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Monday's Daily Pulse
What you need to know about Florida today
New Florida laws go into effect on January 1
Florida’s voters showed up at the ballot boxes in droves in November to make their voices heard on a variety of laws that will impact the business community. As the new year approaches, new laws will immediately go into effect at the stroke of midnight in 2019. Here’s a preview with how those laws may affect you in the new year. More from CBS12, the Tampa Bay Business Journal, and WTVT.
Government shutdown affects Kennedy Space Center tours, 1,200 workers and a historic mission
More than half the workers at Kennedy Space Center, tours at the Visitor Complex and, for a few days at least, a historic mission to a foreign world have been impacted by a government shutdown that has extended a week — with no end in sight. [Source: Orlando Sentinel]
Books about Florida or by Floridians ruled in 2018
Florida had a big year in books in 2018. The state always boasts a strong lineup of resident writers, of course, but this year a number of books about Florida and/or by Floridians made headlines everywhere. [Source: Miami Herald]
What's new in Florida cruises for 2019
Florida will once again be the beneficiary of the cruise industry’s biggest and best offerings, but it’s not just ships that will be of interest to Sunshine State cruisers in 2019. The big news is private islands. Both Royal Caribbean and MSC have sunk millions into developing private islands in the Bahamas for those sailing out of Florida. [Source: Orlando Sentinel]
This will be a record year for international visitors to Cuba, but barely
Despite worries about the island’s recovery from Hurricane Irma, stricter U.S. travel regulations, and a mysterious ailment that affected American and Canadian diplomats, Cuba is still expected to eke out a record travel year in 2018. [Source: Miami Herald]
ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:
› Florida panther roadkill deaths up slightly, but numbers may not mean much now
Every year, dozens of Florida panthers are run over by cars. The speeding vehicles have become the endangered cats' biggest predator. In 2018, 26 of the 29 panthers that were found dead by state biologists were killed by being hit by cars or trucks.
› Fourth clinic, new services set Florida Skin Center up for growth
Florida Skin Center founder Dr. Anais Badia approaches business growth the same way she does her dermatology practice: diagnose the condition and cure it. The Miami native, for starters, opened her first clinic in in 2000 Fort Myers after her own market research revealed patients had to wait months to receive treatment locally.
› Businesses benefit from low gas prices in South Florida
For Roy Bowling, it's about strategy. "I can tell you the top ten stations that have the cheapest gas," Bowling told WPTV. That's because it's kind of his job to know. Bowling is a professional chauffeur and when gas prices are down he said business is good.
› Sarasota-Manatee construction companies seek workers in vain
While hiring in the construction trades rose in most regions of the country over the past year, a spike in the number of open jobs indicates trouble ahead as companies struggle to find qualified workers. The number of construction workers employed in November in the Sarasota-Manatee market grew by 1,700 to 25,300 year over year, an increase of 7 percent.
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