Florida Trend Exclusive
Research Florida 2016

Florida Trend's annual look at innovation features business profiles and also looks the latest research being conducted around the state. This week, we will be showcasing stories from Research Florida on the Daily Pulse, beginning with:

• Striking Rein-Gold: A business profile of Arthrex
  Reinhold Schmieding, the founder of Arthrex in Naples, is a son of German immigrants who’s become a billionaire by combining innovative surgical products, hard-nosed business tactics and a Euro-style workplace. 
  

Florida Democrats outraise Republicans during crucial period

The Florida Democratic Party for the first time in years is getting more money into its accounts than the Republican Party of Florida. The two parties late Friday filed state fundraising reports for the last five months that showed Democrats raised $4.72 million in cash compared to $4.1 million for Republicans. More from WESH and the AP.

See also:
» Florida donors favor Clinton over Trump

With shortage of homes, Florida buyers turning more to fixer-uppers

A shortage of quality listings is forcing some South Floridians to buy lesser homes and renovate. While home renovations are nothing new, today's buyers are struggling to find exactly what they want, so they're lowering expectations and rolling up their sleeves. [Source: South Florida Sun-Sentinel]

Florida shopping centers pursue 'Internet-proof' tenants that can survive online competitors

At a time when many traditional retailers are shrinking store sizes or closing locations, real estate developers are trying to fill malls and shopping centers with businesses that are "Internet proof." [Source: Tampa Bay Times]

Bee rustlers hit Southwest Florida

Southwest Florida bee farmers are having a difficult summer because thieves have been stealing their hives, lots of them, to the tune of $150,000 or more. More than 500 hives have been taken from large corporate-type bee farms to small, mom-and-pop operations since June in Lee and Charlotte counties. [Source: AP]

ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› Sarasota targets $350K in failed incentives project [Business Observer]
Sanborn Studios is dead, at least from a legal standpoint. $100M on apartments But that won’t stop Sarasota County officials from planning to go after at least $350,000 from the now-defunct movie studio, where the founder, Ken Sanborn, failed to deliver on 117 jobs in return for the subsidies.

› One of four tropical systems, Depression Nine, bringing sloppy weather to Florida [South Florida Sun-Sentinel]
Because of Tropical Depression Nine, the southern Florida peninsula and Keys can expect 3 to 5 inches of rain through Wednesday. Isolated amounts of up to 7 inches are possible for coastal areas of southern Florida and the Keys.

› Northeast Florida 'generous' with philanthropy [Florida Times-Union]
In 2015 individuals in Northeast Florida donated about $962 million to charitable organizations, giving more money and a higher percentage of their incomes than other donors across the state, according to a national fundraising consultant.

› Key West on the short list for new Navy drone base [Miami Herald]
Key West is on the U.S. Navy’s short list to become its East Coast home base for a drone system, a project requiring up to 400 military personnel, and locals have a 30-day period starting Sept. 1 to weigh in.

Go to page 2 for more stories ...

› Hotel occupancy rose faster in parts of South Florida where rooms are fewer [The Real Deal]
Hotel occupancy rates in July increased in Palm Beach County, rose slightly in Broward County and flattened in Miami-Dade County.

› First brewery brings industrial-chic to Winter Haven [Lakeland Ledger]
A home-brewer for nearly a decade, Joe Dunham is ready to go commercial. His Grove Roots Brewing Co. debuts with a Sept. 17 grand opening, introducing the greater Winter Haven community to its first microbrewery.

› Delray tech consultant stresses teaching customers, not doing it for them [South Florida Sun-Sentinel]
Falon Velez has been video gaming since she was 6 years old. As a young adult, she worked for Apple's Genius Bar. Now 33, she operates her own Delray Beach company, TeachGeek, which shows consumers how to use technology and make their homes "smart."

› Scams and waste loom as charity millions donated after Pulse shooting [Orlando Sentinel]
The more than 430 fundraisers posted on the GoFundMe website after the mass shooting at a gay nightclub in Orlando have exposed weaknesses inherent in these popular do-it-yourself charity campaigns: waste, questionable intentions and little oversight.