All eyes are on swing state Florida as recount begins

An arduous recount process began Sunday in Florida as both sides of a close U.S. Senate race launched legal actions and the state again commanded national attention over an election controversy. The recount of the state’s Senate and governor’s races began in many counties on Sunday, and dozens of others will begin recounting on Monday or Tuesday. More from the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, the Tampa Bay Times, and Florida Today.

See also:
» Will a recount change anything in the Florida statewide races?
» What can we expect from Florida recount — 2018 edition?
» Miami-Dade just got 266 ballots from the Opa-locka post office. They won’t be counted
» Thursday, Rick Scott had won the Keys by one vote. By Friday, he had lost there by 10.
» 'It's impossible' to finish recount by deadline, Palm Beach county election supervisor says

It's still hurricane season and we could see another named storm this week

Hurricane season has not yet concluded. As we approach mid-November, the National Hurricane Center is monitoring what it calls a “vigorous” tropical wave. The wave that is moving through the Atlantic has a good chance of becoming a tropical or subtropical cyclone by the middle of the week as it passes near Puerto Rico, Hispaniola and the southeastern Bahamas. [Source: South Florida Sun-Sentinel]

Florida Trend Exclusive
Cheaper travel to Miami from South America

Jake Moskowitz wants to make it easier for budget travelers in South America to compare prices and book affordable travel tickets. The 28-year-old is CEO of Miami-based startup Voyhoy.com, a travel-booking site that works with hundreds of companies to digitize their offerings, which include routes in five countries: Chile, Colombia, Argentina, Peru and Brazil. [Source: Florida Trend]

Facing worker shortage, Florida's insurance industry turns to young professionals

Florida insurance companies are stepping up millennial hiring efforts with a keen sense of urgency and a combination of new and old recruiting tactics, part of an industry-wide trend. Why? Companies big and small, in all kinds of insurance niches and sub-sectors, are facing the reality that the industry's workforce is aging, and they need to bolster the workforce gap with young professionals. [Source: Business Observer]

Start of stone crab season in Cortez is worst in recent memory

Theories abound but one thing is for sure: The current stone crab season is off to one of its worst starts in recent memory for the oldest active fishing village in Florida. It’s that bad. “There’s nothing. There’s no crabs around because it’s all dead,” said John Banyas, a fourth-generation fisherman from Cortez. [Source: Sarasota Herald-Tribune]

ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› Just three years after controversial ‘Deep Dredge,’ PortMiami wants more [Miami Herald]
The super ships are coming and PortMiami, set in an aquatic preserve at the north tip of Biscayne Bay, says it needs to get bigger. While the scope of the work remains uncertain, enlarging the busy port just three years after the completion of the previous $205 million “Deep Dredge” is sure to set off another skirmish.

› Miami-based company Papa has taken off with a simple concept [South Florida Sun-Sentinel]
It’s a simple concept: Seniors in need of companionship are getting matched with college students in need of a job. And yet, the Miami-based company behind it, called Papa, has been growing rapidly — attracting new financing and attention within the industry since launching in January.

› Florida’s ag industry lost $1.4B in Hurricane Michael [Ocala Star Banner]
Florida’s agriculture industry suffered nearly $1.49 billion in damages from Hurricane Michael, with timber growers the hardest hit, the state Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services said Friday. The department estimated the economic losses for the timber industry at $1.3 billion, a figure the Florida Forest Service projected shortly after the storm.

› Honeywell Aerospace moving a handful of jobs to Clearwater from Albuquerque plant to be closed [Tampa Bay Times]
Honeywell Aerospace is closing its plant in Albuquerque, N.M., and a small number of those jobs are headed to its facility in Clearwater, the company said Friday.

Go to page 2 for more stories ...

› Study: Florida Pythons getting bigger, could threaten entire U.S. [Gadsden Times]
Fueled by bountiful swamps that provide a steady supply of marsh rabbits, deer, wading birds and other meals, Burmese pythons in Florida have rapidly adapted to become hardier and more resistant to cold than their Asian cousins, a new study has found.

› On 100th anniversary of the end of World War I, Florida marks a special Veterans Day [Miami Herald]
Florida, the nation’s third most populous state, is home to the third-highest population of veterans, about 1.5 million. The numbers have fallen slightly in recent years as the Greatest Generation — those who fought World War II — have faded away.

› Recovery efforts still underway across Florida one month after Hurricane Michael [WSAV]
One month after Hurricane Michael devastated parts of the Southeast, people in the Florida Panhandle are still busy rebuilding their lives. In Blountstown, students just returned to class on November first. Students at the town's elementary school were forced to move to the middle and high schools because of severe damage to the roof.

› HSN’s revenue slumps 5 percent, but parent company still posts higher sales [Tampa Bay Times]
St. Petersburg-based HSN has seen quarterly revenues drop 5 percent compared to a year ago, according to the parent company that laid off hundreds of Tampa Bay employees last month, Qurate Retail Group.