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Wednesday's Daily Pulse
What you need to know about Florida today
'Hitting the accelerator': Florida tourism leaders eye resurgence amid COVID-19 pandemic
Tourism leaders are focusing on the resurgence this year in the number of people visiting Florida, as the state continues grappling with a spike in COVID-19 cases. In a brief conference call, industry leaders praised Visit Florida's marketing efforts during the past year, after the pandemic caused a dramatic decline in tourists in 2020. “We probably should not even talk about 2020,” Visit Florida President and CEO Dana Young said while outlining a 223.4 percent improvement in visitors during the second quarter of 2021 compared to the second quarter last year. [Source: News Service of Florida]
COVID hitting kids, teens harder than any other demographic in Florida
Children and teenagers now have higher coronavirus positivity rates than any other demographic in Florida, according to the latest data from the state's health department. As the virus's highly contagious Delta variant continues to rage across the U.S., data from Florida shows that one in every four new infections involves someone 19 or younger. Children aged 12 and younger now have a test positivity rate of 23 percent, according to the most recent weekly report. [Source: Newsweek]
Florida missing out on millions of dollars in federal aid for childhood hunger
Florida has apparently “made no effort” to apply for $820 million in pandemic SNAP benefits intended to help more than 2 million low-income children have enough to eat during the summer, advocates charged Tuesday, making it one of only a handful of states failing to do so. The funds, made available under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, would cover up to 90 days of summer break between school years — a one-time bonus of $375 in benefits per child under SNAP, the Supplemental Food Assistance Program, or food stamps. More from the Orlando Sentinel and the Tampa Bay Times.
Florida Elections Commission gearing up for looming challenges
Gov. Ron DeSantis has appointed three members to the Florida Elections Commission (FEC), including a chair, meaning the elections watchdog now has the required quorum and can meet for the first time since May. The three are the first appointments DeSantis has made to the nine-member commission since assuming office in January 2019. The panel is now manned by four appointees whose terms have expired. Because the FEC did not have a five-person quorum, its Aug. 17 hearings were rescheduled for Aug. 31. [Source: The Center Square]
The next named storms of hurricane season could form this weekend
Three potential cyclones were being monitored in the Atlantic by the National Hurricane Center on Tuesday. Two of the disturbances were given a 60 percent chance of formation in the next five days. Meteorologists say those disturbances — one in the southeast Caribbean Sea, the other in the mid-Atlantic — could become tropical depressions by the end of this week. [Source: Tampa Bay Times]
ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:
› In Gibsonton, engineers want to return an old fish farm to nature
Before invasive shrubs swallowed the land, the lot near the edge of Tampa Bay was home to a couple hundred ponds full of tropical fish, the type that fill glass aquariums. Then the farm’s owner abandoned the property, and Brazilian peppertree crept over the ground off Kracker Avenue, obscuring the narrow old pools in a thick, green tangle. This summer, heavy equipment operators have started to bulldoze the site west of U.S. 41 S.
› Another cryptocurrency exchange is opening a Miami office, hiring 100
Another cryptocurrency exchange is opening a Miami office — and announcing that it is sponsoring Florida’s premier hackathon. San Francisco-based Okcoin said Tuesday it planned to hire 100 Miami-based employees for a new location in Brickell. That makes it the fourth cryptocurrency exchange to announce a Miami presence, after FTX, eToro and Blockchain.com.
› Venice city manager rescinds special event permits because of the rising impact of COVID-19
The city of Venice reinstituted a ban on special event permits, effective Tuesday – a decision that will impact everything from the Friday night concerts in the park and Venice Farmers Market to the Downtown Venice Labor Day Weekend Craft festival. City Manager Ed Lavallee told the Venice City Council that he made the decision Monday, because of the increasing number of COVID-19 positives attributed to the delta variant.
› Florida Blue parent acquiring health care services firm in Puerto Rico
Jacksonville-based GuideWell Mutual Holding Corp., parent of Florida Blue, announced a $900 million deal Aug. 24 to acquire a health care services company in Puerto Rico. GuideWell agreed to buy San Juan-based Triple-S Management Corp., a publicly traded company that provides services under the Blue Cross and Blue Shield brand.
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