Personal information of 340 million people and businesses leaked by Florida marketing firm

You've probably never heard of the marketing and data aggregation firm Exactis. But it may well have heard of you. And now there's also a good chance that whatever information the company has about you, it recently leaked onto the public internet, available to any hacker who simply knew where to look. More from Wired, Gizmodo, CNET, and Market Watch.

Foreign investment initiative makes it easier for companies to open in Florida

Florida launched a first-of-its-kind program this week to bring foreign investors into the state, Enterprise Florida announced Tuesday. Venture Bridge Florida, the name of the program, will help local economic development efforts by improving services offered to foreign investors and companies. [Source: Tampa Bay Business Journal]

Florida becoming more kid friendly

Life as a kid in Florida is getting better, slowly but surely, according to a national report released Wednesday, though the state still ranks among the bottom half in the country. Florida moved up six spots to rank the 34th best place in the country for children on the 2018 KIDS COUNT Data Book, an annual ranking of outcomes for children in the United States produced by the Annie E. Casey Foundation. [Source: Sarasota Herald-Tribune]

Race is on to win greyhound-racing debate

From now until this fall, advocates and opponents will battle to sway voters’ opinions on whether greyhound racing is harmless sport or a relic that needs to be retired. Those against dog racing say it’s outdated and abusive. They say there are other motives — gambling, for one — that keep the enterprise alive at the dogs’ expense. [Source: Gainesville Sun]

John Morgan wants to put recreational marijuana on Florida ballot

Orlando attorney John Morgan says he is going to work toward getting recreational marijuana on the Florida ballot in 2020. Morgan led the push to get medical marijuana legalized in Florida and has recently been speaking out about the state’s ban on smokable medical marijuana. More from WESH and WSVN.

ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› Florida cities rank high in "Best Beach Towns to Live In" study [Florida Trend]
The personal-finance website WalletHub ranked America's "Best Beach Towns to Live In" by comparing metrics such as housing costs, share of for-sale waterfront homes and quality of beach water. Five Florida cities made the Top 10: Naples, Sarasota, St. Augustine, Boca Raton and Key West.

› Florida attorneys lend support to separated immigrant families [Daily Business Review]
Several Florida law firms have pledged to help reunify separated immigrant families and volunteered to represent asylum seekers on the U.S.-Mexico border. As president of the American Bar Association, Greenberg Traurig co-president Hilarie Bass has been a prominent face in the legal profession's response to immigrant family separations.

› Scott, Cabinet delay choosing Florida’s next financial regulator [Tampa Bay Times]
Gov. Rick Scott and his colleagues on the Cabinet won't pick Florida's next financial regulator until August, they decided this morning after interviewing five finalists for the job. Scott also reopened the job to new applicants, who have until July 15 to apply.

› Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce pushes in DC for trade, immigration, higher education [Miami Today]
The Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce focused on advocating for transportation, immigration, higher education and trade during its annual three-day Washington, DC, Fly-In trip, chamber sources said. One particular issue that was discussed at length was promoting public transportation .

Go to page 2 for more stories ...

› Ultimate Software, Moss & Associates, JM Family named 'best workplaces for millennials' [South Florida Sun-Sentinel]
Weston-based software company Ultimate Software again captured the No. 1 spot in Fortune magazine’s “100 Best Workplaces for Millennials” list for 2018. Ultimate topped the 2017 list as well.

› Cruise ship hotels, zoo parties and an NBA arena: Miami's Democratic convention pitch [Miami Herald]
Speeches at AmericanAirlines Arena, meetings in the Miami Beach Convention Center, fundraisers at Vizcaya Gardens, parties at the zoo, and delegates sleeping on cruise ships — those are some of the options officials in Miami-Dade plan to pitch Democrats this week in a bid to host the party's 2020 national convention.

› Seminole County holds off on rules for Airbnb, other vacation rentals [Orlando Sentinel]
Seminole commissioners on Tuesday decided to hold off enacting regulations on short-term vacation rentals such as Airbnb after raising questions about the registration process and how the rules would be enforced.

› Mystery disease could wipe out pillar coral [Keys News]
Pillar coral could disappear from the Florida reef tract in the near future, a marine researcher forewarned Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary advisers. The relentless spread of a coral disease not yet identified imperils brain corals and other reef-building corals, said Karen Neely of Nova Southeastern University’s marine-science staff.