March 28, 2024

Friday's Afternoon Update

What you need to know about Florida today

| 1/18/2019

New justices could refuel Florida workers’ comp fight

The appointment of two new Florida Supreme Court justices has galvanized the business community’s interest in tackling attorney fees in the workers’ compensation insurance system. Bill Herrle, executive director of the National Federation of Independent Business in Florida, has since 2016 called for the Legislature to limit what plaintiffs’ attorneys can charge injured workers. More from Florida Politics.

Go behind the scenes of Florida's financial regulators

The Florida Office of Financial Regulation, which turned 15 years old last year, maintains a treasure trove of business data — and regulatory authority. In fiscal 2017-2018, the OFR approved more than 76,000 license applications and answered more than 37,000 consumer calls. More from the Business Observer.

2019 Economic Outlook
Workforce availability, traffic and environmental concerns

NOAA forecast

Gregory Suater, President of WGI in West Palm Beach, tells us: "The economy continues to do well. I don’t think there’s a person in the industry today who doesn’t feel like we had a pretty good run clawing back from the dark days and the big drop. We continue to feel optimistic." More from Florida Trend.

Indian River County again sues Virgin Trains USA

The county has filed another lawsuit fighting Virgin Trains' plans for higher-speed passenger train through the Treasure Coast. Indian River County argues it should not be required to pay for crossing improvements that Virgin Trains — formerly Brightline — needs in order to run 32 higher-speed passenger trains daily. More from TCPalm.

Florida could soon allow digital driver's licenses

Florida driver’s licenses could be going digital. At least that’s the hope of Republican state Rep. James Grant and Democrat Rep. Matt Willhite if a bill they are working on passes. The bill would allow drivers to present an electronic version of their license on their phones in case they forget their wallets at home and don’t have physical proof. More from WDBO.

Natural Resources
Pomegranate production in Florida

 While the pomegranate industry is in its fledgling stages in Florida, researchers and growers are focusing on finding the right varieties and production practices to create a viable alternative crop. According to the Florida Pomegranate Association, there was about 150 acres of the crop planted as of 2017.

» More from Growing Produce.

 

Community Portrait
Orlando Region: Sports

floridaThe victories keep coming. Or, as Steve Hogan, CEO of Florida Citrus Sports, says, “We’re a big-league city; we have a lot of teams to root for.” Indeed, Hogan, for one, has been busy. Florida Citrus Sports for decades was rooted in producing college-football bowl games, most notably the Citrus Bowl. Now, its biggest bang for the buck comes by virtue of hosting the National Football League Pro Bowl.

» Full story here.

Tags: Daily Pulse, Afternoon Pulse

In case you missed it:

Florida Trend Video Pick

Bitter-to-swallow cocoa costs force chocolate shops to raise prices
Bitter-to-swallow cocoa costs force chocolate shops to raise prices

Central Floirda chocolate shops are left with a bitter taste as cocoa prices hit an all-time high earlier this week.

Video Picks | Viewpoints@FloridaTrend

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