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Thursday's Daily Pulse
What you need to know about Florida today
Many Floridians struggling to find work despite job surge
Touting 15 months of job growth, Florida leaders say the Sunshine State is on an upswing. Florida Department of Economic Opportunity announced private-sector employers added more than 63,900 jobs in July. While the data does not reveal whether these are newly-created jobs or a thaw of furloughed positions, there is no overlooking the optimistic portrait the state paints about jobs. But there remains uncertainty of when Florida’s workforce will again match levels seen before the pandemic. [Source: Spectrum News]
Florida cryptocurrency users gain another trading platform after state OKs Blockchain.com
At least three cryptocurrency exchanges can now be accessed by Florida residents — the latest is a $5 billion London-based exchange now hiring for dozens of jobs in Miami. Blockchain.com announced Tuesday it had received approval for a money transmitter license from the state, meaning Florida users can now legally buy and sell Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies on its platform. [Source: Miami Herald]
Florida restaurants plead with Congress for more help
The delta variant-driven summer surge of COVID-19 is starting again to discourage people from going out to eat, leaving restaurants very concerned and pleading for more help from Congress. “We concluded that a majority of consumers have changed their dining behavior in a manner that is beginning to put acute pressure back on the restaurant industry,” National Restaurant Association Executive Vice President Sean Kennedy wrote in a letter Tuesday to congressional leaders. Dozens of state restaurant associations, including the Florida Restaurant & Lodging Association, co-signed the letter seeking another round of relief money. [Source: Florida Politics]
Legal battle over protest law could offer grammar lesson
Parsing sentences might be a lost art, but attorneys in a court battle over a controversial Florida law that targets violent protests might want to brush up on their grammar skills in advance of a hearing next week. Chief U.S. District Judge Mark Walker this week ordered attorneys to diagram wording in part of the law (HB 1), which, among other things, enhances existing penalties and creates new crimes related to violent protests. Groups including the Dream Defenders and the Florida State Conference of the NAACP filed the lawsuit in May, alleging that the measure will have a “chilling” effect on protected speech and violates equal-protection and due-process rights. [Source: News Service of Florida]
Black Entrepreneurs in South Florida reflect on their journey through COVID and BLM
Nzingah Oniwosan was one of thousands of Black Americans who started new businesses in 2020, a year that saw more Black entrepreneurial growth than at any time in the last 25 years, according to the Kauffman Foundation’s annual report. As a small business owner, she is among a small but growing community of Black South Florida entrepreneurs who’ve weathered everything from self-doubt and negative stigmas to COVID-related shutdowns. [Source: Miami Herald]
ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:
› Future plans for Lake Eola, Orlando’s signature park, to be revealed
Plans for the next generation of Lake Eola Park are set to be unveiled Thursday, creating a roadmap to the first drastic renovation of Orlando’s signature park since Ronald Reagan was president. The plan, crafted by GAI Consultants, is expected to include changes spanning from infrastructure upgrades to new amenities, including new restrooms and shaded seating at the Walt Disney Amphitheater, said John Perrone, Orlando’s Parks Division manager.
› Groups line up behind electric rate increase to expand solar power
Two more organizations have signed on to a proposed settlement that would lead to Florida Power & Light raising base electric rates and expanding solar energy. Vote Solar and The CLEO Institute, which have taken part in the rate case at the Florida Public Service Commission, joined the proposed settlement, according to a document filed at the commission.
› Local nonprofits prepare to resettle Afghan refugees in Tampa Bay area
Afghan refugees have the choice to make Tampa Bay their new home. Some already have. Gulf Coast Jewish Family and Community Services has settled six people from Afghanistan and is preparing for four more next week. “We don’t have an idea of how many will come,” said Sylvia Acevedo, the nonprofit’s senior director of refugee and employment services. The group settles up to 100 refugees each year.
› Firm hunts Miami Beach Convention Center naming rights deal
Newly retained Spectra Partnerships is reaching out for naming rights and sponsorship partners for the City of Miami Beach, with the Miami Beach Convention Center and the North Beach Bandshell focuses of efforts at a time events have suffered mass cancellations in the pandemic. The sponsorship marketing firm, which represents sales and offers strategic consulting services for entertainment properties across the US, is in the midst of conversations with companies interested in the opportunity to become the naming rights partner for the Miami Beach Convention Center, said Senior Vice President of Spectra Partnerships Bryan Furey.
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