Citrus greening has Florida growers down to the hard core

A decade of ravages by citrus greening has left Florida with only the hard-core of committed growers, less than a third as many as 10 years ago, and more research is desperately needed to keep them in business, an industry leader told the Florida Senate Committee on Agriculture Monday. [Source: Florida Politics]

See also:
» Antibiotics set to flood Florida’s troubled orange orchards
» Spraying diseased citrus orchards with antibiotics could backfire

Court says order allowing Everglades oil drilling was 'issued in error'

A state court said Monday afternoon that an order affirming an oil drilling proposal for the Everglades had been “issued in error.” Earlier that day, the First District Court of Appeal posted an order that appeared to hand a major legal victory to Kanter Real Estate LLC, which had proposed an exploratory well in the Everglades of western Broward County. [Source: South Florida Sun-Sentinel]

USF presidential search committee selects four finalists

The new president of the University of South Florida will come from four finalists named by a search committee Monday. None of the finalists have ties to USF or any Florida school. There were no internal candidates, and only USF alum and former USF Trustee Scott Hopes, a Manatee County School district board member, had ties to the university. See the announcement here and read more from WUSF.

Florida gas prices spike

Florida gas prices increased an average of 15 cents per gallon last week. This was the second-largest weekly increase among any other state in the country, behind Kentucky at 16 cents. Florida drivers are paying an average price of $2.62 per gallon for regular unleaded. The state average is the highest so far this year, and 10 cents per gallon more than this time last year. So far this year, the state average has increased 46 cents per gallon. More from NorthEscambia.com and the Sarasota Herald-Tribune.

Hurricane Michael was a disaster for Florida prisons. Here’s why.

After Hurricane Michael hit the Panhandle, a key portion of the state’s corrections system was crippled, leaving nearly 300 prison employees displaced and more than 5,000 relocated inmates packing facilities across Florida. New figures obtained by The News Service of Florida show a significant problem in a region where a sizable part of the workforce is employed by the corrections system and a good chunk of the state’s inmate population is housed. [Source: Tampa Bay Times]

ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› Jacksonville-based FIS spends $35B on Worldpay as digital payments surge [AP]
Fidelity National Information Services is buying Worldpay for about $35 billion with financial transactions increasingly move online. The online payment industry has been consolidating as companies attempt to scale up to better handle transactions globally, and to cut costs as start-ups challenge established players like Fidelity, often referred to as FIS, and Worldpay.

› Measure to make it harder to amend Florida's Constitution goes to elections office [South Florida Sun-Sentinel]
With state lawmakers also considering the idea, a political committee has filed a proposed ballot measure that could make it harder to amend the Florida Constitution. A committee known as Keep Our Constitution Clean PC filed the proposal last week at the state Division of Elections.

› Poppo’s Taqueria expanding again in Sarasota [Sarasota Herald-Tribune]
Poppo’s Taqueria is expanding again, this time with a new location in Sarasota’s The Landings plaza. The company signed a lease with property owner Benderson Development Co. for a 1,503-square-foot restaurant, county records show.

› Digital Orlando to feature self-driving car, education tech and space pros [Orlando Sentinel]
Orlando’s tech community will show off its diversity of industry next month. Leaders of a tech conference scheduled for April 10 announced more than 40 speakers this week, with industries including artificial intelligence, online education, space and entrepreneurship represented.

Go to page 2 for more stories ...

› Giant snail threat shrinking in South Florida [Growing Produce]
Slowly, but surely, the giant African snail invasion in South Florida is fading away. USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) recently removed the giant African snail-regulated areas in Zone T, Zone H, Zone C, and Zone M from the list of quarantined areas in Miami-Dade County.

› Mote Marine Lab asks Manatee County to help pay for new aquarium [WWSB]
Mote Marine Lab wants to build a major new aquarium near Nathan Benderson Park, which is in Sarasota County. But Mote said it’s close enough to the county line to benefit Manatee County as well, so they are asking the county for $15 million dollars toward the cost.

› Will Tampa Bay be under water in 100 years? Rising seas tell a frightening story [Tampa Bay Times]
Florida’s geography puts it at an extreme risk for the effects of sea level rise compared to most U.S. cities. St. Petersburg and Tampa are within the top 25 cities susceptible to coastal flooding due in part to sea level rise in the next 30 years.

› Dania Beach issues call for developers to compete to build new City Hall [South Florida Sun-Sentinel]
Dania Beach has issued a call for developers to compete to build a new city hall and commercial space on the site of the existing government complex. The city has hired Collier’s International South Florida to advise it on the proposed project.