Some Florida lawmakers are on the payroll of firms that lobby the Legislature

Ethics issues are once again a hot topic in the runup to the legislative session that begins March 7. The Sarasota Herald Tribune looked at the intersection between Florida lawmakers and lobbyists, and found that some current state lawmakers are on the payroll of firms that actively lobby the Legislature. Those include Rep. Chris Sprowls, Rep. Jose Felix Diaz and state Sen. Greg Steube. The Florida Bar once viewed this dual role as an "inescapable" conflict of interest, an ethical conflict so "clear" that the Bar issued a formal ethics opinion effectively prohibiting lawmakers from working at firms that lobby the Legislature.

From the Archives
» Florida Trend: When leaders become lobbyists in Florida
» White paper from Integrity Florida: Florida's path to ethics reform

Schools in Florida facing teacher shortages

School districts all over Florida are facing teacher shortages, including in elementary education, which historically had the easiest jobs to fill. The shortages are forcing school districts to ramp up recruitment for the 2017-2018 school year. More from the AP and the Orlando Sentinel.

More bad news for Florida's orange growers

More bad news for Florida’s embattled orange and grapefruit growers. The latest forecast shows the state’s citrus industry in on pace for its worst harvest in five decades. Full story here. Also read more at CBS Miami and Fruitnet.

Your turn:
» Demand for citrus is down. Do you consume as much orange juice and citrus fruit as you did 10 years ago? (quick poll)

Trump’s Florida estate stirs protests, spurs ethics debate

President Donald Trump’s South Florida estate is no longer just the place where he goes to escape. It has become a magnet for anti-Trump protesters and the subject of an ethics debate over his invitation to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to join him this weekend. [Source: AP]

See also:
» All you need to know about President Trump’s Florida White House

Consumer demand for cruising strong in 2017, travel specialists say

Consumer appetites for cruising are running at full steam in 2017. South Florida travel specialists say consumer demand for cruises has been trending high with stronger booking results from a year ago during this year’s “wave season,” which is now in full swing. [Source: South Florida Sun-Sentinel]

ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› Humana will lay off 260 Tampa Bay employees [Tampa Bay Times]
Health insurance giant Humana Inc. is laying off 260 Tampa Bay employees and another 68 around Florida less than three weeks after a federal judge blocked the company's $37 billion merger with Aetna.

› Miami-based lawyer receives Super Lawyers 2017 Florida Rising Star Award [Florida Record]
A lawyer who has been defending clients for less than five years has already won the admiration of his colleagues and counterparts in Miami by receiving the Super Lawyers 2017 Florida Rising Star Award.

› Duval County physicians struggle with confusing medical marijuana laws as access slows for patients [Florida Times-Union]
Diana Cordero is one of the few doctors in Duval County who is qualified to prescribe medical marijuana to her patients. But barely one month after the drug was legalized for the treatment of various medical conditions, Cordero said she can’t keep up with demand.

› Seminole County to look at ways of drawing in tourists [Orlando Sentinel]
Unlike neighboring Orange County, Seminole doesn’t have theme parks, giant water slides or a state-of-the-art performing arts center to draw in tourists from around the world. Even so, Seminole officials say their county does have attractions that appeal to visitors.

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› Wellington-based B/E Aerospace to vote on Rockwell Collins merger [South Florida Sun-Sentinel]
B/E Aerospace announced a special meeting March 9 in West Palm Beach for stockholders to vote on the $8.3 billion transaction with Rockwell Collins that will eliminate its Wellington headquarters.

› RV show rolls into Jacksonville [Florida Times-Union]
RV sales in the United States has been growing steadily for the last seven years and last year finally topped pre-recession figures for an all-time high. But leading that growth is the conventional travel trailer.

› Are 3 pediatric heart surgery centers in Central Florida too many? [Orlando Sentinel]
The new Cardiac Center at Nemours Children’s Hospital is the third pediatric heart surgery center in Central Florida — the others are at Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children and Florida Hospital for Children — and that has some experts and patient advocates concerned.

› Controversial pesticide re-emerges to treat Tampa Sports Authority golf courses [Tampa Bay Times]
When infestations from a parasitic roundworm ravaged two golf courses last year, the Tampa Sports Authority turned to a familiar but controversial cure.