Florida's unemployment level has once again fallen. Unemployment for the state was down to 7.5 percent this month, the lowest level since October 2008. Florida once again remains below the national level.

The news isn't quite so rosy for Miami-Dade's numbers, though.

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Financial guru Suze Orman may be packing up her partner and her jacket collection and moving to a state that recognizes gay marriage if the Supreme Court overturns DOMA.

Orman currently lives in Fort Lauderdale with partner Kathy Travis, but the tax breaks that could come with federally recognized marriage could entice her to move elsewhere. Florida leaders should be concerned that Orman may not be the only wealthy gay person to do so.

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While Gov. Rick Scott was trumpeting the fact that Florida's overall unemployment rate was lower than the national average for the first time in five years, the picture is considerably bleaker here in Miami-Dade. According to local numbers released today, the county's unemployment rate is the highest its been in 12 months.

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Florida's economy slowly trudges on to something resembling recovery as numbers released today show that the state's unemployment rate is now below the national average for the first time in more than five years.

Florida's unemployment rate was 7.8 percent for January. The national average stood at 7.9 percent. A tiny difference, but that's a significant rate improvement for Florida.

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Florida's economy might not exactly be fully recovered, but one of our main industries broke a record last year. Tourists spent a combined $71.8 billion in Florida in 2012. That's an all-time record, and a 6.8 percent increase from 2011, which was also a record year.

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Earlier this month, news broke that the Perry Hotel will undergo its third name change in a little more than a year. The resort was formerly known as the Gansevoort but will soon close for a nearly a yearlong, $100 million renovation to reopen as the eco-friendly 1 Hotel.

Unfortunately, that means 138 hotel employees will soon be out jobs. 84 other jobs from connected companies will also be lost. 

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Former Hialeah Mayor and Miami-Dade mayoral candidate Julio Robaina could soon be indicted on charges of tax evasion and loan sharking soon, at least according to Local 10. The former Hialeah kingpin has been under investigation by federal agencies for three years now, and a defense attorney for another man involved in the crimes told Local 10's Bob Norman that he expects charges to come down soon.

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Florida Republicans are perhaps the most loyal lapdogs of the National Rifle Association. So maybe it's not much of a surprise that Rick Scott gave a gun manufacturer a "sweetheart" $1.6 million tax subsidy back in 2011.

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Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, one of four Florida Republicans to vote for the House's fiscal cliff compromise.

Chances are, when you heard that the GOP-controlled House had finally relented on a deal that kept the nation from plunging Wile E. Coyote-style off a fiscal cliff, you popped a little mental champagne. But even though the compromise prevents huge tax increases and keeps unemployment benefits in place, analysts this morning say it's also going to cost Floridians billions through a payroll tax increase.

The four Florida Republicans who voted for the bill -- including Miami's Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and Mario Diaz-Balart -- could be in for a rough ride from party loyalists over that fact.

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Lets party like it's November 2008. Yes, Florida's unemployment has dropped to its lowest level since that month.

The state released new unemployment figures for November 2012 today, and the rate now stands at 8.1 percent. That's a drop of 0.4 percent from the previous month's rate of 8.5 percent. It's only the second time since 1992 that the state has seen such a large month-to-month drop.

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