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Wednesday's Daily Pulse
What you need to know about Florida today
Consumer sentiment experiences small decline in May
After two months of consecutive increases, consumer sentiment among Floridians dropped 1.4 points in May to 81.6 from a revised figure of 83 in April, while the national consumer sentiment plummeted 5.4 points. Among the five components that make up the index, two increased and three decreased. Floridians’ opinions about current economic conditions were more optimistic in May. Views of personal financial situations now compared with a year ago increased three-tenths of a point from 72.6 to 72.9. [Source: UF News]
Nikki Fried announces bid for Florida governor, showdown with DeSantis
Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried is Florida’s only Democrat in statewide office and effectively, the head of the state’s Democratic party. But even still, many Floridians don’t know who the agriculture commissioner is or what they do. Now, three years after pulling off a historic win, Fried is making another run at re-introducing herself. [Source: Tampa Bay Times]
Hurricane season is here. Here’s a forecast, what you should do and where to get answers
Welcome to the 2021 Atlantic hurricane season. June 1 is the first official day of the season —even though we already saw Tropical Storm Ana form near Bermuda last month. Forecasters are predicting another “above average” hurricane season this year, although we shouldn’t see as many storms as the record-breaking season in 2020. And just like last year, Florida’s hurricane prep in 2021 includes COVID-19 safety protocols. [Source: Miami Herald]
How a Florida bill becomes a law, explained
Lawmaking in Florida is complicated. During Florida’s yearly 60-day legislative session, bills bounce around the state House and Senate in a way that can be hard to follow. Legislation gets amended, bills die in committee and many of the decisions about what will pass and what won’t are made behind the scenes. [Source: Tampa Bay Times]
Apalachicola region trying to recover after losing water war, oyster industry
The jobs lost in the Apalachicola Bay’s shuttered oyster industry won’t be easy to replace. But green shoots are sprouting in the form of two new industries about 23 miles away. The town of Port St. Joe now has a commercial shipyard and an export facility for biomass destined for power generating plants in Honduras. [Source: Saporta Report]
ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:
Tallahassee sees surge in new car wash businesses
Car wash locations are easy to find in the capital — and more are on the way. On Ocala Road and West Tennessee Street, construction crews are working to erect a modern Blue Water Express Car Wash. In 2004, the first Blue Water Car Wash opened in Dothan, Alabama. In Tallahassee, a Blue Water Car Wash opened on Capital Circle Northeast in 2018.
› $1.1 billion riverfront master plan proposed for Downtown Jacksonville
Jacksonville developer Steve Atkins says he wants to lead a nearly $1.1 billion redevelopment of mostly city-owned property, including the former Jacksonville Landing, on a stretch of the Downtown Northbank riverfront. At an invitation-only event June 1 at the Florida Theatre, Atkins presented his “Riverfront Jacksonville” redevelopment plan for about 25 acres along the St. Johns River.
› This St. Petersburg bank is taking on climate change, and it opened this week
Days before Climate First Bank opened, Ken LaRoe already had $75 million worth of loans in the pipeline. That’s a good start, one that led him to believe people are buying into what the company is selling. But he also couldn’t help feeling a little nervous.
› Influential Silicon Valley firm, now in Miami, is looking for a local startup founder
Atomic, the venture group founded in 2012 by serial entrepreneur Jack Abraham that launched companies like publicly traded telehealth group Hims & Hers and home rental service Bungalow, is creating the Future Founders Miami program to match entrepreneurship leaders with Miami-based companies aimed at solving big problems.
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