Florida Trend Exclusive
Florida millennials are moving back to the burbs

Mirroring a national shift to the suburbs, growth in most of Florida’s largest cities and urban counties has slowed. For the subset of buyers in Florida who are Millennials, the Census evidence of a similar shift is inconclusive, but builders have sensed opportunity in a massive generation forming households and having children. [Source: Florida Trend]

Space Coast has once-in-a-generation opportunity to support new type of commercial space business

Fifty years ago, an exceptional generation of men and women helped launch Americans into space and land NASA astronauts on the Moon. Today, the next generation of space travel is increasing the launch tempo on Florida’s Space Coast and creating new business opportunities for launch support services that have not been seen before. [Source: Space Coast Daily]

Iowa debacle could make Florida primary more important

The Democratic presidential nominating contest got off to a disastrous start last week when the Iowa caucus experienced a complete meltdown, but the candidates don’t have time to dwell on what happened in the caucus calamity. New Hampshire votes Tuesday, and Democrats in other states — including Florida — already are casting early ballots. Florida elections supervisors sent vote-by-mail ballots to military and overseas presidential primary voters at the beginning of February, and domestic ballots started going out last week. [Source: Sarasota Herald-Tribune]

Miami is the “most vulnerable” coastal city worldwide

Florida’s next two decades could be more disruptive than any period in its history as climate change threatens the state’s 8,500-mile coastline and chews away at its $1 trillion economy. New modeling by Resources for the Future, a nonpartisan economic think tank, reveals that “100-year floods” could occur every few years rather than once a century in many locations, endangering an additional 300,000 homes, 2,500 miles of roadways, 30 schools and four hospitals. [Source: Scientific American]

Tricky questions emerge for employers over medical marijuana in the workplace

A rapidly evolving set of state and local laws have reshaped the legal landscape concerning the use of marijuana. Once prohibited in all 50 states, marijuana has now gained some form of legality in all but three states. Yet the drug remains illegal under federal law. Because of these disparities, tricky questions have emerged for employers. [Source: Miami Herald]

ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› Miami’s Chinese New Year festival has been canceled. Coronavirus fears are to blame [Miami Herald]
The popular Chinese New Year Festival event that traditionally draws thousands to the Miami Dade College campus in Kendall for 32 years has been canceled. Officially the reasoning for the cancellation of the festival that was planned for Feb. 16 was given in vague fashion in a statement issued Friday: “In order to stand with the global family of Asia — especially China, the Asian-American Advisory Board regrets to announce the Chinese Cultural Foundation has decided to cancel the 2020 Chinese New Year Festival.”

› Facebook sued by Tampa workers who say they suffered trauma from watching videos [Tampa Bay Times]
Content moderators view the worst of the internet. In a new lawsuit, they say the job damaged their mental health and blame Facebook and subcontractor Cognizant for not following safety standards

› Double-digit profit gains at three Southwest Florida banks [Sarasota Herald-Tribune]
Southwest Florida’s three established community banks posted higher profits in 2019, while the region’s newest lender reported the expected loss. Sabal Palm Bank of Sarasota, Charlotte State Bank & Trust and Englewood Bank & Trust each put up double-digit earnings gains for the year, according to newly filed reports with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

› Florida travelers may get free orange juice again, thanks to Senate’s proposed budget [South Florida Sun-Sentinel]
Travelers might again get a free cup of Florida’s homegrown beverage when they cross the state line, through funding tucked in the Senate’s proposed budget. But helping the Department of Citrus bring back free orange juice could hinge on a bigger debate, as the operations of state welcome centers remain locked in a legislative battle about the fate of the tourism-marketing agency Visit Florida.

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› Fifth Third Bank, in reversal, says it will keep funding scholarships that go to anti-LGBTQ schools [South Florida Sun-Sentinel]
Fifth Third Bank reversed itself Friday and said it would continue to support a Florida scholarship program that sends some tuition money to Christian schools with anti-LGBTQ policies. The bank, which sent $5.4 million in 2018 to the school voucher program, said last week it would "not participate further until more inclusive policies have been adopted by all participating schools to protect the sexual orientation of all our students.”

› Why is car insurance so high in Florida? [Tampa Bay Times]
The average annual car insurance bill in Florida is $2,219, third highest in the country behind Michigan and Louisiana, according to Insure.com. At the other end of the range, Maine and Wisconsin averaged less than $1,000. The national average was $1,457.

› SeaWorld makes major changes to dolphin show. ‘Dolphin surfing’ is now a thing of the past [Miami Herald]
A SeaWorld tradition that has been and continues to be slowly torn down is trainer-involved shows with the theme park’s aquatic animals. Last month, the park said goodbye to a decades old tradition: SeaWorld’s Shamu show no longer includes killer whales doing tricks. “Orca Encounter,” a more educational show, was its replacement.

› Mayport’s newest warship welcomed by US Navy [Florida Times-Union]
The U.S. Navy’s newest littoral combat ship is one step closer to its Naval Station Mayport dock after the future USS St. Louis was officially delivered by Lockheed Martin. The almost 390-foot-long ship is the 10th Freedom-variant LCS designed, built and delivered, and will be commissioned in early August in Pensacola, the manufacturer said. It should arrive by mid-August at Mayport.