Colleges see opportunity in U.S.-Cuba opening but tread carefully

Florida International University is among the schools that would like to establish a strong Cuban presence. The university hosts one of the nation’s leading centers for Cuban studies, and academic work on the island has long been an attractive prospect. Its ultimate goal is to build a campus there — maybe even two — although FIU President Mark Rosenberg said last week that democracy would have to be restored first, and a Cuban branch is “a long way off.” [Read more from the Miami Herald]

Florida's feud over the uninsured to continue after ruling

Gov. Rick Scott and the legislative opponents to the Affordable Care Act dodged a bullet Thursday when the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the federal health insurance subsidies, but it did little to narrow the divide between Republicans over how to handle Florida's uninsured. The ruling reduces the pressure on state leaders to create a state exchange. But it leaves unanswered the question of how Florida will handle the loss of $400 million in federal Low Income Pool money used to reimburse hospitals and health care providers who provide charity care to the uninsured. [Source: Times/Herald]

See also:
» Amid Republican outcries over Obamacare decision, a tacit feeling of submission

Cancer patients could get cutting-edge treatments through new clinical trial

Floridians with cancer could receive promising new treatments, literally custom-designed for them, through a new study coming to the University of Miami. Researchers next month will start enrolling patients in the National Cancer Institute's Molecular Analysis for Therapy Choice, or NCI-MATCH, program. [Source: Sun-Sentinel]

Florida Supreme Court cracks down on errant judges

An investigation found that the number of judges facing sanctions jumped last year and that the high court is more often seeking harsher penalties than those originally proposed by the state Judicial Qualifications Commission. "The Supreme Court is treating transgressions or judicial misconduct more seriously than they have in the past," said Michael Schneider, the panel's executive director. Of the 70 cases involving judges over the past 15 years, six judges have been removed from office, 14 resigned before their punishments were meted out and just one successfully defended himself. [Source: News Service of Florida]

Corn refiners declare war on sugar

The Corn Refiners, representing companies that produce high-fructose corn syrup, just hired 10 outside lobbyists for an aggressive, unorthodox attack on the federal sugar program just a year after a new farm bill was signed into law. Their first target is the agriculture appropriations bill, now moving through a House committee. Sugar’s protected status is largely explained by the sophistication and clout of a small but wealthy interest group that includes the Fanjul family of Florida, who control a substantial part of the world sugar market. [Read more from the Washington Post]

ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› Uncertainty surrounds Miami Innovation Tower after vote [Herald]
A city of Miami law allowing controversial billboard towers near Overtown is on the verge of being repealed, potentially throwing a developer’s planned $250 million project —and possibly an entire 10-acre technology district — into limbo.

› Legoland's Heartlake City opens, puts girls first [Sun-Sentinel]
The area, which officially opens Friday, is themed to the Lego Friends line of products that revolves around the lives and friendship of five young girls.

› Vacation-home market booming [Sarasota Herald-Tribune]
Vacation home sales were up 57 percent in 2014 from 2013, surging to their highest level since 2003.

› SpaceX resupply launch set for Sunday [Orlando Sentinel]
SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying a resupply capsule to the International Space Station is set to launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Base on Sunday at 10:21 a.m.

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› It's mosquito season: Officials on alert [Orlando Sentinel]
This year, local officials are particularly worried about chikungunya and dengue, two mosquito-borne illnesses already circulating in the Caribbean and South America.

› Voter purge fiasco may complicate Bush's appeal to minorities [Huff Post]
The felon purge wrongfully denied thousands of legitimate voters the ability to participate in a presidential election pitting George W. Bush against Al Gore. Ultimately, a few hundred Florida ballots would determine the presidency, and with it, the nation’s path for the next eight years and well beyond.

› Feds charge 3 in public-housing kickback investigation [Miami Herald]
Two prominent Miami affordable-housing developers knowingly inflated the cost of construction projects in a complicated scheme that netted $7.2 million in kickbacks generated from grants and other government-generated funds.