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Monday's Daily Pulse
What you need to know about Florida today
› Shriners to close Tampa children’s clinic, lay off employees
Shriners Hospitals for Children plans to close Shriners Children’s Florida, the nonprofit’s only pediatric treatment facility in the Tampa Bay region. Once a hospital famed for its free treatment of children with burns or club feet, the facility at the University of South Florida transitioned to an outpatient-only clinic in 2019 specializing in orthopedic treatment. The nonprofit has provided health care at the site since 1985.
› SunRail’s future: Who will keep trains running when state steps aside?
From nearly a decade ago when SunRail became reality for Central Florida, a vexing mystery has gone unsolved. Who would become the commuter-rail system’s permanent parent and keep its trains in good repair and on schedule after the state transportation department steps aside. The stage is set to find out this year even as unfolding scenarios, said Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings, can seem “clear as mud.”
› Construction begins on Tiger Woods' golf venue
As the end nears for construction of the Sarasota PopStroke location, officials are expecting to fill 70 jobs to help run the entertainment venue. The Sarasota location is nearly complete with hiring fairs scheduled for Feb. 2-5 and Feb. 7-12 at the Homewood Suites Sarasota Lakeside Ranch. The property is on the east side of the University Town Center Mall in north Sarasota, outside Lakewood Ranch and just west of Interstate 75.
› Sarasota Opera returns to a season of grand works amid COVID-19 pandemic
In his 40 years of leading the Sarasota Opera, Artistic Director Victor DeRenzi has faced a variety of obstacles in building the company’s reputation as a home for the works of Verdi and productions that stay true to the intentions of the composers. But the COVID pandemic has been a unique challenge.
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