Florida Trend | Florida's Business Authority

Thursday's Daily Pulse

Florida's private-sector jobs grew 48 percent in April over year ago

Jobs added by Florida’s private-sector employers grew 48 percent in April over a year ago, according to payroll firm ADP’s regional report released Wednesday. Florida employers added 16,300 jobs during the month compared with 10,992 jobs in April 2017. See the news release from ADP here. Also read more at the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

Peter Neuhaus

Peter Neuhaus, senior research scientist, Institute for Human & Machine Cognition, Pensacola, tests an exo-skeleton.

60th Anniversary Special Report
Future Florida

Perspectives on the future, from 21 industry leaders and experts from around the state. Joseph Kavana, developer, Metropica, tells us: “Florida is now entering an era where a confluence of factors, including scarcity of land in key areas, along with lack of mass transit, is driving vertical construction." Full story from Florida Trend here.

» Coming tomorrow: Five trends that will shape Florida's future.

E. coli outbreak linked to romaine lettuce spreads to Florida

The romaine lettuce E. coli outbreak shows little sign of slowing with 28 people confirmed ill in the last week and four states, including Florida, recording their first cases. While the numbers have changed, the advice from the Centers for Disease Control and the Food and Drug Administration remains the same: Avoid all romaine lettuce from the Yuma, Arizona region. More from the Miami Herald, WFLA, and WFTS.

Florida sees increase in delinquent mortgages

Florida ranks alongside two other states that logged increases in the serious delinquency rate on home mortgages, a new report from CoreLogic states. The chief economist for the global property information and analytics company blamed the lingering impacts of Hurricanes Irma and Harvey for the increases here and in Texas. [Source: Lakeland Ledger]

Feds: Florida inspectors failed to ensure hundreds of problems at nursing homes corrected

Florida’s Agency for Health Care Administration, the agency responsible for overseeing nursing homes, failed to ensure that owners corrected hundreds of problems that put patients at risk, according to a federal audit. The audit was one in a series of reviews of state nursing home agencies across the country. [Source: Naples Daily News]

ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› NTSB opens an investigation into Tesla crash in Florida
The National Transportation Safety Board said Wednesday it is sending a team to Fort Lauderdale, Florida to investigate a fatal crash involving a 2014 Tesla Model S. Two teenagers were killed and a third was injured when the vehicle crashed on State Route A1A.

› Another national hotel chain makes Gainesville home
The 114-room Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott in Gainesville, Florida has opened. The Fairfield Inn & Suites Gainesville I-75 will operate as a Marriott franchise, owned and managed by Lake City Hotels, Inc. of Lake City, Florida.

› SBA's Ashley Bell signs new agreement to work closely with Orlando chamber
The new regional administrator of the SBA’s southeast region, Ashley Bell, visited Orlando Tuesday to sign an agreement with the regional chamber of commerce to cooperate more on marketing and economic development issues.

› Miami-Dade office market shows major gains
Miami-Dade’s office market in the first quarter showed prices markedly above three years ago but vacancy rates also higher, with the central business district in particular having growing vacancy.

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› New signs turn EverBank Field into TIAA Bank Field
The transition of EverBank Field to TIAA Bank Field took a significant step forward Wednesday when new signs began going up on the outside of the stadium where the Jacksonville Jaguars play their home games. The new signs have been created by Harbinger Sign, a Jacksonville manufacturer located on Shad Road.

› See what Central Florida CEOs make compared with typical workers
A new federal regulation is revealing for the first time the wide pay ratios between Central Florida’s CEOs and typical employees. Congress passed the CEO-pay-ratio rule in 2010 after the financial meltdown triggered a recession and unemployment, and typical salaries suffered while CEO pay remained high.

› Broward sleep aid products company to be acquired in $27M deal
Hollywood-based Dream Water is in the process of being sold to a Canadian cannabis company for $27 million. Vancouver-based Harvest One Cannabis agreed to acquire the local consumer sleep aid products company in a deal expected to close by May 31.

› Court: Driver can be charged for hiding Florida license tags
An appeals court has ruled that a Florida driver can face charges for obscuring the lettering on vehicle license tags with a frame. The 3rd District Court of Appeal decision Wednesday came in the case of a driver who was stopped in 2015 by an officer because the words "MyFlorida.com" were obscured by a tag frame.