Last week's failure by Florida's legislature to approve funding to help the Miami Dolphins' management renovate Sun Life stadium, and the related cancellation of a special Miami-Dade county referendum on a proposal to increase hotel taxes to provide these funds, have received mixed reaction from the public.

Although the majority of South Floridians seemingly do not favor the provision of public funds, even as a loan for the renovations, a significant percentage of residents are disappointed that without public funding the renovations could be canceled and if so, the region would lose the opportunity to host Super Bowl 50 in 2016.

Successful sport franchises like the Miami Dolphins are very important to the municipalities in which they are located, especially if they are competitive nationally, as they attract significant funding directly and indirectly. A good example is the positive economic benefits being derived in Miami over the past three years from the national high profile successes of the basketball franchise, the Miami Heat.

There is not much argument against the plans of Miami Dolphins'owners to renovate Sun Life stadium and enhance the facilities in their bid to host the 50th anniversary of the National Football League's Super Bowl. This golden jubilee Super Bowl will definitely attract tremendous publicity to the host city, plus huge financial gains from the flood of anticipated visitors.

The U.S. jobs report for April, in an economy struggling with high unemployment since 2008, was rightfully received with much enthusiasm. While many economists and financial analysts predicted employment growth of 140,000, April's report saw an increase of 165,000 which reduced the unemployment rate to 7.5 percent, the lowest since 2008. The report quickly created a surge in the stock market pushing the Dow Jones index to a record of over 15,000 points within a few hours after the report was released.

However, as encouraging as the report was about the nation's economy, it is really a "glass half full, glass half empty" situation. The 7.5 percent unemployment rate is still much too high. When translated, it means some 12 million Americans are still unemployed. This number is based on those persons who were involved in job search four weeks prior to the compilation of the report. It is generally estimated that another six million persons have been unable to find work and have stopped searching.

This adjusted unemployment number of some 18 million persons are soon to be joined by approximately one million high school and college graduates later this month, further underscoring theformidable challenges which still face the nation to ensure the other half of the employment glass is quickly filled.

Also perceiving the glass as half empty is the recognition that there is still a long way to go to achieve the unemployment rate of 4.5 percent which existed before the 2008/9 recession and, when millions are added to the labor force each year, more water is taken from the proverbial glass.

There are several areas of concerns which must be addressed by the combined private and public sector to ensure a sharper decline in unemployment.

For example, more full time jobs are needed in the manufacturing and construction sectors. The April report indicated that most of the jobs were temporary and part-time jobs in the service industry(31,000), in restaurants and bars (38,000) and the retail industry (29,000). These are almost 100,000 low paying jobs, not enough to drive real economic growth.

When Florida Governor Rick Scott made the surprise announcement earlier this year to accept the Medicaid expansion provision in the federal Affordable Care Act (Obamacare), there was cautious optimism that his willingness to extend healthcare coverage to an additional 1.1 million low-income Floridians could be accepted by Florida's legislature. Now with the legislature in its final week of the 2013 session, it seems to be leaving behind a healthcare crisis.
Under Obamacare, low-income Floridians and other Americans, earning up to 133 percent of the federal poverty line (individuals earning below $14,856 annually) and who cannot meet the mandatory requirement to purchase health insurance under the healthcare law, are provided coverage by the expansion of Medicaid.
This is in contrast to the Florida House plan that declines the federal money to expand Medicaid and curtails assistance to people earning above 100 percent of the poverty line, which means only single individuals earning below $11,000, or a family of three earning below $19,500, would qualify.
Ignoring criticism and pressure from various groups to reconsider its posture, the House instead voted 71-45 for their alternative Medicaid program that would offer assistance to only 130,000 low-income residents who earn up to $11,000 annually. Under this plan, recipients would be given $2,000 annually to enable them to choose their own privately owned insurance.

Last week, Jamaica's Minister of National Security Peter Bunting came under criticism, and even ridicule for saying that only divine intervention could help the nation solve crime. Bunting's critics interpreted his statement to mean that he is unable to cope with the perpetual violent crime problem.

Despite the efforts of successive national security ministers and the security forces, frustration and fear grow in Jamaica over the crime situation. A recent study disclosed that fewer Jamaicans living in the Diaspora are returning home to reside after retirement than in previous years, because of fear generated by crime.

Since the general crime fighting efforts have not seriously reduced crime, one can understand Bunting seeking divine intervention. However, even if the good Lord does intervene, Jamaica still needs its leaders and the general public to take a more sensible approach to solving the crime problem.

A key characteristic of crime in the country is that it is centered in the low-income, poorer communities of Kingston, St. Andrew, St. Catherine, St. James and Clarendon. Unfortunately, in Kingston and St. Andrew, the largest urban area, one gets the perception of two distinct societies: the "privileged" and the "less privileged." Whilst the people in lower income communities tend to commit gang-related crimes against each other, the higher income society remains seemingly unbothered and insulated even when these violent communities are within close proximity. However, once crime impacts the elite society with well known members becoming victims, it becomes major news accompanied by a deafening uproar.