The Florida Department of Agriculture announced today that Commissioner Adam Putnam, in partnership with the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, will host a panel discussion commemorating 500 years of agriculture in Florida on Jan. 24.

The Sun Sentinel reports on a new survey that shows that 58 percent of Florida business owners are optimistic that the health of their businesses will be better off after one year than they are today, this after 2012 proved to be a year of improved health for their companies.

The survey was performed byCPA firm Kaufman, Rossin & Co.

Reuters reports that sources sayApollo Global Management and Six Flags are both exploring the possibility of purchasingSeaWorld Parks & Entertainment, which is presently owned by the Blackstone Group. Blackstone hasn't decided whether to sell SeaWorld to a private company or put it on the stock market as a public offering.

The Wikimedia Foundation has announced that Wikipedia and other services are moving their primary operations from their Tampa-based data center to one in Ashburn, Va., though the Tampa location will continue to be used as a backup center.

One of the reasons for the move is said to be the lower risk of hurricanes in Virginia than in the Sunshine State.

The Orlando Sentinel reports that two drones, costing taxpayers $50,000, have been donated to the Orange Countysheriff's department by the Obama administration.

"This is not about intruding,'' Sheriff Jerry Demings said at a demonstration of the drones. "We're not going into any homes.''

The Sun Sentinel reports that Judge Robert N. Scola of theU.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida has released one of two South Florida imams who were charged with collectively sending some $50,000 to the Pakistan Taliban since 2008.

News Talk WDBO reports thatWorld Changers of Florida, a Christian organization, is placing Bibles on unmanned public school lunch tables in Orange County, with students free to pick them up or ignore them as they please.

Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi announced Thursday that $60 million of the national mortgage settlement with the nations five largest mortgage servicers will now be available to provide additional assistance to Floridians. Bondis proposal, which was approved by the Legislative Budget Commission today, includes the following, according to a press release from her office:

$35 million for down payment assistance;

$10 million for housing counseling;

$5 million provided to the state courts to help with foreclosure-related issues;

R Street, a free-market think tank headquartered in Washington, D.C., has released a new report that urges Florida's legislators to cut off all home insurance subsidies to residents building new homes in undeveloped wetlands and barrier islands along the Gulf and Atlantic coasts, as well as undeveloped coastal barriers along the Florida Keys.

Congressman Ted Yoho, R-Fla., has issued the following statement following President Obamas controversial Wednesday press conference: