Thursday's Afternoon Update

What you need to know about Florida today

| 5/7/2015

Investment key for tourism growth in Florida

With Florida expected to once again break tourism records by welcoming a milestone 100 million visitors this year, a nonprofit research group is urging lawmakers to invest in infrastructure improvements to help continue the industry’s growth. More at the Panama City News-Herald.

Cruise ships wage water slide war

The warm summer months of cruising mean even more time to enjoy top-deck activities on the cruise ships. While for many years that meant lounging by the pool, recent years have brought on more thrilling experiences including the proliferation of the water park. More at the Orlando Sentinel.

States watching Medicaid standoff between Florida, Obama

Publisher's Column
The Business of Cancer Therapy

Doctors diagnose about 114,000 cases of various cancers each year in Florida, so cancer has become a big business, both in medical care and in research.

Academic institutions have teams of scientists trying to stem the tide; they seems to be making headway, albeit incrementally.

» Read Andy Corty's full column

Florida's already acrimonious state budget process will likely become tenser. The standoff between Florida and the federal government over hospital funding also has implications for eight other states which draw billions of dollars from the same pool of hospital funds. More at the AP.

Housing market: Home flipping falls in first quarter

Home flipping – buying and reselling within 12 months – was a lucrative business for investors in 2012 and 2013 because home prices had hit bottom and there was a large supply of foreclosed homes selling for discounts. But many of those distressed properties have been sold, and prices have risen. More at the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

Best and worst entry-level jobs in 2015

College graduation season is right around the corner, and the class of 2015 will soon be out to find jobs and start their careers. To see which jobs are most promising for this year’s graduates, WalletHub compared 109 different types of entry-level jobs based on 11 key metrics. More at the Orlando Business Journal.

Profile
From the GAP to Haiti

Mark D’Sa was a top apparel executive pulling in six figures and flying business class to meet clients when the request got to his inbox. The U.S. government wanted to talk. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s counselor, Cheryl Mills, wanted him to apply his private sector skills to help create jobs in Haiti.