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Thursday's Daily Pulse
What you need to know about Florida today
Visit Florida to tourists: Hurricane Michael, red tide didn't shut down whole state
The state’s tourism-marketing arm wants to send a message to tourists: Hurricane damage and red tide don’t cover all of the Sunshine State. The crisis-response campaign, which is something Visit Florida officials admit they have had to become experts at during the past few years, will expand as counties still digging out from Michael are able to start welcoming visitors. More from the Orlando Sentinel and the Panama City News-Herald.
After a wave of enthusiasm, American companies’ interest in Cuba as a business partner cools
There was a buzz in the air during the 33rd edition of the Havana International Fair, Cuba’s week-long commercial extravaganza. It was 2015, the year the United States and Cuba renewed diplomatic relations and U.S. companies were betting on new business opportunities on the island. But three years later much of that enthusiasm has faded away. [Source: Miami Herald]
Florida TV political ad spending tops $229 million
If it seems like the tsunami of political ads leading up to the midterm elections in Florida is worse than ever, you’re right. Ad spending in the Senate race totals $96 million in Florida. Second highest Senate race spending is Missouri, with $59.4 million. Florida’s total TV ad spending is $229 million, which doesn’t include advertising in U.S. House races. [Source: South Florida Sun-Sentinel]
What’s next for HSN? YouTube shows, podcasts and chats with Alexa to connect to younger shoppers
Nearly two weeks after HSN and QVC merged operations and cut 350 jobs, their parent company introduced new social media and digital strategies that veer from traditional at-home TV shopping with hopes to reach younger shoppers. [Source: Tampa Bay Times]
Florida heat is already hard on outdoor workers. Expect it to get worse.
Harvesting crops or building a house in the Florida sun is grueling work, and a new report shows that it’ll only get more miserable and unsafe for workers as climate change sends temperatures soaring. By at least one safety standard, it was too hot for Floridians to do very heavy labor (like digging with a shovel) for at least an hour a day almost every single day this summer. Read the full report here and read more from the Miami Herald and WLRN.
ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:
› Want to win over millennials? USF St. Petersburg opens focus group business within marketing school
Elliot Wiser sits at the head of a long table with a half dozen sets of eyes peering his way. Everyone surrounding him is at least half his age — if not younger. But that’s the point. Wiser is heading a focus group made up of millennials and Generation Z participants inside a new lab at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg.
› Weston-based Ultimate Software tops Fortune's list of 'Best Workplaces for Women'
Weston-based Ultimate Software ranked No. 1 on Fortune’s 2018 “Best Workplaces for Women” list. The list is compiled annually by Fortune and research partner Great Place to Work, a San Francisco-based organization that identifies and certifies top workplace based on employee feedback. Read the full announcement from Ultimate Software here.
› $4 million state grant for Orlando Melbourne International Airport for jet facility
On Wednesday Florida Gov. Rick Scott announced a number of grants from the state's Job Growth Fund that are aimed at improving public infrastructure and boosting workforce training. Of the $28.6 million in awards, the Melbourne airport is getting $4 million for what's called a "ground run-up enclosure."
› More cruisers, cargo push Port Canaveral to record revenue year
More cruises and cargo were the drivers for a banner financial year at Port Canaveral. The biggest driver in the increased revenue was cargo, which broke $10 million in revenue for the first time in the port’s 65-year history.
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