Florida casino proponents eyeing referendum

After striking out in the Florida Legislature this spring, gambling interests appear to be taking steps to seek direct approval from the state's voters for building Las Vegas-sized casino resorts in South Florida. Tallahassee lawyer and political consultant John French filed paperwork creating a Political Action Committee called "New Jobs and Revenue for Florida" — with the purpose of holding a statewide constitutional referendum on gambling. [Source: South Florida Sun-Sentinel]

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Tax fraud by identity theft a growing problem with no easy fix

Last-minute filers have more to worry about than meeting today’s deadline to file taxes. Many are likely to learn that someone else has beat them to the punch: identity thieves. A growing crime across the country and particularly in South Florida, which leads the nation in reported incidents, according to the Federal Trade Commission, tax fraud by identity theft creates victims of taxpayers who must wait months or longer for their legitimate refund. [Source: Miami Herald]

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Does working before Business School cost grads $112,000?

Is the admissions strategy followed by the world’s most elite business schools cheating MBAs out of a small fortune? It seems an almost preposterous question, given that the average starting salary for Harvard Business School graduates taking jobs in finance or consulting is now $125,000 and that one 2011 graduate of Dartmouth’s Tuck School of Business earned a pay package at graduation worth a staggering $863,000. But that is exactly the bombshell that a Florida researcher tossed at the B-school ivory tower with a new e-book out this month. [Source: Businessweek]

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Florida insurers expect efforts to beat PIP reforms

Lawmakers looking to lower premiums for personal injury protection thought they had a quick fix. They voted to ban payments by PIP for massage and limit payments for non-emergency treatment — typically done by chiropractors — to $2,500. The previous max was $10,000. But the ink on the bill isn't even dry yet, and insurers and consumer groups are already on the lookout for groups trying to scam the system. [Source: South Florida Sun-Sentinel]

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Florida Trend Exclusive
Economic Indicators for Florida's Space Coast

The shuttle’s demise didn’t push unemployment as high as many feared. Unmanned launches and major expansions by Harris, Boeing and other aviation-related businesses are helping.

Unmanned launches will keep the Cape busy this year, helping to offset a void created by the end of the shuttle program. [Photo: Bill Ingalls/NASA]

» Read more...

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ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› Scott to sign state budget Tuesday at Jacksonville-area school [Tampa Bay Times]
Gov. Rick Scott hits the road Tuesday to sign the new state budget at a top-rated elementary school in an upscale suburb of Jacksonville. The location gives Scott a convenient backdrop to frame what is sure to be part of this yea's budget message: the fact that the Legislature boosted public school spending by $1 billion, as he requested.
» Related: Scott faces Republican test on budget vetoes

› For Amish and Mennonite snowbirds, a Sarasota nest [New York Times]
What started out as a tourist camp around 1925 has evolved through word of mouth into a major vacation destination for Amish and Mennonites from all over the U.S. and Canada. Some 5,000 people visit each year, primarily when farm work up north is slow.

› Labor department cracks down on back pay owed by Tampa tech firm [Tampa Bay Times]
The company, based in Ybor City and touted locally as one of Tampa's up-and-comer tech businesses, has failed off and on for months to make payroll.

› Documentary blames school cafeterias for obesity [South Florida Sun-Sentinel]
A new film documentary linking childhood obesity with the nation's school cafeterias is premiering at the Palm Beach International Film Festival now underway.

Go to page 2 for more stories ...

› HSN gains footing helping Hollywood sell tickets [Tampa Bay Times]
When HSN gives its call center people a private screening of Snow White and the Huntsman next month, it's not just to boost morale. Workers are expected to answer customer questions when the TV shopping network makes the movie's premier a 24-hour shopping event May 30.

› $1 million donation will transform Orlando Library into digital playground [Orlando Sentinel]
A $1 million donation in the memory of Orlando civic leader Dorothy Lumley Melrose will transform the Orlando Public Library into one of the most avant-garde in the nation, officials said before the Monday evening announcement.

› Jackson Health System shows a surplus, as UM “streamlines” operations [Miami Herald]
Jackson Health System showed a $6.2 million surplus in March and similarly positive results are likely to be “the rule rather than the exception” in coming months, Chief Executive Carlos Migoya said Monday.

› Tampa woman wins suit for pay discrimination [Tampa Bay Times]
When Heidi Wilson was promoted to manager of the Citicorp service center in 2009, she was upset that she didn't get a raise or a bonus — especially since she knew her male predecessor made more than she did. When she was bypassed for a raise and a bonus again in 2011, she requested a market analysis be done within the company. Her supervisor didn't authorize it. When she was fired last March without severance pay, she decided to go to court.