Skilled labor in Florida a concern for small businesses

A survey of small businesses in Florida have concerns with skilled labor and international trade, a state Chamber of Commerce report said Monday. While many of Florida's small businesses are expecting to hire during the next six months, nearly a third of businesses worry about the quality of skilled labor available. The Florida Chamber’s quarterly Small Business Index statewide survey shows small businesses are most concerned about:

• Workforce quality (18 percent)
• Government regulations (17 percent)
• Economic uncertainty (12 percent)

See all the concerns at this news release and read more at the Orlando Sentinel.

In the age of Netflix, Florida movie theaters try to woo you with luxury and comfort

In the race to attract moviegoers, theaters around Florida and the nation have embarked on full renovations that include adding restaurants and full-service bars and ripping out the traditional stadium-style seats and replacing them with leather recliner chairs. [Source: South Florida Sun-Sentinel]

Florida Trend Exclusive
Best companies: New-hire perspectives

Employees talk about what attracted them to the companies where they work and what they now like best. Hear from Zuri Mabry, Project engineer at Beck Group; Jeff Nowak, Chief solutions officer at Premier Eye Care; Kara Guertin Brand development associate at IMS ExpertServices; and, others. Full story here.

» This story is part of our coverage on The Best Companies To Work For In Florida.

After years of steering clear, UF poised to study hemp

The University of Florida used to have a hands-off approach to Cannabis sativa, the plant cultivated for recreational and medical marijuana. But the Florida Legislature changed that last year, when it authorized state land-grant universities (UF and Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University) to begin researching industrial hemp, another product of the plant. [Source: Gainesville Sun]

Rules to vote in next month's Florida Primary

Election supervisors are reminding voters across Florida that they must be registered with major political parties in order to vote in partisan primary elections next month. Democrats and Republicans will be choosing candidates for US Senate, governor, two state cabinet races and a host of congressional and legislative seats. [Source: WJXT]

ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› Tampa Bay Times names Mark Katches as new executive editor [Tampa Bay Times]
The Tampa Bay Times named Mark Katches, a veteran journalist who has led his teams to Pulitzer-Prize-winning work, as the next executive editor of Florida’s largest newspaper. Katches, 55, who is now the editor and vice president of content at The Oregonian in Portland, Ore., will guide all news operations at the Times and its website.

› Miami law firm ready to test proprietary litigation budgeting software [Daily Business Review]
Miami attorney Etan Mark is a tech nerd. Mark, who launched his firm last year after being a Berger Singerman partner in Miami and a Weil, Gotshal & Manges associate in New York, also loves thinking in deep detail about what he wants technology to do for his five-attorney commercial litigation firm.

› South Florida outpaces state in construction job growth in June [South Florida Sun-Sentinel]
South Florida outpaced the state in construction job growth in June, according to Florida’s Department of Economic Opportunity. Construction jobs grew 8.8 percent in Broward County, 8.6 percent in Palm Beach County, and 13.1 percent in Miami-Dade County, over June 2017.

› In need of deputies, Hillsborough sheriff loosens college, tattoo and drug use rules for new hires [Tampa Bay Times]
The goal of the new rules, officials say, is to cast a wider net in the applicant pool and jump start an effort to tackle a stubbornly persistent deputy shortage that has put stress on patrol deputies, stifled proactive police work and limited the ability to expand the agency’s community outreach efforts.

Go to page 2 for more stories ...

› Project known as The Offices 4th & 5th Delray to include iPic theater, retail and office space [South Florida Sun-Sentinel]
The space, known as The Offices 4th & 5th Delray, will be within a new, four-story, mixed-use development in downtown Delray Beach that is under construction and includes an iPic theater and retail space.

› Blue Cypress Lake erupts with pollution-eating algae linked to municipal sewage treatment [Orlando Sentinel]
The source of a water supply targeted by the Orlando region and long cherished as a Florida jewel, Blue Cypress has recently joined the Indian River Lagoon, Lake Okeechobee and major coastal estuaries as profoundly sick.

› Formula One won’t run downtown Miami Grand Prix until 2020 after delay in negotiation [Miami Herald]
Formula One will not run a Grand Prix race through downtown Miami in 2019 after delayed contract negotiations forced organizers to push back the intended inaugural race to 2020.

› New honeybee lab in Florida creating a buzz [Growing Produce]
Florida is known for its citrus, sweet corn, beans, tomatoes, strawberries, watermelons, and much more, but its place in the world of beekeeping is often overlooked. Honeybees are big business in Florida.