National job growth plunged in February. Will Florida follow suit?

The country created 20,000 new jobs in February, a revelation met with a collective “what happened?” Will Florida follow a similar pattern of a blockbuster January followed by a sluggish February? The first part of the answer comes Monday, when Florida’s January report comes out. The February report comes March 22. More from the Tampa Bay Times and WMFE.

Florida takes on pot, immigration and fracking this week

The hoopla and optimistic speeches surrounding the start of Florida's annual 60-day legislative session are over, and lawmakers now head into their second week with a list of nearly 3,400 bills to consider before going home May 3. [Source: Bradenton Herald]

Florida CEOs agree that tax breaks are needed to lure businesses to Florida

Florida CEOs were asked: Should the State of Florida and local governments be offering tax breaks and incentives to lure businesses? Jim Angleton, CEO for Aegis FinServ Corp., says: "Absolutely, and more: Tax Opportunity Zones, Empowerment Zones, CRA, and play up LatAm Hub. We need to focus upon technology, cyber, AI tax incentives, real community services and favorable talent pool." [Source: Miami Herald]

Amendment to raise Florida minimum wage clears first hurdle, heading to Supreme Court

A proposed constitutional amendment that would raise Florida’s minimum wage has cleared its first hurdle. Under the proposed amendment, the state’s minimum wage would go to $10 an hour on Sept. 30, 2021 and increase by $1 each year until it hits $15 an hour on Sept. 30, 2026. The state’s minimum wage this year is $8.46 an hour. [Source: South Florida Sun-Sentinel]

In Florida, oranges hold steady, grapefruit drops slightly

Florida's orange crop is holding steady, while the grapefruit crop dipped month to month. New estimates released Friday show that Florida's orange crop for the 2018-2019 season remained unchanged from the previous month at 77 million boxes. Estimates for Florida's grapefruit crop dipped by 600,000 boxes to an estimated 5.4 million boxes for the season. [Source: AP]

ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› New York City business recruiting trip for Miami strikes gold [Miami Today]
A New York City recruiting trip last week by the Beacon Council, the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau and Miami’s Downtown Development Authority was so successful that one new company has already committed to Miami and another “has expressed great interest,” said James Kohnstamm, Beacon Council senior vice president for economic development.

› UF names fastest-growing Gator-led companies [Gainesville Sun]
Sixteen companies that remain based in Gainesville were named to the Gator 100 list, a list of the fastest-growing UF-graduate owned or led businesses. The ranking was put together by comparing the companies’ compound annual growth rates, which is used to determine year-over-year growth over a specific period of time.

› LaCroix’s CEO blames lawsuit for seltzer-maker’s plunging sales, profit [Washington Post]
The leader behind LaCroix took the unusual step of apologizing for a bad quarter. Then he blamed the flavored fizzy water maker’s weak performance on “injustice” and compared the company to a disabled person. Fort Lauderdale-based National Beverage shares dived 16 percent Friday, one day after CEO Nick Caporella’s bizarre explanation for the company’s first quarterly sales decline in five years and 39-percent drop in profit.

› A look at the military’s impact in Northwest Florida [Northwest Florida Daily News]
If you’ve lived in Okaloosa, Walton or Santa Rosa counties for any amount of time, you may have noticed that in addition to the appealing Gulf of Mexico, there is another steady denominator: the presence of the U.S. military.

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› Citizens rate hike hearing scheduled in South Florida [South Florida Sun-Sentinel]
The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation has scheduled a public hearing this week in Miami-Dade County about rate increases proposed by the state-backed Citizens Property Insurance Corp. If ultimately approved by regulators, the rate hikes would take effect in September.

› Jacksonville gets statewide attention for programs [Florida Times Union]
A new trust fund adds another layer to a city pilot project called “Project Save Lives” that has gotten statewide attention as a potentially effective way for communities to bring down opioid-related deaths. Project Save Lives started in November 2017 in a partnership between the city, Gateway Community Services, UF Health and St. Vincent’s Health System.

› Nonprofits step up pace of affordable housing construction in St. Petersburg [Tampa Bay Times]
Bolstered by former City Council Member Karl Nurse, Steve Plice believes his nonprofit is making a difference by providing affordable housing in one of St. Pete's poorest areas

› University of Florida changing how it does business to protect Florida blueberry growers [WFTS]
The University of Florida is changing its ways after an investigation revealed its agreements with competing farms in Mexico. Last month, an investigation found UF developed new types of blueberries to help Florida farmers make a living, but then sold the rights to grow those same blueberries to foreign farms, including Mexico. Mexico's growing season competes with Florida.