In latest GDP growth by states, Florida lands in middle of the pack

Florida's real GDP ranked 29th among U.S. states in the third quarter of 2016, growing 3.6 percent — a hair above the national U.S. growth in real gross domestic product of 3.5 percent. See full statistics from the Bureau of Economic Analysis, here. Also read more at the Tampa Bay Times.

Bill would kill Visit Florida and Enterprise Florida

As the Republican governor sharpened his criticism of the Legislature for threatening to cut tourism marketing spending and job incentive programs, the Florida House retaliated Thursday by proposing a bill that would completely eliminate entire agencies charged with carrying out Scott’s goals. See the full 172-page proposal here (PDF). Also read more at the Miami Herald, the Orlando Sentinel, and the Palm Beach Post.

See also:
» Rick Scott defends legacy as House Republicans push to abolish two key agencies

Port of Alabama signs agreement with Cuba that Florida ports can't

Alabama officials were in Tampa Thursday to ink a trade agreement with Cuba, one that Florida ports cannot. Seaports in Mobile and Havana are agreeing to do business in the future in a deal similar to one that had been between three ports in Florida. That is until last week, when Gov. Rick Scott threatened to pull funding to ports shipping to Cuba. More from Alabama Today, FOX13, and the Tampa Bay Times.

Private insurer could take Citizens policies

Southern Oak Insurance has been approved to take on 15,000 residential policies on April 18 through what is known as the "takeout" process, which has been a key part of Citizens' strategy to move policies into the private sector, reducing the state-backed insurer's risks. See the list of all approved Citizens "take outs" for 2017, here. Also read more at the Sarasota Herald-Tribune and Florida Politics.

University of Florida Celebrating a Century of Citrus Research

Once upon a time, a group of Polk County citrus growers raised money to buy land for a research station. Many moons later, the University of Florida/Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) is set to commemorate the 100th anniversary of its Citrus Research and Education Center (CREC). Full story here.

ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› Florida governor heading to Argentina for trade mission [AP]
Florida Gov. Rick Scott is heading off to Argentina for another trade mission. Scott is scheduled to take a five-day trip in late April to Buenos Aires. This is Scott's 13th trip abroad since he became governor in January 2011.

› Wonderful Citrus buys Florida’s largest citrus marketer, exporter [The Packer]
Delano, Calif.-based Wonderful Citrus has acquired Fort Pierce, Fla.-based citrus marketer DNE World Fruit, citrus exporter DNE International and the assets of World Pack Cold Storage, a division of DNE Imports.

› Florida land-buy advocates face powerful industries [Fort Myers News-Press]
Legislation to reduce Lake Okeechobee discharges pits Florida Senate President Joe Negron and the bill’s supporters against powerful detractors: the sugar and agricultural industries.

› One-third of latest Lockheed deal to be done in Orlando [Orlando Sentinel]
Lockheed Martin has landed a $166 million contract and officials expect more than one-third of the work to be done in Orlando.

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› 2016 was Florida's second-warmest year -- after 2015 [WMFE]
The Florida Annual Climate Summary shows 2016 was the state’s second-warmest year – after 2015 – since record-keeping began in 1895. It was much warmer than historical averages – more than two degrees warmer.

› Fort Lauderdale-based AutoNation names new president, executive VPs [South Florida Business Journal]
The Fort Lauderdale-based automotive retailer (NYSE: AN) has appointed Executive VP and COO William "Bill" Berman to the role of president and COO.

› Florida wine in spotlight at viticulture center [Tallahassee Democrat]
Recently, the new Tallahassee Chapter of the American Wine Society — Uncorked & Unscrewed — visited the FAMU Center for Viticulture and Small Fruit Research for an evening of wine tasting and education.

› Customers: Spectrum breaks promise it won't raise rates [Tampa Bay Times]
More than two dozen Spectrum customers have told the Tampa Bay Times that their rates are being raised significantly even as the company maintains publicly that bills will be unchanged.