Marlins expect to finalize $1.3 billion deal to sell team to Jeb Bush-Derek Jeter group

Miami Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria has reached an agreement in principle to sell the team to a group led by former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and including former New York Yankees star Derek Jeter, pending Major League Baseball approval. The group is said to pay $1.3 billion for team. Other bidders were Tagg Romney and Quogue Capital’s Rothbaum. The contract has not yet been signed - and other detail have to be worked out. Loria bought the team in 2002 for $158 million. Forbes said the franchise was valued at $940 million. More from the Miami Herald, Bloomberg and ESPN.

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Florida has fourth-highest growth in construction jobs

Florida in March continued its streak of construction employment growth, cracking the half-million mark for the total number of people working in the industry, according to an analysis of federal data by a national trade organization. See data from the Associated General Contractors of America, here. Also read more at the  Sarasota Herald-Tribune]

Researchers are trying to grow artichokes in Florida — is it working?

Castro Valley, eat your artichoke heart out. Florida is now growing the large edible flower heads. That is, if University of Florida researcher Shinsuke Agehara can get the chilling effect he is aiming for. See the white paper from Agehara, here. Also read more at the Tampa Bay Times.

Florida wildfires draw attention to climate change-related insurance losses

Wildfire risk is generally perceived to be a western United States problem, and the majority of major insurance losses caused by wildfires to date have occurred in California; but southern U.S. states have been plagued by wildfires in recent years, including the more than 100 wildfires actively raging across Florida this month. [Source: Business Insurance]

Manned missions in sight as Kennedy Space Center transitions

The space center that last saw a manned mission take flight in 2011 when Space Shuttle Atlantis launched on STS-135, is progressing toward human spaceflight aboard NASA's Space Launch System. At the same time, Kennedy Space Center is home to four commercial companies building hardware to send humans to space. [Source: Orlando Sentinel]

ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› State lawmakers end budget stalemate, but clash with Rick Scott looms [Times/Herald]
State lawmakers reached a tentative deal on an $83 billion budget Tuesday that could end the session on time but could put them on a collision course with Gov. Rick Scott.

› Florida's U.S. 1 tops list of deadliest roads in the nation [South Florida Sun-Sentinel]
Four of the top five deadliest highways in the nation are in Florida, according to a study conducted by Geotab, a Canada-based global fleet management company.

› French startups look for opportunity in Naples [Naples Daily News]
Three French entrepreneurs are visiting the Naples area with hopes of finding partners and capital to help them expand their businesses in the U.S.

› Miami-based CarHopper, a booking service for luxury cars, raises $1.5 million, plans expansion [Press Release]
CarHopper, an app-enabled booking platform for luxury car rentals, announced Tuesday its plans to expand operations to Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Orlando and Fort Lauderdale. Read more at the Miami Herald.

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› Water shortage declared throughout southwest Florida [News Release from the Southwest Florida Water Management District]
A water shortage has been declared for the southwest district of Florida, which covers 17 counties including Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco, Polk, Sarasota, Hernando, Sumter, Charlotte, Citrus, DeSoto, Hardee, Highlands, Lake, Lee, Levy, Manatee and Marion.

› Coast Guard: Cubans are using more speedboats to reach US [AP]
U.S. Coast Guard officials say Cuban migrants are using more speedboats in their attempts to reach Florida shores since the end of a policy granting residency to Cubans arriving on American soil.

› Audit finds $30 million in bookkeeping errors in Sarasota pensions [Sarasota Herald-Tribune]
A Sarasota pension employee is on administrative leave after the annual city audit found more than $30 million in accounting errors in the Sarasota’s pension fund ledgers.

› Travel industry business and bank partner on financial technology service [South Florida Business Journal]
The Miami office of Amadeus, a multinational provider of advanced technology to the global travel industry, will partner with a bank to adopt virtual payment solutions.