Florida's tourism surge vulnerable to threat of Zika outbreak

Last week, Gov. Rick Scott announced record tourism numbers for the first quarter of 2016 while Congress struggled to fund a plan to combat the growing threat of the Zika virus. The two events are intertwined. With 122 travel-related cases of Zika (as of 5/19/2016), Florida remains the state most vulnerable to a breakout of the virus, which can cause severe birth defects. A major outbreak could impact the desirability of Florida as a travel destination, undermining visitor numbers and the state’s economy. [Source: Daytona Beach News-Journal]

See also:
» Castor: Zika 'Travel Alert' would hurt Florida tourism
» Florida pregnant women with Zika quadruples under new guidelines
» Trying to get jump on Zika preparations with money in limbo
» Sunday Conversation: The state of Zika in Florida

Retailers look for way out of their rut

The retail casualties are piling up just in time for the industry’s largest conference of the year. Traditional retail shopping still hasn’t fully recovered from the Great Recession, and reports of more store closings and more bankruptcies continue to roll in. [Source: Sarasota Herald-Tribune]

Myths of economy and aging

Why is the American economy stuck in low gear? Among economists, two major culprits get most of the attention. First is anemic productivity growth. The reasons behind the productivity slowdown are heavily debated. But little controversy shadows the second major factor: the demographics of an aging population. [Source: New York Times]

Debate heating in Cuba over arrival of Hollywood, high fashion and cruise ships

"Fast and Furious." U.S. cruise ships. A star-studded private celebration of Chanel. The triple tsunami of global capitalism that pounded socialist Cuba this month has spawned a fierce debate about the downside of detente with the United States. [Source: Fox News Latino]

New Labor Department overtime rule expected to jolt Florida workplace

More than most states, Florida businesses and workers will surely feel the impact of new overtime rules unveiled this past week. An estimated 331,000 of the 4.2 million U.S. workers affected by this rule change are employed in Florida. [Source: Tampa Bay Times]

ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› Russian billionaire betting big on Miami’s luxury condo market [Miami Herald]
While most developers are pulling back as Miami’s high-end condo market slows, Vladislav Doronin is pushing forward with a 57-story luxury condo tower, and two more projects after it.

› Florida considering weakening restrictions on discharging chemicals in water [Naples Daily News]
The state of Florida wants to weaken its restrictions on roughly two dozen cancer-causing chemicals that can be discharged into its rivers, lakes, streams and coastal waters.

› As vote nears, all signs point to the Super Bowl returning to South Florida [Miami Herald]
Feeling Super? The Dolphins — and all of South Florida — should be. On Tuesday, Miami makes its pitch to bring the Super Bowl back to town for a record 11th time.

› Car insurance rates skyrocket in Florida as crashes mount on busy roads [Tampa Bay Times]
Floridians are driving more and getting into a lot more accidents, and they're paying the price with rising car insurance rates that are already among the nation's highest.

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» Are you satisfied with your car insurance? (quick poll)

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› Palm Beach County’s cane sugar in demand as Vermont law nears [Palm Beach Post]
A first-of-its kind GMO labeling law that takes effect in Vermont on July 1 is boosting Palm Beach County’s sugar cane growers as they wrap up their biggest crop since 2005.

› Law firm hosting hurricane prep classes for business owners [South Florida Sun-Sentinel]
Berger Singerman, a South Florida-based business law firm, has announced a series of educational workshops to help prepare business owners for the upcoming hurricane season that begins June 1.

› Sanford Burnham's handoff to UF driven by shrinking research money, documents show [Orlando Sentinel]
Losing money and tapped out of state incentives, Sanford-Burnham — a centerpiece of Orlando's Medical City — began exploring strategies to leave Central Florida as early as last fall.

› What will Wynwood look like in 30 years? This plan shows the change [Miami Herald]
The metamorphosis that’s already taken Wynwood’s industrial district from urban blight to urban paragon in record time seems poised for a dose of development Muscle Milk that could pump up the scale of construction along a broad, mostly vacant swath of the neighborhood to new, and somewhat controversial, heights.