Florida's young professionals increasingly turn to second jobs

Alex Sanfilippo likes his job as director of commercial operations at the Jacksonville-based aerospace manufacturing company Team JAS. But Sanfilippo is among the legions of millennial workers versed in what has been dubbed the side hustle. Second jobs are nothing new, but they’re on the rise, especially among young professionals in Florida and around the nation. [Source: Florida Times-Union]

Struggling Florida citrus growers face tough decisions

Although the 2017-18 citrus harvest has barely begun, growers are already planning for the 2018-19 season, and they have critical decisions to make in the coming months that will affect next season's crop and perhaps others in years to come. [Source: AP]

Three months after Irma, counties and cities pick up the last of the storm's debris

Monday marks three months since Hurricane Irma blew into Florida with gusty winds that toppled trees and shook loose several million cubic yards of branches and limbs. The taxpayer-funded cleanup, hampered initially by a shortage of emergency debris-removal crews, is nearly done. [Source: Orlando Sentinel]

Sunshine State lags on solar power, doubles down on natural gas

To reward utilities for steps like helping customers use less power, some states have changed their regulatory structures by de-linking electric sales from revenues. Florida has not. It’s hard to tell how much of Florida’s situation is driven by regulators as opposed to the companies they oversee. [Source: Florida Today]

Mysterious ‘white plague’ threatens South Florida coral reefs

A mysterious epidemic continues to sweep South Florida’s reefs, transforming corals into lifeless skeletons and threatening undersea structures that support tourism, provide hurricane protection and serve as homes to a vast range of marine life. [Source: AP]

ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› State group supports affordable housing reforms [Orlando Sentinel]
The state’s housing agency on Friday supported a new list of affordable housing reforms, which include a slight shift from buying homes to renting them instead. The recommendations came from a state task force that spent most of the year studying housing needs.

› Fort Lauderdale executive of yacht sharing club faces federal fraud charges [South Florida Sun-Sentinel]
A Fort Lauderdale executive who is president of a yacht sharing business for vacationers has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Connecticut and charged with defrauding investors in his company.

› Judge halts clearing of rare forest targeted for South Florida Walmart [WFTV]
Bulldozers downing trees on a property targeted for a Walmart-anchored shopping center were ordered to stop work after a federal judge issued an emergency injunction sought by environmentalists fighting to save the vanishing forest.

› St. Petersburg chamber of commerce charts ‘Grow Smarter’ economic development strategy [Tampa Bay Times]
What started more than five years ago as an exploratory conversation among a handful of business leaders blossomed Friday into a full-blown community discussion of how to nurture business while working to make sure St. Peterburg’s urban renaissance doesn’t leave anyone behind.

Go to page 2 for more stories ...

› Rizzo named new chair of Florida Democrat party [AP]
The head of the Palm Beach Democratic Party has been elected as leader of the state party, less than a month after the former chairman resigned. Terrie Rizzo was elected as the new chair of the party a special meeting of the group on Saturday in Orlando.

› Two Florida synagogues sue FEMA over hurricane disaster aid [Miami Herald]
Two Florida synagogues are suing the Federal Emergency Management Agency for being denied disaster-relief grants in the wake of Hurricane Irma because they are houses of worship.

› Puerto Rico evacuees still arriving in Orlando to build a new life [Orlando Sentinel]
Months after the storm, a wave of suffering, desperation and hope continues to wash through two state-operated welcome centers in Florida, where the newest Florida residents can get help with housing, health needs, school enrollment, employment, driver’s licenses and federal aid.

› Visit St. Pete/Clearwater makes Orlando tourists a top target [Tampa Bay Times]
In a decision driven by some major data crunching, Visit St. Pete/Clearwater next year will focus its tourism advertising on three target markets: Orlando, New York City and its Tampa Bay home.