Florida Trend | Florida's Business Authority

Friday's Daily Pulse

Florida politicians weigh in on 'Graham-Cassidy' Obamacare repeal proposal

The Kaiser Family Foundation estimates Florida would see a $7.5 billion drop in federal health care funding under Graham-Cassidy from 2020-2026. If the bill passes, it could mean the first step in a major change in the way Floridians receive health care. Florida politicians are weighing in: Sen. Marco Rubio said he still wants to see details but "returning power to the states is something I want to believe in" Jack Latvala, Florida State Senator from Clearwater, said he supports block grants but would have to learn more about this proposal. Adam Putnam, Florida's Ag Commissioner, repeats his stance that Obamacare has hurt Florida and must be replaced. Read more at the Tampa Bay Times.

See also:
» State-by-state estimates of changes in federal spending on health care under the Graham-Cassidy Bill
» AARP: Graham-Cassidy legislation threatens affordable coverage for older Americans

Florida Trend Editor's Column
Political loony tunes

Mark Howard
Mark Howard

Until recently there seemed to be a fundamental notion in our civic life that our political parties, or just groups on opposing sides of an issue, could aggressively seek different ends, fight hammer and tongs for their own side of the proposition — but in the end, share some kind of mutual regard for each other as Americans engaged in the messy workings of democracy.

» Read Executive Editor Mark Howard's full column, here.

Did Hurricane Irma speed the end of Florida orange juice?

Hurricane Irma plundered Florida's orange belt, leaving a trail of uprooted trees, downed fruit and flooded groves worse than anything growers say they have seen in more than 20 years. More from the Tampa Bay Times and the Washington Post.

South Florida wants to be Amazon.com's second home

South Florida, the land of second homes for winter-weary northerners, hopes to persuade Seattle-based Amazon that it is the perfect location for the online shipping giant’s second North American headquarters. [Source: South Florida Sun-Sentinel]

Orlando tops fall vacation destinations

More than a fourth of Americans, or 28 percent, intend to take a vacation between Labor Day and Thanksgiving. According to AAA travel club, Orlando is the #1 fall travel destination. Rounding out the other top five are Rome, Italy; Anaheim, California; Honolulu, Hawaii; New York City. Full news release from AAA, here. Also read more at the Orlando Sentinel.

ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› Tampa manufacturer taps former mining exec for VP role
Randy White joined Masonite International Corp. as senior vice president of global operations and supply chain, effective Sept. 25. White comes to Masonite from Joy Global Inc., a maker of mining equipment, where he held senior positions including vice president of operations, supply chain, quality and operational excellence.

› Scripps, FAU receive millions of dollars in research grants
Scripps Florida scientist Patrick Griffin has been awarded a $2.5 million collaborative grant for diabetes studies, the Jupiter-based institute said this week. See Scripps' announcement here. Separately, at FAU in Jupiter, scientist Randy Blakely has been awarded a $2.3 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to continue his research on neuropsychiatric disorders. See FAU's story here.

› Pulse foundation seeks answers for club's future
Should the site of Pulse nightclub be torn down or a memorial created in the current space? And should it be a place to celebrate love or mourn those lost? Those questions are part of a new survey.

› FIU Center for Leadership delivers decade of 21st century training
The award-winning Center for Leadership at Florida International University delivers concrete toolkit growth and remarkable results for organizational leaders from across all industries — health care, banking and finance, technology, retail, education, government and the military, to name just a few.

Go to page 2 for more stories ...

› St. Petersburg's newest hotel opens with craft beers, cocktails and Cozy Corners
Hybar, a bar area with outdoor seating that will feature craft drinks and Sunday brunch starting Oct. 1, is ready to open at the new Hyatt Place hotel at 25 2nd St. N in downtown St. Petersburg.

› Finalists chosen in Orlando's search for city's first poet laureate
The search for Orlando’s first poet laureate was narrowed down to three award-winning finalists Thursday morning: Terry Ann Thaxton, Curtis X Meyer and Susan Lilley.

› Census: Gap grows between rich and poor in Sarasota-Manatee
In Sarasota and Manatee counties, upper-income and lower-income households both grew in numbers last year — widening the gap between rich and poor. According to data recently released by the U.S. Census Bureau, of Sarasota County’s 176,191 households, 23,816 earned $19,999 or less in 2016.

› FPL spent $3 billion preparing for a storm. So why did Irma knock out the lights?
When Hurricane Irma side-swiped South Florida, almost every home fell into darkness and tropical heat. The widespread outages happened despite FPL spending nearly $3 billion over the past decade to “harden” its electrical grid against the next monster storm.