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Thursday's Daily Pulse
What you need to know about Florida today
› Art Smith, known for fried chicken and famous friends, brings his Southern flair to Tampa
The native Floridian was Oprah’s personal chef for years, and has cooked for Lady Gaga and Michelle Obama. Being a personal chef for famous people has allowed him to focus on food projects he is passionate about, like Common Threads, a healthy cooking program for at-risk kids that’s celebrating its 15th anniversary this year.
› Sarasota Orchestra proposes Payne Park for new concert hall
The Sarasota Orchestra, which has kept its supporters guessing for years about the possible location of a new concert hall, made a pitch to Sarasota city commissioners Tuesday night to build a new performance, administrative and education facility in the city-owned Payne Park.
› Florida's top environmental leader to keep job
The unanimous vote by the Cabinet — Attorney General Ashley Moody, Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried and Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis — supported Gov. Ron DeSantis’ recommendation to keep Valenstein as secretary of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. Former Gov. Rick Scott first appointed Valenstein to the $151,000-a-year job in May 2017.
› How much is tourism worth? More than $600 million in Pasco, study says.
Florida’s Sports Coast now knows the numbers it has to beat. Pasco County’s tourism industry provided a $615 million impact to the local economy, including $436 million in direct spending from the 965,000 people who visited Pasco in 2018.
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