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Friday's Afternoon Update
What you need to know about Florida today
How Florida's workplaces have evolved to help kids learn at home
Many Floridians have had to adjust their work lives to accommodate their children who are learning remotely during the coronavirus pandemic. To the surprise of some employers and employees, the results have been positive. The pandemic is actually making American workers more productive, to the surprise of many employers. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Aug. 14 that business productivity increased 7.3% in the second quarter of 2020 as the virus was peaking, even though hours worked fell 43%. More from the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
Stein Mart workers face uncertain job market
There are opportunities in Jacksonville for Stein Mart employees who are losing their jobs, but the available roles may be in different lines of work. Around 500 people in Jacksonville will lose their job because the off-price fashion retailer is going out of business, according to an estimate from the company’s lead independent director, Richard Sisisky. More from the Jacksonville Daily Record.
Mount Dora nursery with medical marijuana license sells for $14 million
A nursery in Florida’s medical marijuana industry just sold its Mount Dora location to a real estate investment trust based in New York, according to a report in GrowthSpotter. According to a recently filed deed in Lake County, GreenAcreage Real Estate Corp. paid $14 million for a 28.6-acre nursery at 4055 Britt Road. The sellers, Robert and Donald DeLeon, bought the property in 1999 for $228,000. At the site, the family ran a nursery by the name of DeLeon’s Bromeliads and Orchids. More from the Orlando Sentinel.
Attorneys who helped JEA create potential $1 billion bonus plan had serious concerns
Days after the Jacksonville City Council auditor created a firestorm by revealing a controversial JEA bonus plan could have paid out hundreds of millions of dollars — a characterization the utility’s executives vigorously disputed at the time — an attorney at an outside law firm that worked for months creating the bonus plan warned his colleagues that his own research showed the payouts could have amounted to $1 billion. More from the Florida Times-Union.
Hurricane forecasters are monitoring two tropical waves far in the Atlantic for possible development
Hurricane forecasters are watching two tropical waves — one in the central Atlantic and one off the coast of Africa — for possible development, the National Hurricane Center said. It’s too early to tell whether either will produce a tropical cyclone or poses a threat to South Florida or elsewhere. But the two potential storms are taking shape in the part of the Atlantic that serves as a hurricane assembly line at this time of year. More from the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
Health Trends
Florida doctors see spike in migraines amid the coronavirus pandemic
It’s safe to say 2020 has had its share of ups and downs. But, if you’ve found yourself having more headaches than usual, you are not alone. Florida is one of nearly a dozen states where doctors are seeing large spikes in what they're calling stress headaches.
» More from First Coast News.
Florida Dining
Long live the mountain of fries. This Westchester Cuban restaurant won’t close after all
Fans of Río Cristal Cuban restaurant came from far and wide when they read that the Westchester restaurant would be closing after 46 years. They came from Naples and Ocala, one from as far as Georgia, to get one last taste of Río Cristal’s signature thin Palomilla steak covered in a mountain of crispy French fries before it closed Aug. 31. A line stretched down the block the day the news broke, and for several days after, the restaurant sold out of steaks. It was a show of support capable of changing changes minds.
» Read more from the Miami Herald.
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