Florida's once-struggling Space Coast booms from aerospace, defense firms

The economy of Florida's Space Coast is getting a boost from space and defense companies that are bringing back high-paying tech jobs to an area hit hard by the 2008 recession and the 2011 retirement of NASA's space shuttle program. [Source: UPI]

Florida faces wildfire risk with its abundance of plant fuels, but not like California

There are some key differences between the two states that make the scale of California's destructive tragedy unlikely in Florida. But the Sunshine State is still one of the most fire prone environments in the world, , said Kevin Hiers, a wildland fire scientist for the Tall Timbers Research Station & Land Conservancy in Tallahassee. [Source: TBO.com]

Gulf coast looks to maintain, restore oysters

Since the Deepwater Horizon spill in 2010, 4 billion to 8.3 billion subtidal oysters were estimated to be lost across the Gulf coast. Many states are struggling. The decrease could affect not only oyster harvesters but restaurants and industries that use the shell, such as using it to supplement chicken feed. [Source: Northwest Florida Daily News]

Bullish forecast sets off a hotel arms race in Orlando's convention industry

Hotels across Central Florida have been doing what they can to compete for added convention dollars by expanding meeting space capacity. It’s an effort to fight for a share of the growing tourism market, which last year saw 1.53 million visitors to Orange County Convention Center, a 5 percent increase over the year before. [Source: Orlando Sentinel]

More rain, hurricanes and flooding are in the forecast for Florida, warns new climate report

A new government report from a team of scientists warns that Rising sea levels, particularly in Florida, mean greater damage from storm surges during hurricanes such as Hurricanes Michael and Irma. The report warns that humans must take action now “to avoid substantial damages to the U.S. economy, environment, and human health and well-being over the coming decades.” [Source: Times/Herald]

ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› Flight school CEO takes off in male-dominated business [Florida Times-Union]
Located at Herlong Airport on the west area of Jacksonville, Donnell Vigil has turned A-Cent into a one-stop shop for aviation where students can grow from zero flight time hours to earning a commercial pilot’s license, become instrument rated and even train as a flight instructor.

› Port Canaveral's future: More cruise ships, more Disney and a new terminal [USA Today]
Port Canaveral Chief Executive Officer John Murray breezed through more than 20 PowerPoint slides during his annual State of the Port Address earlier this month. But Murray says his favorite slide is the first one he showed — the one that showed the record numbers for total revenue, operating revenue, cruise revenue, cargo revenue and cargo tonnage for the Florida port for the budget year that ended Sept. 30.

› Military contractor Harris expands tactical radio operations in Sunrise [South Florida Sun-Sentinel]
A group of dislocated engineers found new employment at Harris Corp. in Sunrise four years ago. Now one of them is leading and expanding the company’s operations at the site.

› With straws on the way out, Orlando-area restaurants look to ditch other plastics [Orlando Sentinel]
Restaurant operators, hotels and theme parks in Central Florida are admitting the plastic straw is on the way out— and soon other conveniences will be under attack, too. Many are looking ahead at disposable silverware and single-use plastic bags as the next marked for elimination.

Go to page 2 for more stories ...

› Publix promotes Murphy to company president [Lakeland Ledger]
Kevin Murphy, senior vice president of retail operations, will be promoted to president of Publix Super Markets Inc., the company announced recently. The announcement was among several executive promotions made by Publix last month.

› The hiring challenge: With Northeast Florida unemployment less than 3 percent, how is business coping? [Jacksonville Daily Record]
If you live in Northeast Florida and want a job, the chances that you’ll get what you want are better now than at any time in the past 12 years. According to data published last week by the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity, the jobless rate in the five-county Jacksonville metropolitan area is the lowest since early 2006.

› Amazon opens Sunrise center to speed up deliveries in region [South Florida Sun-Sentinel]
So South Florida didn’t get Amazon HQ2, but Broward County got a little something from the e-commerce giant. Amazon has opened a delivery center in Sunrise, which will allow for “speedier” deliveries in the region, according to Amazon spokeswoman Amanda Ip.

› Big sales, but also traditions and friendships live on for Orlando-area's Black Friday shoppers [Orlando Sentinel]
Despite the growing move to internet retailers — and the increase there was huge according to early estimates — thousands of shoppers packed Orlando-area malls, department stores and other shops for Black Friday as they looked for blockbuster discounts and the perfect gifts to top off their lists.