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Friday's Afternoon Update

Florida unemployment rises slightly

Florida's ongoing economic recovery has hit a spring swoon. The state's unemployment rate ticked up to 5.7 percent in May, rising from 5.6 percent a month earlier and widening the gap with the national jobless rate of 5.5 percent. More at the Tampa Bay Times and WKMG.

Around the State
Green Advocate

The economic slowdown in 2007 put a halt to Tallahassee developer Mike Rogers’ dreams for Southern Oaks subdivision in northeast Tallahassee.

But when things picked up in early spring of this year, he resurrected his plans — this time deciding to go green.

» Access full article

Office Depot shareholders say 'yes' to Staples merger

Looking to cash out, Office Depot shareholders voted "yes" Friday for the proposed $6.3 billion merger with rival Staples. The company's annual meeting, which included the vote on the merger, was held at the Renaissance Hotel in Boca Raton. More at the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

Robocall defense firm sues Hilton timeshares for $17M

A company that specializes in blocking and identifying robo-calls has sued Orlando-based Hilton Grand Vacations for $17 million. The timeshare company, a subsidiary of Hilton Worldwide, allegedly made 11,450 auto-dial robo-calls to phone numbers owned by Telephone Science Corp. More at the Orlando Sentinel.

Cuba offers citizens better access to Internet

Cuba, one of the Western Hemisphere's least-wired countries, is poised to expand access to the Internet by introducing about three dozen Wi-Fi hot spots around the island and reducing the steep fees that Cubans pay to spend time online. More from the New York Times.

Erosion threatens iconic NASA launch pads

Storms have eaten away at the beach between NASA’s two main launch pads and a railway at Kennedy Space Center. NASA recently released an environmental assessment of sand replacement options to widen the shoreline to protect the launch pads. The rail is now non-usable. More at Florida Today.

Profile
Cape man finds real estate software niche

 shawn sommer Cape Coral-based Shawn Sommer has been a real estate agent and broker, a software developer for Ford and GM, a house flipper and a professional water skier. Now he’s using his experience to create a software package to make business faster and easier for Southwest Florida real estate agents and brokers.

» More from the Fort Myers News-Press