Wanted: $76 million. Why? To fight Florida's negative publicity about hurricanes, red tide

Florida’s new tourism czar, former Sen. Dana Young, is pitching lawmakers to continue setting aside $76 million a year for Visit Florida and is promoting the agency’s ability to overcome negative publicity while drawing record numbers of visitors. Constant news coverage of damage in the Panhandle from the October hurricane, including scenes of flattened beach communities, created the equivalent of $35 million in negative media, Young said. Stories about Florida’s waters being filled with red tide accounted for an additional $22 million in negative media. [Source: Florida Today]

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Cyber crime: Florida cyber-crime statistics

$110.6 million -- Floridians’ losses to cyber-criminals. As the third most populous state, Florida is roughly the third most fertile field for cyber-crime in the nation. Florida had 21,887 victims of cyber-crime, second only to California. Read more Florida cyber-crime statistics and see also:

» Data-breach settlements and cyber-security lawsuits

Florida lawmakers grapple with felons' voting rights

With an eye on averting a “nightmare scenario” on Election Day, state House members Thursday began delving into what many state officials are calling ambiguities in a constitutional amendment that restores the right to vote for most felons who have completed their sentences. [Source: Pensacola News-Journal]

Congressman pushes for Amazon consideration of Panama City/Tallahassee HQ

U.S. Rep. Neal Dunn on Friday wrote Amazon with the hopes of nudging interest in a Panama City/Tallahassee HQ2 after the world's largest online retailer announced plans to back away from a New York location. A day after the company's announcement, the Republican Congressman sent Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos a one-page letter describing how the Florida Panhandle is coming back after Category 4 Hurricane Michael's devastation and is rebuilding "better than ever." More from the Tallahassee Democrat and WCTV.

Florida's farmers plot new course after Hurricane Michael's deadly tear

Hurricane Michael’s deadly tear through Florida’s Panhandle four months ago will help fuel a transformation of the state’s agricultural industry, experts are predicting, with significant numbers of growers moving away from traditional farming and towards a future of alternative crops such as hemp and hops. [Source: The Guardian]

ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› Southwest Florida businesses are pessimistic of the region's economy, survey shows [Naples Daily News]
Southwest Florida business executives are pessimistic about the local economy, according to a recent business climate survey. But is the local economy really in that bad of shape? Chris Westley, director of Florida Gulf Coast University’s Regional Economic Research Institute, said he doesn’t think so.

› New SeaWorld CEO comes with fresh perspective, some say [AP]
SeaWorld’s new CEO will deal with the challenge of helping the Orlando-based company evolve beyond its iconic killer whales, some theme park analysts say. Gustavo “Gus” Antorcha, 44, who starts Feb. 18 at the job that pays $600,000 in annual base salary as well as bonus and stock opportunities, is an outsider with no ties to SeaWorld.

› El Niño is here, what it means for Florida [Palm Beach Post]
El Niño spent the fall and early winter flirting with Earth, warming up the equatorial Pacific but not making the connection with the atmosphere above. The coupling, however, is now complete, and the Climate Prediction Center declared Thursday that the global pattern often responsible for wetter and cooler Florida winters is here.

› Customers and stores are fleeing Orlando's once-thriving malls. Can anything bring them back? [Orlando Sentinel]
Orlando Fashion Square, West Oaks Mall, Oviedo Mall and the former Festival Bay Mall are still open and working on promised turnarounds after new sellers acquired the properties during the past six years. All are facing significant challenges, and their owners have charted different strategies to try to return the behemoth properties to vibrant destinations.

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› Making Jacksonville a Safer City [Florida Times-Union]
As the longstanding murder capital of Florida, Duval County’s bloodshed shows no sign of letting up. In the first six weeks of 2018, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office has already begun investigating 18 murders, including a 16-year-old and 17-year old gunned down on Jan. 31 and Feb. 5. The relentless violence has left Jacksonville residents like Teena Jones desperate for the city to find a way to bring down the deaths.

› Florida Panthers near vote to replace gun show at War Memorial [South Florida Sun-Sentinel]
The Florida Panthers are serious about plans to replace the gun show at War Memorial Auditorium — a multimillion-dollar investment to provide public ice skating and hockey rinks, and indoor sports fields.

› Orlando's WFTV, WRDQ sold to private equity firm [Orlando Sentinel]
WFTV-Channel 9, long the dominant TV station in Central Florida, and sister station WRDQ-Channel 27 have been sold to Apollo Global Management, a private equity firm, in a deal announced Friday.

› Military planes carrying 180 tons of aid for Venezuelans fly from Miami to Colombia [Miami Herald]
A shipment of humanitarian aid by the United States that flew out of Miami landed in this Colombian border city on Saturday as part of efforts in response to the humanitarian crisis in neighboring Venezuela.