Tuesday's Afternoon Update

What you need to know about Florida today

| 3/31/2015

Charter Communications to buy Bright House

Charter Communications Inc. agreed to buy cable operator Bright House Networks LLC for $10.4 billion in cash and stock, the latest deal in a rapidly consolidating pay-television industry. Bright House is the sixth largest cable operator in the United States, with 2 million customers, mostly in Tampa and Orlando, Florida, but also in Alabama, Indiana, Michigan and California. The full announcement from Charter is here. Also, see articles at South Florida Sun-Sentinel, the Wall Street Journal, and Reuters.

Miami home prices outpaced national growth in January

Miami home prices continued to rise in January, outpacing national growth, according to a closely watched market barometer. The housing market in Miami grew 8.3 percent year-over-year, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices. More at the Miami Herald.

Legislature opens door to for-profit mental health services

Celebrities in Florida
Gossip business

Celebrities make great fodder for gossip writers, but writing gossip can be a tough living.

Jose Lambiet started GossipExtra in 2001. The site now draws 400,000 readers a month.

» Access full story

Florida legislators have proposed bills that make the most dramatic changes to the state's mental health delivery system in decades. Under the proposals, they would change everything from the way the mentally ill are treated by law enforcement, doctors, child welfare workers and courts to the way the state matches federal mental health money. More at the Times/Herald.

Florida is the new front line in the battle for Venezuela

Miami has its Little Havana. Now it has its Littler Caracas. Venezuelans fleeing the late Hugo Chavez’s Bolivarian Revolution have transformed pockets of south Florida, and if you take President Nicolas Maduro’s word for it, they’re trying to transform Venezuela, too. More at Bloomberg.

As lobster season comes to a close, a commercial success in the Keys

Harvest numbers of spiny lobster apparently dipped this year but a second straight solid season coupled with record-high wholesale prices made it a success for the Florida Keys commercial fleet. More at the Miami Herald.

Out of the Box
Opening doors with your phone

Nowadays you can do almost anything on a smart phone, so why not use it to unlock your hotel room the next time you check in? That's what some hotel chains are enabling travelers to do. With the tap of a mobile app, guests are able to bypass the front desk check-in altogether. This week, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. began rolling out what it calls the industry's first keyless entry system at hotels across Florida.