Florida Trend | Florida's Business Authority

Friday's Daily Pulse

Florida job cuts increase in November, but job growth remains strong

Florida employers trimmed 1,723 jobs in November, nearly triple the 581 jobs cut last November, but economists say Florida’s economy remains on a healthy track with rapid job growth and low unemployment, which is under 4 percent. Read more at South Florida Sun-Sentinel. Full study from global outplacement company Challenger, Grey and Christmas is here.

See also:
» Small business owners across Florida feel good about economy, study says

Florida set to launch country's first private high-speed train service

The country's first private high-speed rail service is opening this month in Florida, promising to transform congested South Florida highways by taking as many as 3 million cars off the road. The ambitious $3 billion Brightline express project will run along the state's densest population corridor with more than 6 million residents and a regular influx of tourists. [Source: NPR]

Florida Trend Exclusive
Florida Icon: Norman Van Aken

Norman Van Aken, Chef, Florida Trend Hall of Fame restaurant owner, age 66, tells us: " If people would have asked me when I was 10 years old, what I wanted to be when I grew up, I would say I wanted to be an artist. I didn’t want to be a fireman or an astronaut. I wanted to do something that was going to lead me to a greater understanding of why we’re here and how we can make the world more beautiful." Read the full interview here.

Republicans are leaving the Florida House. Is Richard Corcoran the reason why?

This year, nine Republican members of the Florida House of Representatives eligible for reelection have either left the House or plan to run for another office. Several have cited conflicts with House Speaker Richard Corcoran, objecting to what they call his dictatorial leadership style. [Source: Tampa Bay Times]

Publix ranks sixth best for workplace diversity

Publix was named the sixth-most diverse employer in the country in Fortune magazine’s "100 Best Workplaces for Diversity 2017" list. Ultimate Software of Weston came in No. 3 as the only other Florida company to make the top 10. Read more at the Tampa Bay Times. Also see Publix' statement on the honor, here.

See also:
» Ultimate Software in top 10 on Glassdoor's 'Best Places to Work'

ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› Keys tourism chief: We're a little beat up, but we're OK.
It’s been almost three months since Hurricane Irma crossed the Florida Keys — and the heart of the tourism season is right around the corner. But some parts of the Keys are still cleaning up from the storm and some major resorts are still closed.

› Bloomin' Brands signs a billion-dollar debt deal
Bloomin’ Brands Inc. has up to $1.5 billion in credit available, after signing a deal with a group of lenders led by Wells Fargo Bank. Bloomin’ disclosed the debt deal in a Dec. 5 filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

› Miami real estate tech firm to build global HQ in downtown Orlando
The World Property Exchange Group, Inc. has announced that Orlando will become the company’s future global headquarters location starting in early 2018. The company plans to hire more than 100 people in the next three years, consisting mainly of computer coders, network engineers, data scientists, cyber security experts, economists, mathematicians and key corporate executives. Also read more at the Orlando Business Journal

› Anna Maria Island’s only full-service hotel opens
The only full-service resort on Anna Maria Island has opened and tourism officials say it could be the last of its kind built on the 7-mile-long key. The new Waterline Marina Resort and Beach Club, a Marriott family Autograph Collection Hotel, is an anomaly in a place dominated by a mix of mostly longer-term rental properties.

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› Congressional tax bill could make Tampa airport borrowing more expensive
With the congressional tax bill poised to increase its debt costs, Tampa International Airport might go out sooner than planned for some of the financing needed for its planned $2.3 billion expansion project.

› Sentencing nears in $100 million Medicare fraud case in Florida
Attorneys for a politically connected Florida eye doctor convicted of a $100 million Medicare fraud are arguing that the government's actual loss was significantly less.

› Jacksonville’s Crowley Maritime assigns executives to focus on growing government and LNG business
An executive reorganization at Jacksonville-based Crowley Maritime Corp. is leading to the company focusing on expanding growth areas of the business, including defense contracting and Liquefied Natural Gas production and delivery.

› Manatee tourism taxes will pay for pier and sports campus projects
Visitors who rent motel rooms and other short-term lodgings will contribute about $5.5 million toward the cost of two major tourist destination projects in Manatee County, one on Anna Maria Island and the other in Lakewood Ranch.