update

Florida's congressional delegation will hold a meeting next week in Washington to receive presentations about the Zika virus, with panelists expected to include Tom Frieden, director of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. More from Health News Florida and WLRN.

ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› UF faculty union pushes for paid parental leave [Gainesville Sun]
With collective bargaining negotiations underway, the UF chapter of the United Faculty of Florida is pushing for the administration to begin giving new fathers and mothers paid parental leave for up to a semester.

› Orlando International expects busiest summer travel season yet [Orlando Sentinel]
Orlando International Airport is bracing for a summer first, with enough flights scheduled to handle more than 6 million arriving passengers.

› Russian immigration to South Florida boosted by war in Ukraine [Miami Herald]
While official data on Russian immigrants settling in South Florida is not readily available, the obvious rise of those fleeing Russia and Ukraine can be partly explained by the hard times the two countries have been facing since the beginning of the Ukrainian crisis in 2013.

› Manatee County gives boost to urban redevelopment [Sarasota Herald-Tribune]
Roughly 1,800 to 2,000 homes are built in Manatee County each year, mostly in areas east of Interstate 75 such as Parrish and Lakewood Ranch. Meanwhile, what is considered the county's “urban core” — much of which dates to the 1950s and 1960s — experiences scant new development and noticeable decline.

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› GE announces dozens of new jobs in South Florida [South Florida Business Journal]
General Electric is expanding its Miami facility, creating 30 new jobs. The jobs will be digital operations positions focused on the company's Latin American network and delivery systems.

› Randrr tech firm to expand to 200 employees in Jacksonville [Florida Times-Union]
A Jacksonville technology firm will grow tenfold in the next two years and plans to add 200 jobs that pay as much as $200,000 a year for each position.

› Immokalee among Southwest Florida areas designated as federal Promise Zones for jobs, anti-poverty help [Naples Daily News]
The 10-year-program, which aims to help high-poverty areas across the country, will provide each designated zone with preferred access to certain federal grants.

› New Victory cruise line plans trips from Florida to Cuba [South Florida Sun-Sentinel]
A new cruise line based in Miami hopes to offer trips from Florida to Cuba. Victory Cruise Lines Ltd. is awaiting approval from the Cuban government, President and CEO Bruce Nierenberg said.