Florida Trend Exclusive
Floridian of the year: Frank DiBello, rocket man

Frank DiBello has helped make the loss of the shuttle old news and has boosted Florida toward a sustainable space industry that the state has never seen. DiBello and Space Florida, the economic development organization he leads, have exerted an outsized influence in building a new commercial future for Florida in space. Read the full story here.

Florida's death penalty system will face renewed stress in 2017

Florida's death penalty system, under sustained legal assault for the past year, faces renewed pressure in 2017 that will strain courts, victims and taxpayers in ways sure to rekindle a debate over capital punishment. [Source: Lakeland Ledger]

Judge tosses state agency's pollution reporting rules

In a victory for business groups, an administrative law judge ruled that the Florida Department of Environmental Protection overstepped its authority in proposing new requirements for notifying the public when pollution occurs. [Source: News Chief]

See also:
» Environmentalists 'hopeful' for year of progress in improving water quality on the Treasure Coast

What to know as Amendment 2 goes into effect today

The constitutional amendment allows higher-strength marijuana to be used for a wider list of medical ailments. However, the true measure of the amendment won't be seen until a new set of rules are adopted and implemented by the Florida Legislature and the Department of Health. [Source: AP]

» Quick poll: Are you glad medical marijuana is now legal in Florida?

Florida gas taxes will nudge up slightly in 2017

Florida law requires annual adjustments to gas taxes based on changes in the consumer price index, which measures what people are paying for goods. Gas taxes in Florida vary slightly by each county because some counties have adopted additional gas taxes. [Source: AP]

ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› St. Augustine sees holiday business after Hurricane Matthew [Orlando Sentinel]
The season between Thanksgiving and New Year's — which has always been a busy time for the Historic Coast's tourism sector — has provided a timely lift. Small business owners and hoteliers alike are relying on tourists to fill registers and beds.

› Keys plan field trial for bacteria-infected mosquitoes [AP]
The Florida Keys Mosquito Control District and the privately owned, Kentucky-based company MosquitoMate are still reviewing locations for the field trial of Wolbachia-treated Aedes aegypti mosquitoes.

› USTA hopes Orlando campus can ignite youths' tennis interest [Orlando Sentinel]
The tennis industry hopes to help stoke interest in the sport as the U.S. Tennis Association opens its 64-acre national campus this week in southeast Orlando's burgeoning Lake Nona development.

› U.S. officials have OK to study bringing Bahamas sand to Florida beaches [Naples Daily News]
A potential solution to a troublesome sand shortage off Southeast Florida is tucked away in a massive water resources funding bill President Barack Obama signed into law last month.

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› Amid growing revenues, South Florida hospitals buzz with capital improvements [South Florida Sun-Sentinel]
A strong economy and steady growth in health insurance enrollment have contributed to growing revenues among South Florida's public and private hospitals in recent years.

› Rocket, satellite factories to rise at KSC's Exploration Park in 2017 [Florida Today]
The New Year will see a pair of major new space manufacturing facilities rise at Kennedy Space Center’s Exploration Park.

› Florida Supreme Court appointments could bring chaos [Orlando Sentinel]
A quirk in the state constitution means Florida could be headed to a bruising legal brawl over the ideological balance of the Florida Supreme Court that would decide the future of the court for decades to come.

› Florida scientists call for climate meeting with Trump [Naples Daily News]
Florida scientists who called out Gov. Rick Scott two years ago for doubting climate change now hope to meet with President-elect Donald Trump while he’s in the state celebrating the holidays.