Presidential visit puts Florida back in the political spotlight

Donald Trump took the Republican Party by storm on his way to winning the White House. Next up: The Florida governor’s mansion. Trump’s endorsement could prove decisive in Florida’s GOP primary for governor, highlighting just how much the president has come to dominate a party that once had a fraught relationship with him. More from the Lakeland Ledger, the New York Times, FOX 13, and Politico.

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Profile: Daytona Beach and Volusia County

Daytona Beach and Volusia County are growing beyond their beach tourism and auto racing roots into a mature, diversified economy where people want to live, learn, work and play. This profile  includes demographics and fast facts, economic drivers, health care, educational opportunities, quality of life, people to know, and much more. Full report here.  [Sponsored] 

Advocates: Crumbling ramps may sink Florida's boat businesses

Boating advocates in Florida are calling on the state to invest money in their crumbling infrastructure before it’s too late. "The boating industry is a big industry in Florida, and customers can't get to the water because the ramps are falling apart, or there's huge lines,” complained Scott Deal, the president of Maverick Boats in Fort Pierce. [Source: FOX 13]

Food halls proliferate as the dining format finds more fans in Florida

Food halls have popped up across Central Florida as well as South Florida amid the spreading popularity of common dining rooms with multiple meal vendors. Just north of downtown Fort Lauderdale, for example, Sistrunk Market and Brewery, a 40,000-square-foot development with a 12-stall food hall, is scheduled to open in November. [Source: The Real Deal]

Related, from Florida Trend
» Endless arrays: Food halls are spreading across Florida

Fewer tickets and more crashes on Florida's roads

State records show 33,821 more crashes in Broward, Palm Beach and Miami-Dade counties in 2017 than in 2012. At the same time, cops in the three counties issued a half-million fewer tickets for speeding and other non-criminal moving violations. [Source: South Florida Sun-Sentinel]

ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› More than 450 people in Florida ordered to surrender guns months after new gun law took effect [WFTS]
The law, swiftly passed after the Parkland school shooting on Valentine's Day, temporarily strips gun owners of their gun rights and hardware if a judge deems them to be a threat to themselves or others.

› Profit more than doubles at Sarasota County-based PGT [Sarasota Herald-Tribune]
Sales and profits surged during the second quarter at PGT Innovations Inc. The manufacturer of impact-resistant windows and doors posted net income of $22.5 million, or 43 cents per share, more than doubling the $10.3 million, or 20 cents per share, from a year earlier. More financial results for PGT in this news release.

› NextEra Energy completes acquisition of Florida City Gas for $530 million [Press Release]
Juno Beach-based energy company NextEra Energy announced it completed its acquisition Monday of Florida City Gas from Atlanta-based Southern Co. for about $530 million in cash.

› Florida farm labor company cheated foreign migrant workers out of pay, food and proper housing [Miami Herald]
Florida company Sauceda Contractor paid back pay and U.S. Department of Labor fines after violating the rights of foreign workers it brought in on H-2A visas to harvest cabbage. Sauceda paid $19,847 in back wages to 53 employees, an average of $347.47 per employee, and was dunned $5,526 by the Wage and Hour Division. See a news release about the violations from the U.S. Department of Labor, here.

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› 200 more Outback and Carrabba’s locations will soon deliver [Tampa Bay Times]
Bloomin’ Brands plans to add delivery at 200 more Carrabba’s Italian Grill and Outback Steakhouse locations, CEO Liz Smith said during her company’s second-quarter earnings call on Monday.

› Miami-Dade is almost ready to buy its first electric buses. Enter the lobbyists [Miami Herald]
Miami-Dade County wants to create a new fleet of modern electric buses, but the act of purchasing the quiet and smog-free vehicles seems to be skidding into an old-fashioned procurement fight.

› Sore knuckles much? Florida GOP knocks on 1 million doors [Florida Politics]
While Democrats continue to hope for a “blue wave” come November, the Republican Party of Florida (RPOF) is hoping its ground game can hold off the rising tide. The party announced it has knocked on its 1 millionth door of the 2018 midterm cycle.

› Striving to save Florida’s struggling citrus industry with GMOs [Genetic Literacy Project]
Scientists are making progress toward breeding new citrus trees that better tolerate infection by the fatal bacterial disease citrus greening. The most promising avenue toward infection resistance, if not immunity, lies with transgenics, the science of manipulating a tree’s genes at the molecular level.

See also:
» Video below shows Dr. Ed Stover, a plant breeder at the USDA Horticultural Research Laboratory in Fort Pierce, disccussing the latest advancements in breeding new citrus varieties that are tolerant or resistant to the bacterial disease citrus greening.