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Monday's Daily Pulse
What you need to know about Florida today
Many Florida COVID-19 workers’ comp claims rejected
Thousands of Florida workers, including people on the front lines battling the coronavirus pandemic, say they have gotten infected with COVID-19. But state numbers show that insurers have refused to pay nearly half of the workers’ compensation insurance claims filed by first responders, health care professionals and other workers. More from WJXT and the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
Oil drilling off Florida’s coast looms on the horizon this election season
With voter attention consumed by crises — the pandemic, racism and a fishtailing economy — a decades-long fight over the future of offshore oil drilling in Florida is approaching a critical point. Even though the spotlight has faded since the “drill, baby, drill” days of elections past, those who have spent years lobbying say the prospect of new drilling has not seemed nearer since before the Deepwater Horizon spill. [Source: Tampa Bay Times]
Edibles could boost Florida's medical marijuana sales by $200M annually
The addition of edibles to Florida’s medical marijuana market could boost a projected near-$1 billion in 2020 cannabis sales by 20 percent, or $200 million, industry analysts said. The Florida Office of Medical Marijuana Use (OMMU) released long-awaited guidelines for medical marijuana edibles Wednesday night, three years after voters approved a constitutional amendment legalizing medical marijuana and one year after state lawmakers lifted a ban on smokable medical marijuana. [Source: The Center Square]
SpaceX launches satellite for Argentina after scrub of morning Starlink launch
SpaceX didn’t wind up launching two rockets on the same day after all, but it did manage just before sunset to send up one carrying a satellite for Argentina that can monitor the environment for things such as landslides or oil spills. At 7:19 p.m. a Falcon 9 rocket carrying the SAOCOM 1B satellite lifted off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station’s launch complex 40. It was SpaceX’s first-ever polar orbit launch from the Cape, meaning the payload will fly along the eastern coast of Florida. [Source: Orlando Sentinel]
Forecasters watch 3 disturbances as we near peak of hurricane season
With the peak of hurricane season less than two weeks away, National Hurricane Center forecasters continue monitoring two tropical waves in the Atlantic and a low pressure area that could develop in the coming week. First, a tropical wave located several hundred miles east of the Windward Islands is already is producing showers and thunderstorms. It has a 20% chance of becoming a tropical depression in the next 48 hours and a 30% chance over the next five days. More from the Orlando Sentinel and the Miami Herald.
ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:
› Miami-Dade mayor reopening casinos Monday, banking on COVID continuing to improve
Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez will allow casinos to reopen Monday after an eight-week closure, lifting restrictions on the entertainment hubs on the same day he lets restaurants resume indoor dining. The announced regulations prohibit drinks and food at slot machines and gambling tables, and customers must wear masks while playing. Like restaurant dining rooms, casinos must limit customers to 50% of maximum capacity.
› UF students use down time to create commerce
University of Florida students are getting down to business. With little to do when the world seemingly closed down in mid-March, some students turned their boredom into creativity and started social media businesses.
› Sarasota school enrollment shrinking, hiring freezes in place
No one ever knows for sure exactly how many students will show up for the first day of school, but COVID-19 has turned the annual guessing game into a full-blown mystery. Sarasota County School District officials are bracing for a potential steep decline in enrollment when schools open Monday, which could bring with it a reduction in state funding.
› Kamala Harris to launch Hispanic outreach program in Miami-Dade, focused on small business
The new program, called “Nuestros Negocios, Nuestros Futuros,” will partner with Latino business owners to spread the word about Biden’s plan to encourage entrepreneurship among Hispanic communities, while involving them in the campaign’s Hispanic voter outreach efforts.
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