Economic crocuses begin to emerge

For the last two years, Gary Jackson's monthly economic reports have spelled doom and gloom in graphic detail.

As director of the Regional Economic Research Institute at Florida Gulf Coast University in Fort Myers, it's Jackson's job to track various measures of the area's economic health. Every month, he sends via e-mail a detailed report with data such as airport traffic, unemployment and home sales.

But before you hit the delete button on February's report, scroll down to the bar charts showing the annual change in monthly taxable sales in Charlotte, Collier and Lee counties. For the first time in two years, December taxable sales in those three counties show small but positive year-over-year change.