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Wednesday's Daily Pulse
What you need to know about Florida today
Newly signed COVID relief package could have big impact on Florida businesses
Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, around 70% of all business partnerships were shown to fail. But now, all across the country, businesses of all kinds are being forced to shut their doors — either temporarily or permanently — as a response to our current health crisis. While Florida has done everything possible to keep businesses open during this time, many organizations are still hurting as a result of a severely reduced tourism industry and an increased emphasis on staying home. But the newly signed COVID-19 relief package, which was passed by Congress just before Christmas, could bring some much-needed help to small businesses in the Sunshine State. [Source: South Florida Reporter]
Long lines, crashing websites, conflicting information confound COVID-19 vaccine rollout to Florida seniors
Scenes of waiting, confusion and frustration played out across the state as medical systems and counties scrambled to create distribution systems for groups they hadn't expected to vaccinate for at least a week or two. "If you're opening it up to everyone in Florida 65 and older, then you'd better have a plan," said Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease expert at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in Nashville, Tennessee. That hasn't necessarily been the case in the Sunshine State, where the chaotic coronavirus vaccine rollout for people 65 and older may be a lesson for the rest of the nation, as a decentralized, county-based public health system copes with overwhelming demand. More from USA Today, the Orlando Sentinal, and the Miami Herald.
Florida families struggle more than national average with food, housing, health care
In less than three months, the Florida Legislature will convene to pass new policies and set priorities for the state budget. Childcare experts are hoping a new report on the pandemic's impact on children will help guide their decisions. The latest Kids Count report - Kids, Families and COVID-19: Pandemic Pain Points and the Urgent Need to Respond - said Florida’s families are struggling at higher percentages than families nationwide when it comes to food security, housing stability, and affordable health care. [Source: WUSF]
Florida sports wagering bills filed to spur stalled Seminole pact negotiations
With states scrambling for revenue to boost pandemic-stressed budgets, it’s a good bet a raft of sports gambling bills will be approved by lawmakers across the nation in 2021 – including in Florida. With a projected $3 billion shortfall in revenue over the next two years and after two sessions of not passing gambling legislation, lawmakers will likely be amenable to measures that create new revenue without raising taxes when Florida’s 60-day legislative session begins March 2. More from the Center Square and WJXT.
Sex, drugs and pickleball: What a 24-year-old filmmaker learned about growing old in the Villages
In the new film “Some Kind of Heaven,” there is a drug scandal, nonstop parties, gallons of cocktails and a scheming Don Juan who would be right at home in the Vince Vaughn comedy “Old School.” But this is not some college-age romp cleverly scripted for the young and the restless — in fact, there’s no script at all. “Some Kind of Heaven” is a documentary, a beautifully composed, deeply personal examination of four lives playing out among the old and the restless at the Villages, the sprawling retirement community northwest of Orlando. [Source: South Florida Sun-Sentinel]
ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:
› Visit Orlando hires Cassandra Matej as new CEO amid COVID-19 crisis
Visit Orlando said Tuesday it has hired Casandra Matej, a tourism executive from Texas, to be its next CEO, a leader immediately faced with the task of helping the region rebound from the coronavirus pandemic. Matej, president and CEO of Visit San Antonio, will replace retiring Visit Orlando leader George Aguel who said in August he wanted to step down to spend more time with his family after seven years on the job.
› Popular Texas Japanese spot is bringing fancy sushi and fried milk to Wynwood
The first Uchi Japanese restaurant started in a bungalow in Austin, Texas in 2003. Now, it’s coming to Wynwood. The popular brand, with restaurants in Austin, Dallas, Houston and Denver, was created by the Hai Hospitality group and Chef Tyson Cole, who won a James Beard award for best chef in the Southwest in 2011.
› Tampa-based College H.U.N.K.S. Hauling Junk helps those in need
Perhaps you’ve seen the orange moving trucks around with the green logo of a strong man holding up the words “College H.U.N.K.S.” The acronym stands for honest, uniformed, nice, knowledgeable, service. And in 2020, Tampa-based College H.U.N.K.S. Hauling Junk and Moving lived up to its name by moving more than 100 victims of domestic violence free of charge and by providing more than 1.6 million meals for Feeding Children Everywhere.
› Westfield Siesta Key mall in Sarasota has a new owner
Starting next year, Westfield Siesta Key mall in Sarasota will no longer be a Westfield property. The 435,000-square-foot mall, at U.S. 41 and Siesta Drive in the city of Sarasota, is now owned and operated by O'Connor Capital Partners, a real estate development, investment and management firm with offices in New York, Palm Beach and Mexico City.
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