Tuesday's Daily Pulse

    Florida Trend Exclusive
    Florida real estate price points

    Port St. Lucie
    A $200,000 home in
    Port St. Lucie.
    Coral Gables
    A $1,000,000 home in Coral Gables.
    This week, Florida Trend will be unveiling interactive galleries of homes. For each community listed, representative homes will be shown that demonstrate what different dollar amounts will currently buy. Today's galleries:

    Earlier in this series about Florida real estate values:
    » The Rise and Fall of the House on 96th Street

    Demand for funeral service education rises in slow economy

    Florida's poor economy is breathing new life into the study of death. At Miami Dade College's north campus, home of the only accredited funeral service program in South Florida, enrollment has surged 30 percent in the past three years. Students say their focus is on providing more caring, cost-effective and high-tech experiences for the bereaved. [Source: South Florida Sun-Sentinel]

    Florida House ready to approve Senate's revised redistricting map

    The Florida House Redistricting Committee approved the Senate's fix to its rejected redistricting map on a party-line vote Monday and sent it to the House floor where nothing is expected to change. "I think it's a significant improvement to the map that was passed before and I think it is in compliance,'' said House Redistricting Chairman Will Weatherford as the committee met to review the Senate map. The Legislature has until Wednesday to come up with a new Senate map after the Florida Supreme Court rejected its first try 5-2 on March 9. [Source: Times/Herald]

    Bondi says Florida can't afford new health-care law

    Insurance costs and health coverage for nearly everyone in Florida could be significantly affected by the state's constitutional challenge of the new health-care law, which came before the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday. Florida led the 26-state lawsuit challenging the controversial law, and Florida would be one of the states most impacted by the high court's ruling, expected in late June. With high health-care costs, 4 million uninsured residents and 1 million who would qualify for an expanded Medicaid program, Florida has much at stake. [Source: South Florida Sun-Sentinel]

    Florida home to 6 of the top 10 global hot spots for international buyers

    Affluent international buyers, attracted by fire-sale prices, are snapping up real estate in some U.S. markets and most of the top ten hot spots are in Florida. Read more from Inman News and the Sarasota Herald-Tribune.

    ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

    › Graduate Tampa Bay rolls out program to increase number of local college graduates [Tampa Bay Times]
    Graduate Tampa Bay, a new initiative from the Tampa Bay Partnership, is aimed at students who have some college education, but never finished.

    › Fort Lauderdale Corporate Run will be bigger and slower than ever [South Florida Sun-Sentinel]
    It's almost as though the running community has hung out a sign: "Slowpokes welcome." South Florida race directors report record numbers of runners this year, many of them first-timers who care more about staying fit than having a winner's medal draped around their neck.

    › Company finds niche with healthier, easy-to-cook Latin foods [Miami Herald]
    The founders of Nueva Cocina Foods said they’ve found a market among health-conscious and time-strapped Hispanic consumers.

    › Investing in Cuba: Good luck with that [Wall Street Journal]
    The business opportunity seems tempting: 90 miles south of Key West is an island of more than 11 million people with infrastructure that’s seen little update since the 1960s. That’s led many a businessman to dream of the day when he or she could get exposure to that market.


    Go to page 2 for more stories ...

    › Downtown Delray merchants wary of proposal to consider parking meters [South Florida Sun-Sentinel]
    To listen to downtown business owners, installing parking meters along Atlantic Avenue west of the Intracoastal Waterway will hurt business. The city, on the other hand, says meters are necessary to manage its parking resources and control the flow of traffic.

    › Miami Beach developer scammed Indianapolis Colts star Dwight Freeney [Miami Herald]
    Federal agents have accused bankrupt Miami Beach developer Michael Stern and his girlfriend of defrauding pro football player Dwight Freeney of more than $2 million.

    › JaxPort will host conference of Caribbean shipping executives [Florida Times-Union]
    An annual conference of Caribbean shipping executives will convene in Northeast Florida, marking the first time the group has gathered here for its meeting, the Jacksonville Port Authority announced today. JaxPort will host the 11th annual Caribbean Shipping Executives Conference from May 21-23.

    › Publix pays $2.35 million for Longboat Key property [Sarasota Herald-Tribune]
    Publix Supermarkets Inc. paid $2.35 million for its old store and surrounding property on Longboat Key. The Lakeland-based supermarket chain plans to raze its 31-year-old store at 594 Bay Isles Parkway and build a new, larger prototype there.

    › SheStreams Conference focuses on social media and the Latin market [Miami Herald]
    A lineup of social media experts and business leaders will gather at the SheStreams Conference in Fort Lauderdale March 30 and 31st. for sessions geared to social media and technology, with a special focus on building brands with video and podcasting as well as Latina mom bloggers and the growing Hispanic and Latino markets.