Florida Trend Exclusive
Florida's new governor Ron DeSantis and the Florida Legislature are playing nice

Rick Scott and Richard Corcoran’s successors bring far different personal styles to the top of the Capitol’s pyramid of power. So far, the new governor and this session’s House and Senate leaders are playing nice. Here’s what to watch over the next couple of months [Source: Florida Trend]

See also:
» Florida Senate and House: The next 60 days
» Florida's 2019 Issues

Florida unemployment rate increases to 3.4 percent in January

Florida's unemployment rate inched up to 3.4 percent in January from 3.3 percent in December, according to state figures released Monday. That marks the first increase since October 2009, according to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics. Nationally, the unemployment rate was 4 percent in January. The state added 8,300 jobs over the month. More from the Tampa Bay Times, the Orlando Sentinel, and the Sarasota Herald-Tribune.

Algae plaguing Florida's iconic springs triggers major legal battle

Red tide and green algae on the coasts: Those aquatic disasters have rallied broad alliances of environmentalists, anglers, waterfront homeowners, motel and restaurant owners, boaters, beachgoers and local politicians in the heavily populated bottom half of Florida. Meanwhile, the majority of the state’s hundreds of springs — a collection unlike anywhere else in the world — are confined largely to rural and less-affluent places. [Source: Orlando Sentinel]

Leave our clocks alone. Permanent Daylight Saving is better for Florida and the nation.

Feeling a little sluggish? Desperate for a mid-afternoon snooze? You and much of America. Blame the arcane idea that we need to fiddle with our clocks twice a year. Talk about a self-inflicted wound. Spring forward-fall back, brought to you by car crashes, lost productivity and caffeine. [Source: Tampa Bay Times]

Why Miami won’t be hosting the 2020 Democratic convention

Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez selected Milwaukee on Monday as the site of the party’s 2020 presidential convention, choosing America’s heartland — and perhaps his heart — over the melting pot of Miami. It stung some local politicians and donors who spent the last month hoping to mount a come-from-behind win. In an official press release Monday morning, the city of Miami Beach called Perez’s choice “a missed opportunity.” [Source: Miami Herald]

Space Florida: Driving Florida's aerospace future

Florida is well-positioned to dominate the future of the aerospace industry and lead the world in enabling space commerce and innovation. There is a growing recognition within the global aerospace industry that Florida has the kind of business operating and living environment that next-generation aerospace companies need to thrive. [Sponsored report]

ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› New Orlando ordinance requires bars, restaurants, businesses and apartments to offer recycling [Orlando Sentinel]
More than 10,000 restaurants, bars, businesses and apartment-style properties across Orlando are now required to offer recycling, with the new city program set to be phased in over four years. The Orlando City Council unanimously OK’d the ordinance Monday requiring the service be offered.

› Southwest Florida opioid overdoses declining but numbers still high [Sarasota Herald-Tribune]
Opioid-related overdoses and deaths, which made Manatee County infamous a few years ago, are significantly down thanks to a united front involving law enforcement, paramedics, hospitals, addiction treatment facilities and others. Yet those authorities still consider the numbers to be unacceptably high.

› The future of confessions of judgment in Florida and beyond [Daily Business Review]
To the average Floridian, the term “confession of judgment” is likely to be unfamiliar. One reason for this may be because the use of confessions of judgment, by lenders, is prohibited by Florida statute. A confession of judgment is basically a contract provision which allows a creditor to enter a judgment against a debtor without the need to file a complaint or to conduct a trial.

› Publix CEO Todd Jones got $109,000 raise in 2018 [Orlando Sentinel]
Publix President and CEO Todd Jones received a $109,000 boost to his total pay in 2018, according to federal regulatory documents. Jones, who took over the top spot at the Lakeland-based supermarket chain in 2016, was the company’s highest paid employee with $2.59 million in salary, stock incentives and other compensation.

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› Company was paid off $3.6 million to drop challenge to Florida toll road bid [WPTV]
A Florida state senator wants to know why the state's Department of Transportation paid a company $3.6 million to drop its challenge to the awarding of another company with a lucrative contract to overhaul Florida's toll road system.

› Small solace for MacDill families, but mold problems are even worse across the Air Force [Tampa Bay Times]
Mold and other problems with family housing have drawn national attention to MacDill Air Force Base, but they’re even worse across the Air Force as a whole, according to a study ordered by the service’s top brass.

› South Florida Museum bids farewell to Jeff Rodgers [Sarasota Herald-Tribune]
South Florida COO and provost Jeff Rodgers is taking a new job after 15 years at SFM. He looks back on more than a decade of growth and innovation.

› Film production grants have bipartisan backing in both chambers [Florida Politics]
Bills to help bring film and TV productions back to Florida are building up support from both sides of the aisle. SB 526, sponsored by Sarasota Republican Sen. Joe Gruters, has already unanimously cleared its first committee. Since then, the bill is garnering bi-partisan support in the Senate with four Democrats signed on as co-sponsors.