Friday's Afternoon Update

What you need to know about Florida today

| 7/5/2013

Florida expecting plenty of questions as health exchanges come online

A nationwide marketing blitz aimed to help millions of people understand the coming changes and sign up for health care is already underway. The increased demand for information is likely to trickle down to state agencies and local insurance companies. [Source: Times/Herald]

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Florida's 350 Biggest Companies

Our annual list of the biggest Florida-based companies, with profiles of 18 notable firms.

» Read more

Duke Energy CEO wants pay-as-you-go construction

The newly installed chief executive officer of Duke Energy Corp. wants to change how the utility is regulated in the Carolinas and Florida so that America's largest electric company can more easily pass along the cost of big power plants a little at a time. [Source: Miami Herald]

Theme-park cost cuts may trim hours for workers

Orlando's theme parks, which together employ nearly 100,000 workers, are hunting for new ways to reduce labor costs with subtle cuts that make the giant resorts more profitable but could weigh on the region's fragile economic recovery. [Source: Orlando Sentinel]

» FRIDAY PREVIEW: Coming next week to FloridaTrend.com:

Special Report: Sea Level Rise: If we take seriously the idea that the sea level could rise by more than seven inches in the next 30 years, what should Florida communities be doing about it, and how much will it cost?
Suing Florida lawyers: Warren R. Trazenfeld takes other attorneys to task for legal slipups.
Florida Icon: John L. Parker: Runner/author, “Once a Runner,” Gainesville; age 66
The Chef behind the change: To understand how a chef changes a hotel’s menu, Florida Trend Restaurant Editor Chris Sherman interviewed Matthew Gervais, executive chef at the Setai Hotel on Miami Beach.

» You'll find all these stories first on the Daily and Afternoon Pulse e-mails.

Out of the Box
Can-do spirit

Recently, craft brewers rediscovered cans, realizing they weren't just retro-cool, but with a few tweaks might even be able to kick bottles in the can. Welcome to the beer can revolution, 2013-style. Technology once again is transforming how Americans drink their beer. Both craft brewers and craft beer drinkers are coming around to the idea of cans. More affordable supplies and canning equipment also are helping the boom.