Florida lawmakers seek $2.7 billion in hometown spending

After years of secretly stashing money into budgets with little public scrutiny, state lawmakers are being forced to defend their requests for hometown projects in broad daylight. But if the goal was to shame lawmakers into taming their appetites for spending, it hasn't happened. [Source: Times/Herald]

Cruise line executives remain bullish about industry growth

The cruise industry has come a long way in 10 years and leaders of major lines Tuesday predicted more growth in the foreseeable future provided no major geo-political or cruise-related incidents derail the momentum. See the report, "2017 Cruise Industly Outlook", here. Also read more at the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

Zika risk in Florida extended beyond Miami–Dade County

Local transmission of the Zika virus in Florida may have occurred as early as June 15 of last year and likely infected people who lived not only in Miami-Dade County, but in two nearby counties, U.S. health officials said this week. [Source: Scientific American]

See also:
» CDC identifies new Zika risk tied to sperm donations in three Florida counties

Nearly 60 percent of South Florida tech workers say they would leave state for better job

Employers beware: 91 percent of tech workers in South Florida say they would leave their employer for a better opportunity, in an annual survey of more than 1,300 tech professionals by ProTech Staffing in Fort Lauderdale. See the full results in the "2017 South Florida Tech Talent Workforce Survey," here. Also read more at the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

Florida scientists fear hurricane forecasts, climate research will suffer under Trump

This week, 32 Florida scientists sent a letter to the president voicing worry over reports that the Department of Commerce, which overseas the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, has proposed cutting 17 percent from its budget, with the nation’s network of satellites taking the biggest hit. [Source: Miami Herald]

ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› Jacksonville-based Winn-Dixie ending Fuel Perks, but adding another program [Florida Times-Union]
Winn-Dixie is ending its Fuel Perks loyalty program, but signing onto another program that includes more than gasoline. With Fuel Perks, grocery customers received discounts on gas purchases at Shell stations, but that will end early next month.

› Freight industry to flock to Florida [Air Cargo News]
Miami will be the venue for the TIACA 2020 Air Cargo Forum (ACF), along with Multimodal Americas and Supply Chain Americas.

› With innovation in mind, Embraer turns to the tech industry [Flying Magazine]
As part of the push to boost innovation at the Brazilian company, Embraer is forming a Global Business Center at its U.S. headquarters in Melbourne, Florida.

› Coming soon to an Internet near you: .health, launched by Miami startup [Miami Herald]
Miami-based dotHealth announced Tuesday it will launch the .health top-level domain, with the goal to be a premier web address for brands, organizations and individuals in the health and wellness industry.

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› If the EPA goes away, is the state up to the job of protecting Florida's environment? [Tampa Bay Times]
The leader of President Trump's Environmental Protection Agency, Scott Pruitt, wants to hand much of its duties back to the states. That would put the job of protecting Florida's natural bounty almost entirely in the hands of the state Department of Environmental Protection.

› Pensacola industrial park, The Bluffs, could hurt with no Enterprise Florida [Pensacola News-Journal]
A report released this month on The Bluffs, an advanced manufacturing park underway near Cantonment, details how the full buildout of the project could drastically enrich the economies of the Pensacola region and the state.

› Orlando EDC goes under House spotlight [Orlando Sentinel]
The Orlando Economic Development Commission last year spent $13,000 on a holiday party, more than $150,000 on travel expenses and it pays its top executive more than $500,000 in salary, bonuses and benefits.

› Florida Competes says anti-discrimination bill would boost state economy by $5B [Florida Politics]
Bills to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity would boost Florida’s economic output by more than $5 billion over the next 10 years according to a study touted by Florida Competes.