Canadians cancel Florida visits amid snowballing tensions with U.S.

Many Canadians who live or visit Florida fear a trade war due to the increasingly strained relations with the U.S., with some deciding to boycott U.S. goods and vacations. Canada is the U.S.' second-largest trading partner — right behind China. U.S. goods and services trade with Canada totaled an estimated $673.9 billion in 2017. [Source: Naples Daily News]

Florida Keys to get nearly $50 million to clean up lingering Irma debris

Still cleaning up storm debris nearly a year after Hurricane Irma, Monroe County has received a $49.2 million federal grant to help clear more than 100 of its clogged canals. The work is expected to start in August in unincorporated Monroe County, Marathon and Islamorada. Details in this announcement from Monroe County and find more at WPLG.

From Florida Trend:
» The Florida Keys post-Irma

State invests in commercial lunar lander firm, horizontal launcher

Companies aiming to land payloads on the moon and launch missions from a runway may bring work to the Space Coast under deals with Space Florida. At a board meeting Wednesday in Tampa, the state agency responsible for aerospace economic development approved loaning $1.5 million to a company identified only by the code name Project Forge. [Source: Florida Today]

Hurricane-proof homes are real. Why isn't anyone buying them?

Architects and engineers are devising increasingly effective protections against extreme weather. They’re designing homes that can deflect hurricane winds, rise with the flood waters and survive wildfires. But those innovations have been slow to spread, remaining largely the preserve of homeowners who are very wealthy, unusually safety conscious or just plain quirky. More from Bloomberg and Insurance Journal.

Florida teen first human case of another mosquito-borne virus

The first confirmed human case of Keystone virus has been diagnosed in a Florida teen, but it's likely that infection with the mosquito-borne disease is common among state residents, researchers report. The virus can cause a rash and mild fever. It's named after the location in the Tampa Bay area where it was first identified in 1964. More from Healthday and CBS-12.

ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› Ex-worker alleges Clearwater company violated workers compensation law [Florida Record]
A Hernando County man is suing a Clearwater business, alleging violation of the Workers' Compensation Retaliation Statute. Adam Justine Hyde filed a complaint June 4 in Pinellas County Circuit Court against Lightning Master Corporation, alleging wrongful termination.

› Appeals court backs Rick Scott's effort to close Hollywood nursing home [South Florida Sun-Sentinel]
A state appeals court Wednesday upheld moves by Gov. Rick Scott’s administration to shut down a Hollywood nursing home that drew nationwide attention last year after the deaths of residents following Hurricane Irma.

› Customer-service vendor TTEC says it's adding 950 workers in Orlando [Orlando Sentinel]
TTEC, a customer service and tech provider, is looking to more than double its number of employees in Orlando and add 950 jobs there. Positions TTEC intends to fill include healthcare customer service, licensed pharmacy technician, medical referral specialist and licensed health insurance agent.

› Florida Times-Union newsroom takes step to unionize [WJXT]
Employees of the Florida Times-Union announced plans Tuesday to form a union, an effort motivated in part by stagnant wages and recent newsroom cutbacks. Three-quarters of the newsroom signed notices filed with the National Labor Relations Board indicating a desire to become a union represented by The NewsGuild-CWA.

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› New pro football team to play at UCF's Spectrum Stadium [Orlando Sentinel]
The University of Central Florida will play host to a professional football team coached by former Florida Gators coach Steve Spurrier, part of a new spring league that will start next year.

› Opinion: Florida’s water laws have not been enforced [Gainesville Sun]
Originally blessed with more than 1,200 miles of coastal shorelines, 20 million acres of freshwater wetlands, 7,700 lakes, 11,000 miles of streams, and at least 1,100 artesian springs and their spring runs, the geography of Florida is about water.

› Tax breaks available to businesses open in low-income areas of Southwest Florida [NBC-2]
New businesses coming to Southwest Florida could see serious tax breaks, but only if they open in certain low-income areas. In Collier County, Immokalee, Golden Gate City and East Naples all have regions that qualify for the tax benefits.

› St. Pete business says Pinellas wage-theft ordinance is unconstitutional [Florida Politics]
A St. Petersburg medical practice filed a lawsuit in Pinellas County Circuit Court earlier this month charging that Pinellas County’s wage-theft ordinance violates the state constitution. The ordinance at issue in allows employees who believe they have been denied wages unfairly to file a complaint with the county Office of Human Rights.