Thursday's Daily Pulse

Posted 6/16/2016

Updated 8 yearss ago

Florida Department of Citrus to see large budget cuts

The Florida Citrus Commission has approved a preliminary budget for the upcoming fiscal year which makes significant cuts to the Florida Department of Citrus. On June 14, the commission, which oversees the Bartow-based agency, unanimously approved the $20.7 million 2016-17 budget which proposes $9.6 million or 32% in cuts compared to the previous year. More from the Packer, the Lakeland Ledger, and Florida Politics.

Obama expects ‘emotional trip’ to Orlando

Yet again making the all-too-familiar trip to console and grieve with victims of a mass shooting in an American community, President Barack Obama will travel to Orlando on Thursday. The president's visit will also be underscored by recent tension with Gov. Rick Scott, whom Obama didn’t speak to until Wednesday. More from the Times/Herald, the AP, CNN, and ABC News.

SpaceX fails in latest attempt to land rocket on ocean barge

After three successes, a leftover SpaceX rocket booster crashed Wednesday while trying to land on an ocean barge. The attempt came minutes after the Falcon 9 rocket successfully launched two satellites from Cape Canaveral, Florida. More from the AP and the Orlando Sentinel.

Florida generated 7th fastest growing GDP in 2015 but still trailed major rivals

Florida enjoyed a bullish gain to its state gross domestic product of 3.1 percent last year, ranking it 7th among the states. But some of Florida's biggest rivals — large population states that it likes to compare itself against — outgrew the Sunshine State. [Source: Tampa Bay Times]

Disney CEO Iger says China has 'incredible potential'

The debut of Shanghai Disneyland offers Walt Disney Co. "incredible potential" to boost its brand in the world's most populous market, the company's chief executive said Wednesday. Disney's first theme park in mainland China is designed to be "distinctly Chinese," Bob Iger said ahead of Thursday's grand opening for the $5.5 billion park. [Source: AP]

ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› JAX Chamber among finalists for top award for chambers of commerce in North America [JAX Chamber]
JAX Chamber is in the running to be named one of the top chambers of commerce in North America. The Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives is conducting its “Chamber of the Year” awards process and JAX Chamber finished in the top four among the finalists this week.

› Orlando airport surpasses 40 million annually [Orlando Sentinel]
Orlando International Airport recorded more than 40 million passengers over a 12-month period ending in April — a first in the airport's history. More than 3.6 million passengers flew through the Orlando airport in April, an increase of 8.2 percent over April last year.

› Women leaders boost big accounting firm [Business Observer]
Sarasota-based accounting firm Kerkering, Barberio & Co. has been selected by the 2016 Accounting MOVE Project as one of the best public accounting firms for leadership equity.

› Alachua County against hunting bears on its land [Gainesville Sun]
The Alachua County Commission made its feelings clear on Tuesday — don't hunt bears on our lands. The board passed a resolution emphasizing policy already in place that the county doesn't want bear hunting on lands it owns.

Go to page 2 for more stories ...

› Office Depot to hire 8,000 workers for back-to-school shopping [South Florida Sun-Sentinel]
Office Depot announced plans Wednesday to hire 8,000 seasonal and regular retail workers nationwide to drive sales for its back-to-school shopping season. That's an average of five new employees per store.
» See also: Why Office Depot is hiring thousands of workers as its sales shrink

› Ex-Grooveshark workers now target ad blockers [Gainesville Sun]
A company that spun out of Gainesville-based Grooveshark shortly after it shut down last year is offering its solutions to other online publishers to recover revenue lost from ad-blocking software that users install to avoid advertising.

› Florida Credit Union Honors Students with College Scholarships [Gainesville Business Report]
Florida Credit Union is proud to honor four recent graduates in Alachua County with scholarships for the fall academic semester. FCU provides two different scholarship opportunities annually for recent and past graduates looking to start or continue undergraduate degree programs.

› Cancer Treatment Centers in Boca names new CEO [South Florida Sun-Sentinel]
Cancer Treatment Centers of America, headquartered in Boca Raton, has named Dr. Rajesh Garg as its new president and CEO, effective June 20. He will also serve as a member of the company's national board of directors.