Legislature agrees to pay millions for lost citrus

Florida legislators have agreed to pay millions to homeowners in two counties whose healthy citrus trees were torn down in a failed attempt to eradicate citrus canker. Republicans on Wednesday announced that as part of a secret budget deal they would set aside $37.4 million on behalf of homeowners in Broward and Lee counties. [Source: AP]

Related:
» Gov. Rick Scott tours state to rally support for endangered budget priorities
» Secret budget deal reached, lawmakers to vote Monday
» Legislature approves pollution notice rules
» Fantasyland? Florida revives push to legalize fantasy sports

Florida spends millions fighting for oyster industry; fishermen say it's a waste

Florida is spending a fortune on a legal battle to help our state's oyster industry, but some oyster fishermen say the state is wasting our money on a flawed strategy that is burning taxpayers and not helping them. [Source: Fox 13]

Florida female chefs struggle to break through in a male-dominated field

Famous San Francisco pastry chef Emily Luchetti to Florida for an event with other female chefs, all of whom understood her message. They needed help to break the culinary glass ceiling looming over Florida restaurants and beyond. [Source: Tampa Bay Times]

Florida has second worst drinking water in the country, according to study

Florida’s drinking water is the second-worst in the United States, according to a new study. The study, administrated by the Natural Resources Defense Council, tested water from across the country and found more than 80,000 violations of the Safe Drinking Water Act in 2015. See the report here. Also read more at the Bradenton Herald.

Florida small business owner confidence at highest level since 2009

Florida small business owners are confident about the next six months — the most confident they've been since 2009. A survey released by PNC Thursday found that 61 percent are optimistic that there will be an upcoming increase in their sales. See the survey by PNC here. Also read more at the Tampa Bay Times.

ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› Palm Beach has spent $4.5 million protecting Trump [CNN Money]
Security costs are piling up for the Florida sheriff's department that helps protect President Trump when he visits his Mar-a-Lago resort.

› Miami may kick-start sports park on Virginia Key landfill [Miami Today]
Miami Commissioner Ken Russell is ready to kick-start a sports park on an old Virginia Key landfill. It’s not a new idea: it’s part of the 2010 Virginia Key Master Plan

› Powering businesses and communities for a brighter future [Sponsored Report]
Delivering reliable energy to almost 2 million Florida homes and businesses is a huge undertaking. But it’s just the beginning of Duke Energy’s commitment to the state.

› How cross-sector partnerships are fueling innovation in Tampa [Route Fifty]
The fast-growing city on Florida’s central Gulf coast is becoming a model for how collaboration between government and business and forward-thinking leadership can foster a growing digital economy.

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› Florida Keys state funding remains in limbo [FL Keys News]
A downsized “southern reservoir” that could store fresh water to sustain the Everglades and Florida Bay seemed to get final approval from the Florida Legislature on Tuesday but the fate of other Florida Keys budget priorities remained unsettled.

› Record attendance prompts new KSC visitor complex contract [Florida Today]
After a year of record-breaking attendance, Delaware North has won an early, eight-year contract extension from NASA to continue running the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex through 2028.

› Looking for work? Start a business? Retire? See how Florida ranks [Palm Beach Post]
If you’re looking for work, or starting a business, or even retiring, you’re in the right place. South Florida cities ranked in the top 10 for best places in which to be looking for a job, according to the Indeed blog.

› Costs of Zika fight rise to nearly $30M in Miami-Dade County [AP]
Miami-Dade County plans to hire a full-time entomologist in its increasingly costly fight against the Zika virus.