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A decades-old proposal to alleviate traffic congestion in one of the fastest-growing areas of Seminole County — between State Road 417 and Orlando Sanford International Airport — has taken a step closer to becoming reality.

At a recent meeting of the Central Florida Expressway Authority governing board, transportation officials recommended two routes for a two-lane tolled thoroughfare — narrowing it from an original five.

The routes show northbound drivers getting on the new connector road near the Lake Jesup toll plaza on SR 417 — also known as the Seminole County Expressway — and traveling northeast, then north onto Red Cleveland Boulevard directly into the airfield north of Lake Mary Boulevard.

Will Hawthorne, CFX director of transportation, planning and policy, told the board Feb. 13 that the routes “would be the least impactful” to existing residential areas than two others coming from the toll plaza.

Drivers traveling south on SR 417 would be unable to directly access the toll road from any of the four proposed routes. read more

Out of all of the foreign investment sources that have pumped cash into South Florida real estate, financial institutions, and new businesses over the years, Saudi Arabia is a nation that at best has a nominal presence in the region.

But this past week, amid a major public relations lift from President Donald Trump at a Miami Beach investment conference sponsored by the country’s Public Investment Fund, the oil-rich nation announced plans to locate an investment office in Miami, its second in the U.S. after Washington, D.C.

In addition to placing investments domestically, Saudi Arabia will use the office as a “gateway” to South America, Minister of Investment Khalid Bin Abdulaziz Al-Falih told an audience at a Thursday panel discussion,  “Enabling Purpose: How to Create Resilient Economies for Uncertain Times.” The panel included Miami Mayor Francis X. Suarez, who made the announcement official.

“It seems like it was just yesterday that I was in Riyadh announcing that FII was coming to Miami,” Suarez told the audience. “In line with the city’s emphasis on being the capital of capital, and strengthening its ties to the countries in the Middle East … today we are announcing the Ministry of Investment of Saudi Arabia is opening an Invest Saudi office here in the City of Miami.” read more

By BERNARD CONDON

NEW YORK (AP) — Elon Musk’s cost-cutting team is eliminating jobs at the vehicle safety agency that oversees Tesla and has launched investigations into deadly crashes involving his company’s cars.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has cut a “modest” amount of positions, according to a statement from the agency. Musk has accused NHTSA of holding back progress on self-driving technology with its investigations and recalls.

Asked about whether the cuts would impact any probes into Tesla, the agency referred to its statement that says it will “enforce the law on all manufacturers of motor vehicles and equipment.”

The job cuts at NHTSA enacted by Musk’s advisory group on shrinking the federal government, the Department of Government Efficiency, was earlier reported by The Washington Post.

In addition to investigations into Tesla’s partially automated vehicles, NHTSA has mandated that Tesla and other automakers using self-driving technology report crash data on vehicles, a requirement that Tesla has criticized and that watchdogs fear could be eliminated. read more

Reports that Long & Scott Farms in Zellwood might sell out to developers has new Lake County Commissioner Anthony Sabatini’s attention.

The former member of the Florida House of Representatives won a seat on the commission last fall, and has posted to Facebook that he’s going to have county staff reach out to the owners of the nearly 700-acre farm near the Lake-Orange County line after news broken by GrowthSpotter earlier this month revealed the owners were looking to sell after more than 60 years in business.

“I would strongly support Lake County taking a robust role in working with the owners to add this land to the county’s future land buying program and for it to remain as agriculture,” Sabatini posted. “We cannot allow the essential agricultural landmarks of our community to be replaced.”

Sabatini wants to find out where the owners are in the contract process, and has added it to the commission’s Tuesday budget for discussion.

Located northwest of Apopka and east of Astatula, the farm began when Frank Scott Jr. moved to Central Florida from Virginia partnering with friend Billy Long to buy 100 acres for $500 and set up the farm in 1963, according to the farm’s website. At one point, the farm grew to 1,200 acres, but underwent changes in the late 1990s when surrounding muck farms sold, Long retired and Scott handed off running what was left to his son Hank Scott. read more

By STAN CHOE

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks fell sharply after reports showed worries about President Donald Trump’s policies may be hitting the economy. The S&P 500 sank 1.7% Friday for its worst day in two months. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1.7%, and the Nasdaq composite tumbled 2.2%. One report suggested U.S. business activity is close to stalling, with optimism slumping because of worries about tariffs and other potential policies from Washington. Reports on consumer sentiment and home sales also came in weaker than expected. Akamai Technologies weighed on the market after giving financial forecasts that fell short of expectations. Treasury yields fell in the bond market.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are falling sharply Friday after reports showed worries about President Donald Trump’s policies may be hitting the U.S. economy.