SHARE:
Friday's Afternoon Update
What you need to know about Florida today
Florida jobless rate dips to 3.3 percent in November
Today, Governor Rick Scott announced that Florida’s unemployment rate dropped in November from 3.4 to 3.3 percent, the lowest level in 12 years. Every county in Florida has experienced a drop in the unemployment rate since December 2010. See the announcement from Gov. Scott and read more from the Orlando Sentinel.
RTI Surgical to acquire Paradigm Spine
Alachua-based RTI Surgical, Inc. (Nasdaq:RTIX), a global surgical implant company, and Paradigm Spine, LLC, a leader in motion preservation and non-fusion spinal implant technology, have entered into a definitive agreement whereby RTI will acquire all outstanding equity interest of Paradigm Spine in a cash and stock transaction valued at up to $300 million. See the announcement here and read more from the North Central Florida Business Report.
State budgets millions for Volusia, Flagler transportation jobs
Roads, bike paths, sidewalks. Airport runways, train crossings, bridges. As a new governor and Legislature begin their work, so, too, goes the Florida Department of Transportation, kicking off another calendar year with another new list of projects. More from the Daytona Beach News Journal.
How Miami’s Amazon reseller army serves shoppers worldwide—and makes millions
If you’re buying your Christmas presents on Amazon this year, there is a decent chance someone in South Florida is taking your money. These are not Etsy sellers; there is no homemade knitting going on. Instead, these third-party sellers are reverse-engineering sales trends to figure out what items they can sell. More from the Miami Herald.
Joy Mangano, inventor of the Miracle Mop, leaves HSN after 20 years
The inventor of the Miracle Mop and Huggable Hanger, infomercial royalty Joy Mangano, has left HSN after two decades with the shopping network. The "Queen of HSN" — whose trajectory from single mom to millionaire spawned the 2015 film Joy starring Jennifer Lawrence — will "pursue other professional opportunities," according to an HSN news release. More from the Tampa Bay Times.
Profile
At 99, Meals on Wheels volunteer is still going strong in Central Florida
Peggy Grundy began volunteering for Meals on Wheels with her husband in 1983. She continues delivering meals as a spry 99-year-old. “She’s like the Energizer bunny,” says her niece, Carole Brothers of Longwood. “She’s not going to stop until her battery dies, and I don’t think that’s going to be for a while.”
» More from the Orlando Sentinel.
Florida 500
Todd Jones
Todd Jones started as a Publix store clerk in New Smyrna Beach. He became CEO in 2016 after leading the grocer’s Jacksonville region division.
» Read more from Florida 500.
In case you missed it:
