Florida struggling to find lawyers for its opioid lawsuit

Attorney General Pam Bondi has spent months searching for a law firm to take on the opioid industry. She’s not getting any help from an 8-year-old state law that caps the fees for lawyers she hires. Because of the cap, some of the state’s top lawyers didn’t bother to apply to represent Florida in a potential lawsuit against opioid makers and distributors. More from the Miami Herald and the Tampa Bay Times.

National Hurricane Center watching area in the Gulf of Mexico

Clouds, showers and thunderstorms in the southeastern Gulf of Mexico could strengthen into a tropical or subtropical storm affecting Florida in the next few days, National Hurricane Center forecasters predicted Sunday. More from the Tampa Bay Times, the Miami Herald, and WPTV.

60th Anniversary Special Report
Six Floridians to watch

From a NASCAR executive to an environmental activist, we profile six Floridians you should keep your eye on. Take, for example, Alexia Carrasquillo. Earlier this year, before she turned 12 verbally, Carrasquillo committed to play softball at the University of Florida — the youngest athlete ever to commit to a major university. Full story here.

Ag interests spread cash in cabinet race

From farmers to horse trainers, agricultural interests put up more than $100,000 in April to support three candidates running for Florida agriculture commissioner, with U.S. Sugar Corp. accounting for $30,000, new finance reports show. More from the Lakeland Ledger and NorthEscambia.com.

In Cuba, the great American tourism boom goes bust

During the first three months of this year, 95,520 Americans came to Cuba - a 40 percent drop from the same period last year, hurting this island’s access to hard cash and setting back the effort to reestablish ties between U.S. citizens and Cubans. [Source: Washington Post]

ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› Top Florida law firm fights accusations of stiffing rich client and bribing witnesses [Miami Herald]
Never shy of the spotlight, William Scherer has stood out for decades among South Florida's elite lawyers. But for all its apparent success, the venerable Fort Lauderdale law firm of Conrad & Scherer is under siege.

› Column: Jacksonville remains Florida’s cigar capital [Florida Times-Union]
Tampa has long marketed itself as the Cigar City. Key West promotes itself as once being known as the “Cigar Capital of the World.” While Jacksonville continues to ponder if it even has an image, the city has an even better claim to being a cigar capital.

› FAU's Tech Runway® welcomes 7 startups into latest venture class [FAU News]
Florida Atlantic University has revealed its largest class of 21 winners for their Tech Runway® this year. The winners were announced during the awards ceremony on May 10, with the top seven each receiving a $15,000 check, totaling $105,000 in cash investments. The South Florida companies will be provided space at Tech Runway® and enter its year-long entrepreneurial program. Also read more at the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

› Pinellas and Hillsborough bring in $13 million in bed taxes during peak travel month [Tampa Bay Times]
Pinellas and Hillsborough counties posted record-breaking bed tax collections over a peak tourism period, raking in a combined $13 million in March. It’s the first time Hillsborough collected more than $4 million during this period, a new benchmark for Visit Tampa Bay, the tourism nonprofit that markets the area.

Go to page 2 for more stories ...

› Florida has most Takata-airbag-related injuries, deaths in country, data shows [WFTV]
Florida has had more injuries and deaths due to exploding Takata airbags than any other state in the country, according to new data released by Sen. Bill Nelson Saturday. There have been 83 injuries and three fatalities attributed to the airbags in the state, according to the data.

› Florida coral scientists create gene bank for endangered pillar coral [Florida Aquarium]
Only 63 unique pillar coral colonies are currently alive in the Florida Reef Tract, so a group of scientists have banded together to save the species, which is under threat of local extinction. The Florida Aquarium has joined the pillar coral ‘genetic rescue' project, which was created by Neely and Cindy Lewis (Florida International University & Keys Marine Lab) in November 2015. Read more at the Sarasota Herald-Tribune.

› TSA to reimburse Tampa International Airport $15.9 million for post-9/11 security upgrades [Tampa Bay Times]
Nearly two decades later, Tampa International Airport will receive more than $15.9 million from the federal Transportation Security Administration for installing machines to detect explosives in suitcases following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

› UCF launches Orlando's first life science incubator [Orlando Sentinel]
University of Central Florida Business Incubation Program has opened Central Florida’s first life-sciences incubator, hoping to attract startups that need a science lab to develop their products.