Florida’s onshore oil drilling industry began 75 years ago

Offshore oil drilling is off the table for Florida for now, but many people might not know that the Sunshine State has produced oil from wells in Southwest Florida and the Panhandle for decades. Onshore drilling continues in the Big Cypress National Preserve, where it has occurred for 75 years. [Source: Palm Beach Post]

His legacy is hampered by disease and disaster. Can Florida’s crop king recover?

Adam Putnam is the public face of Florida agriculture and its signature crop of oranges, an industry trapped in a downward spiral of historic proportions. Putnam is starting his eighth and final year as state agriculture commissioner, an elected Cabinet office that he hopes is his launch pad to becoming the state’s next governor. [Source: Times/Herald]

See also:
» New tax law gives citrus growers help

The closing of 63 Sam’s Club stores nationwide has big implications for Florida small businesses

The retailer has historically prided itself on the services it has provided its small business members which include discounts on bulk purchases on office supplies, food, materials and other goods, financing, payment solutions and even health care insurance. The chain also has special hours to accommodate its small business customers - many of whom start the day early. [Source: Tampa Bay Times]

Florida Legislature has many hurricane issues to consider

Storms are a major priority on the Florida Legislature's agenda this year following Hurricane Irma's rampage across most of the state. Lawmakers will consider proposals ranging from making evacuations more efficient to helping the devastated citrus industry. [Source: AP]

River advocates optimistic about Florida vs. Georgia water dispute

After years of conflict, the U.S. Supreme Court is taking up the case over Florida and Georgia’s water disputes. Somewhat surprisingly, the justices seem sympathetic to Florida’s problems, and that has some of the state’s advocates feeling optimistic. Full story from WFSU is here.

Your turn:
» Do you think Florida will prevail and get a favorable ruling at the U.S. Supreme Court in the water dispute case with Georgia? (quick poll)

ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› CSX investor conference set for March 1 [Florida Times-Union]
CSX will hold its investor and analyst conference March 1 in New York. The nation’s third-largest railroad had scheduled the conference for Oct. 30, 2017. But it postponed that hours after James Foote was named its new chief operating officer.

› Historic encampment brings economic, cultural impact to Polk [Lakeland Ledger]
It’s the annual Alafia River Rendezvous, a weeklong encampment that recreates frontier life before 1840. But for nearby Bartow and Polk County, it’s more than that. The rendezvous represents a unique cultural immersion that can’t be found in a theme park or festival, and it attracts thousands of visitors.

› Head of Van Wezel Foundation resigns [Sarasota Herald-Tribune]
Monica Slater Van Buskirk has resigned after six years as president and CEO of the Van Wezel Foundation, but not before announcing a $10 million donation that will be the largest in the history of the organization. She plans to remain in Sarasota and work with other nonprofit organizations.

› With DeSantis running for governor, Democrats eye his congressional seat [Orlando Sentinel]
Ron DeSantis’ campaign for governor is just beginning, but the campaign to capture the congressional seat he’ll be leaving has been going on for months. His Central Florida district is one of the Democratic Party’s targets for 2018, even though Republican DeSantis cruised to victory by 17 percentage points in 2016.

Go to page 2 for more stories ...

› Red tide reemerges along Florida's southwest coast [AP]
Scientists are warning that a red tide is reemerging along Florida's southwest coast even after a recent cold front knocked it back. Medium counts of red tide organism were recorded in Lee, Charlotte and Sarasota counties last week.

›Brevard organizations, programs share cultural grants that 'act as catalyst' [Florida Today]
Thirty-one nonprofit arts and cultural organizations and programs will be splitting $129,999 in grants to help their organizations. The Brevard County community cultural grants were approved 4-1 by the Brevard County Commission.

› 13 companies top the list of Central Florida's best-performing stocks [Orlando Business Journal]
An insulation products firm and two timeshare companies firms saw the three biggest increases in their stock prices among Central Florida's biggest publicly traded companies in 2017.

› Florida governor‘s cellphone was bottleneck in Irma response [AP]
As Hurricane Irma bore down on Florida, gave out his cellphone number during a conference call with administrators of the state’s nursing homes and assisted living facilities. He told them to him if they ran into problems, and he would try to get help. So they did.