Tourists still coming to Florida in record numbers

Gov. Scott on Monday will visit Miami's Jungle Island where he will announce that 31.1 million people visited the state during the first three months of the year. That's a 2.5 percent jump over the same time period in 2016. [Source: AP]

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» Visit Florida budget cut will do harm, travel pros say

Racial issues united Florida's legislators, but divided them, too

The coincidental contrast between a long-awaited apology and an offensive tirade at a private Tallahassee club marked a climax in a nine-week legislative session when race played a dominant role. Policy proposals and unrelated events intersected at the Capitol in ways that emphasized racial divides that still exist in 2017. [Source: Times/Herald]

SpaceX has much to prove with upcoming launch

The unmanned Falcon 9 mission from Florida's Kennedy Space Center slated for Monday, carrying a commercial communications satellite for Inmarsat PLC, is partly intended to showcase how nimble Space Exploration Technologies Corp., as the closely held company is officially called, has become executing swift back-to-back launches. [Source: Marketwatch]

Florida AG files complaints to shut down tech scams

Attorney General Pam Bondi will file three complaints against companies accused of engaging in tech support scams. These scams trick people into believing their computers are infected with viruses and malware, to get them to pay hundreds or thousands of dollars to fix a problem that never existed. More from WJXT and Space Coast Daily.

Coast Guard intercepts no Cuban migrants at sea during April

The Coast Guard says no Cuban migrants were intercepted at sea trying to reach the U.S. during April, the first time in seven years that has happened. In the past the Coast Guard typically would pick up between 50 and 150 Cuban migrants during a given month. [Source: AP]

ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› Showcasing those things 'Made in Brevard' [Florida Today]
When it comes to manufacturing, Brevard County probably isn't the first place you'd think of as a hub. Maybe you should reconsider. That what the Economic Development Commission of Florida's Space Coast wants you to do.

› No dice: Miami Beach commission moves to ban casinos [AP]
It's no dice for gambling casinos in the tourist mecca of Miami Beach. The city's commission voted unanimously Friday for two preliminary ordinances banning casinos or any other gambling facility on the island.

› Visit Florida from Syria? Tourism agency makes 'clerical error' [AP]
Florida's tourism marketing agency, which has come under fire in the past year for signing a secret contract with rapper Pitbull and other expenses, was forced this week to sign a new contract with an advertising firm after a newspaper pointed out the initial contract called for advertising to potential Syrian tourists.

› Magic Leap may pop out another big fund raise [Miami Herald]
The secretive Magic Leap may be fund-raising again, and with that may pull a $6 billion to $8 billion valuation out of its hat. That’s from sources of the tech blog BackChannel.

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› Retirees on St. Pete Beach have big plans for the medical marijuana industry [Tampa Bay Times]
While Florida politicians have butted heads over how to regulate the growing medical marijuana industry this year, Tom Murphy and Michael Welch have been busy working behind the scenes to try to ensure their company gets a piece of it.

› Broward County poised for biggest new hotel boom in years [South Florida Sun-Sentinel]
A boom in new hotels suggests happy days are here again for tourism. About a dozen hotels will open in Broward this year — the biggest surge in the county in the past decade.

› Seminole sports complex celebrates first year with influx of visitors [Orlando Sentinel]
When Seminole opened its $27 million sports mega-complex a year ago last week, county leaders touted it as a facility that would fill local hotel rooms with tourists and pump millions of dollars into the local economy.

› Miami Worldcenter’s fully capitalized and SLS Lux Brickell is close to sold out [The Real Deal]
Amid a slumping real estate market, developers of two major luxury projects in Miami’s urban core told a gathering of real estate professionals that construction timelines on their developments are moving ahead at full steam.