After multiple natural disasters, Florida residents have fewer options for insurance coverage
Florida is one of the most disaster-prone states in the U.S., thanks in large part to major hurricanes. Now, larger insurance providers have been cutting back on Floridians' property insurance coverage, leaving the state-backed Citizens Insurance Corporation and other small insurers to fill in the gaps. Read more from Marketplace and listen to audio below:
Florida fails to reduce tobacco consumption
A new report from the American Lung Association shows how Florida stacks up when it comes to reducing tobacco use. Florida must do more to prevent and reduce tobacco use. That's according to "The State of Tobacco Control." Florida earned failing grades in its effort to reduce tobacco consumption. See the news release from the American Lung Association here and read more from WGCU, WFLA, and WJXT.
This business helped transform Miami into a national plastic surgery destination. Eight women died.
Just after dawn, the women arrive. They come in taxis and rental cars, to a strip mall clinic tucked between a barber shop and a discount shoe store. They fly in from across the country for deals they can’t get back home – thousands of dollars off cosmetic surgeries, available, if they like, on payment plans. But this clinic is run like a factory assembly line, where individual doctors – many with little specialized training – line up patients and operate on as many as eight a day. [Source: Naples Daily News]
2019 Economic Outlook
Affordable housing, wages and transportation dominate Central Florida's challenges
» The $2.3-billion reconstruction of 21 miles of I-4 through Orlando is the largest public works project in Florida history.
» More than 1 in 5 workers in metro Orlando works in the tourism industry (20.7%).
» The Center for Advanced Manufacturing at Lake Technical College is designed to alleviate a shortage of skilled workers in the area.
Florida Attorney General says she wants opioid lawsuit wrapped up ‘as soon as possible'
Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody said Wednesday that she wants her office’s lawsuit against the nation’s largest opioid drug makers and sellers finished “as soon as possible.” But when that might happen, and whether it would end with a jury trial or a settlement, is still up in the air. [Source: Tampa Bay Times]
See also:
» Florida attorney general convening opioid task force
ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:
› How should Florida reverse ban on smoking medical pot? State leaders don’t agree
The road to reversing the ban on smokable medical marijuana may not be a smooth one. Gov. Ron DeSantis, who tasked the Legislature with changing Florida law to allow smoking medical marijuana, is facing a rift between chambers: The Senate is confident in its support, but the House is not so eager.
› In Apollo Beach, SouthShore Chamber gives out annual awards
A lively “Country Nights” theme proved fitting for the 2019 SouthShore Chamber of Commerce Awards dinner on Jan. 26. Much like Wild West trailblazers, many chamber members who faced changes and challenges in 2018 looked forward to a better year.
› New effort to preserve Florida’s working waterfronts
A valuable coastal community in Florida could disappear without help from the state. But Florida Fish and Wildlife's Boating Advisory Board has gathered working waterfront representatives from across Florida to make sure that doesn't happen.
› Tupperware stock craters after disappointing revenue report
Tupperware Brands stock fell more than 25 percent in trading early Wednesday after the Kissimmee-based company reported that fourth-quarter sales fell year over year. Tupperware (NYSE: TUP) said sales in the fourth quarter fell 14 percent compared to the same period a year ago, and 7 percent in local currencies.
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› Brickell City Centre OK’d for major expansion
Brickell City Centre is poised for another major growth spurt, adding 972 residences in two towers, stores and entertainment venues, parking, a ground-level plaza, and enhancements around the South Miami Avenue Bridge. The sweeping development from Swire Properties Inc. continues to transform the Miami neighborhood south of the Miami River.
› Carnival reveals itineraries for Port Canaveral-bound cruise ship Mardi Gras
Carnival Cruise Line has marked the calendar for its arrival to Port Canaveral next year with its new ship Mardi Gras and cruises are on sale. The ship will sail into the Central Florida port on Oct. 15, 2020. Before it gets here, though, it will make a few pit stops in Europe and New York.
› UF Health Florida Recovery Center expands
The University of Florida Health Florida Recovery Center unveiled its new addiction treatment program building Wednesday with a ribbon-cutting ceremony. The 9,000-square-foot space on Southwest 13th Street will feature new meeting rooms, an auditorium and offices for departments that help patients with substance use disorders.
› House bill would increase fines for CSX train stoppages
A small-town mayor’s bill to stop a railroad from parking its trains all over his town and blocking traffic could take effect this summer if passed by the Florida Legislature. Baldwin Mayor Sean Lynch wrote House Bill 309 to attempt to regulate how CSX, a $62-billion corporation, treats his city of 1,400 residents.