Wet, hot winter hurts Florida fruits, veggies

Record heat and above-normal rainfall have played havoc with fruit and vegetable farming in Florida, making tighter supplies and higher prices likely for at least the next couple of months, agriculture experts say. Read more from the South Florida Sun-Sentinel and watch a video here.

Florida business owners seeking financial assistance in new ways

Many Florida residents find that they lack the funds necessary to get a new business off the ground. Though most assume that business owners take out loans to get the cash they need, there are now alternatives that let small business owners get the money they need. [Source: St. Augustine Record]

Florida, vulnerable to Zika virus, gets ready for fight

Florida Gov. Rick Scott says the state has three new cases of Zika and he's adding a fifth county to his health emergency declaration. Florida's warm climate, year-round mosquitoes and revolving door of international travelers make it vulnerable, but local governments have a history of fighting off similar viruses. [Source: AP]

See also:
» Zika Virus Prompts Florida Governor to Expand State of Emergency
» After criticism, Brazil transferring Zika samples to US

Distressed sales still a big part of housing market

Even with the real estate market recovering, more than a quarter of all South Florida home and condominium sales in 2015 involved a distressed property, a new report shows. [Source: South Florida Sun-Sentinel]

Stage set for major appeal in Florida’s ‘Docs vs. Glocks’ case

A politically contentious legal fight over a Florida law that restricts doctors from discussing gun ownership with patients will be taken up by an entire federal appeals court after it threw out a prior decision upholding the statute as constitutional. [Source: Bradenton Herald]

ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› Comcast Looking for Top Florida Startup, Entrepreneur [Naples Daily News]
Comcast Business is looking for Florida’s most innovative startup companies and entrepreneurs to participate in its Innovations 4 Entrepreneurs competition. Current and aspiring business owners across Florida can enter the competition for a chance to win up to $30,000.

› Feds OK Sabal Trail natural gas pipeline through north central Florida [Gainesville Sun]
Federal regulators have approved the controversial Sabal Trail natural gas pipeline project, which will cut through conservation areas, under rivers and near springs in north central Florida.

› Universal Orlando employee fired over gun at work files lawsuit [Orlando Sentinel]
A Universal Orlando worker who was fired after someone stole a gun from his car at work has sued his former employer.

› FGCU ready to assist veterans in business [Fort Myers News-Press]
FGCU is one of five universities state-wide accepting applications for the Veterans Florida Entrepreneurship Program, a $1 million initiative for vets in the state seeking to start a business.

Go to page 2 for more stories ...

› SCF faculty aim to unionize after board eliminates tenure [Sarasota Herald-Tribune]
Less than 10 days after the State College of Florida’s Board of Trustees voted to eliminate tenure at the school, faculty members have taken the first step to unionize.

› Duke Energy, FPL customers are still paying sharply different electricity bills [Tampa Bay Times]
Florida's dominant providers of electricity entered 2016 charging residential customers generally lower rates thanks to the lower cost of natural gas increasingly used to power much of their generating plants.

› UCF hack: 63,000 Social Security numbers stolen from students, staff [Orlando Sentinel]
In an unprecedented data breach at UCF, about 63,000 Social Security numbers and names of former and current students and UCF employees were hacked, officials revealed Thursday.

› Florida python hunters break record [Miami Herald]
It’s done. Hunters have smashed the record for catching Burmese pythons during the state-sanctioned hunt when they raised the number bagged to 82 as of Monday.