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Tuesday's Daily Pulse
What you need to know about Florida today
Coronavirus: Five things Florida workplaces should be doing now
If you think about the places you’re most likely to catch a virus, your workplace should be high on the list. Where else are you in such close contact with others, sharing spaces, equipment and air? Florida has two cases of the coronavirus in Manatee and Hillsborough counties that have now been confirmed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Although health officials say the threat remains low to Floridians, workplaces should still be proactive in preventing employees from contracting or spreading the virus, also known as COVID-19. [Source: Tampa Bay Times]
See also:
» Florida leaders seek to reassure the public as confirmed coronavirus cases rattle the tourist haven
» Coronavirus in Florida: What’s next?
» Disney, Florida theme parks on alert for coronavirus
» Florida coronavirus cases likely to grow, Gov. DeSantis warns, as CDC confirms 2 cases
» Coronavirus: Florida governor and surgeon general say threat to the public is ‘low’
» Rays take coronavirus precautions; Choi, Tsutsugo worried about homeland
» Ebola preparations gave Jacksonville-area hospitals ‘jump start’ for new virus
» Hillsborough coronavirus patient flew through Tampa International Airport, spokeswoman says
Opinion: Florida business owners should encourage employees on census
Florida is the third-largest and fourth-fastest growing state in the country. The upcoming federal 2020 Census count will be more important to our Sunshine State than perhaps any other state in the country. If Florida is underrepresented or misrepresented in the count, then it could cost our state millions of dollars in federal funding. So, why should you care, and how does it impact you or your business? Well, there are both financial and political implications that are tied to census numbers. [Source: Sarasota Herald-Tribune]
Florida Bar says ticket app practiced law without a license
The app offered to simplify one of the most arduous aspects of commuting in South Florida: disputing traffic tickets. Drivers just had to upload photos of their tickets, pay a flat fee, and get on with their lives as quickly as the traffic around Miami would allow. The app, TIKD, would find an attorney to take the case to court, and the traffic fines could be reduced or dismissed. But the startup hit a speed bump when traffic ticket attorneys complained to the Florida Bar that TIKD and its founder, Christopher Riley, were practicing law without a license. [Source: Bloomberg Law]
From wine to cars to man caves, luxury storage is big opportunity for host of players
Luxury storage projects are springing up across the west coast of Florida. Some cater to people with specific passions, like wine or cars. Others take a broader approach, appealing to people who have a variety of high-end items to store or who want to create a space where they can spend time with their favorite items surrounding them. [Source: Business Observer]
Florida lawmakers quietly pave way for new toll roads this session
Lawmakers likely won’t revisit their approval last year of a questionable plan to build more than 300 miles of toll roads through rural Florida. But they’re advancing multiple bills this year that could induce support for the project by showering benefits to those communities along the toll road routes. [Source: Tampa Bay Times]
ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:
› Joint venture buys Sarasota City Center
For the second time in three years, one of downtown Sarasota’s largest office buildings has changed hands. A joint venture led by Feldman Equities LLC of Tampa has acquired the 13-story Sarasota CIty Center, 1819 Main St., which is 80% occupied. The new owners bought the Class A property from The Dilweg Companies, which paid $36.5 million for it in April 2017. The property was most recently assessed for tax purposes at $31.4 million.
› Regions Bank appoints pair of new regional leaders
Regions Bank named a new top executive for its Southwest Florida market, appointing Senior Vice President of Commercial Banking Earnest Wilks to the position. Wilks, according to a statement, will be the bank’s Market Executive for Fort Myers and surrounding communities in Lee and Charlotte counties. The bank also named Jeff Hunt a senior vice president and consumer banking manager, leading branch-banking operations for Regions in both Fort Myers and Naples.
› Florida gun bills fail to catch fire as time grows short in 2020 legislative session
Time is beginning to run out for a score of gun bills languishing in committees as the Legislature begins week No. 8 of a nine-week legislative session. Nearly three dozen proposals related to gun rights are stuck in review panels that will not meet again this year. Just three others remain viable and could make it out of committee — but because of the number of bills still waiting to be heard, they may not get introduced to the House and Senate floors.
› St. Petersburg Hofbräuhaus posts ‘closed’ sign. Is this the end?
It appears to be the end for the St. Petersburg Hofbräuhaus. The Hofbräuhaus owners have been tangled in a lawsuit since the fall, when its landlord filed a lawsuit saying the restaurant missed rent over the summer.
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