Citrus production has fallen to a "new low"

The final report of the growing season by the National Agricultural Statistics Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture put Florida orange production for the 2014-15 season at 96.7 million boxes, a drop of 4 percent from last year. Florida grapefruit production came in at 12.95 million boxes, according to the report released Friday. The low comes on the heels of a slight increase from the June estimate. More perspective from the Orlando Weekly, Florida Citrus and the Bradenton Herald.

See also:
» Statement by Commissioner Putnam on Final Citrus Crop Forecast for 2014-2015 Season

'Coming soon' sometimes a dream for restaurants

Hundreds of new restaurants open in Central Florida every year, but at a few properties, development has stalled for months or even years. Sometimes the planning and details of opening a new restaurant can be a long process. [Source: Orlando Sentinel]

Company applies to drill for oil in Everglades

A Miami company is bracing for a likely battle with environmentalists after applying to drill for oil in the Everglades. Kanter Real Estate LLC owns 20,000 undeveloped acres of the Everglades in southwestern Broward County. [Source: AP]

Column: Time to take map drawing privileges away from legislators

We knew legislators from both parties had been rigging districts for years, so we put safeguards in place — in the state Constitution, no less — and it still didn't stop them. For lawmakers to say a nonpartisan, or bipartisan, commission would have no accountability is almost laughable. [Source: Tampa Bay Times]

The strange and challenging world of Cuban tech start-ups

Cuba may have one of the lowest Internet penetration rates in the Western Hemisphere, but that hasn’t stopped the development of a tech start-up community whose young entrepreneurs have aspirations similar to millennials in the United States. [Source: Miami Herald]

See also:
» Travel companies set their sights on Cuba

Related Florida Trend Archived Content
» Cuba: How much opportunity for Florida business?

ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› Orlando could be most lucrative stop for All Aboard Florida train [Orlando Sentinel]
Three stations in South Florida will open months before the planned All Aboard Florida train makes its initial run to, and stop at, Orlando International Airport late in 2017. Yet the Orlando leg looks to be the most lucrative of the 235-mile system.

› Ride service Uber negotiates patchwork regs in Florida [Bradenton Herald]
After the Florida Legislature failed to pass state regulations on ride-sharing companies such as Uber and Lyft, local government and businesses have taken regulation into their own hands.

› Puerto Ricans flocking to Central Florida lament island's worsening woes [Orlando Sentinel]
Experts say the island's economic woes will only intensify a trend that has seen more people leave the island than arrive every year since 2005, according to a Pew Research Center study.
» See also: Everything you should know about Puerto Rico’s debt crisis

› Harris Corp. will keep HQ in Melbourne [Florida Today]
Harris Corp. announced Friday that it will keep its headquarters in Melbourne, a relief to state and local officials who lobbied hard to keep the Fortune 500 company's base here after its recent acquisition of McLean, Virginia-based Exelis Inc. Read the full release here.

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› Land trusts help buyers squeezed by higher housing costs [South Florida Sun-Sentinel]
Those who qualify for the trust's homebuyer assistance program sign 99-year ground leases to live in the homes, and the trust maintains ownership of the underlying land.

› Review of Florida's standardized tests incomplete [Sarasota Herald-Tribune]
An expensive effort to review Florida’s public school standardized tests before they are used for student grades and teacher evaluations is just getting started.

› As Allegiant Air wavers, Pinellas airport and tourism industry cross fingers [Tampa Bay Times]
The burst of recent troubles at Allegiant Air is not just about a booming upstart airline suffering too many emergency landings and canceled flights at St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport.

› Hacking Team data breach provides links to Florida law enforcement [Florida Center for Investigative Reporting]
An Italian company that sells surveillance software to governments and law enforcement agencies worldwide is negotiating to provide a Florida police agency with spyware technology that infiltrates phones and computers, according to emails just released.