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Monday's Daily Pulse
What you need to know about Florida today
› To cut algae in St. Johns, Jacksonville weighs pilot project to filter city's drainage
Eyeing a looming deadline to cut algae-feeding pollution in the St. Johns River, Jacksonville officials want to test new equipment to filter debris from rainwater in the city’s drainage systems. The city’s Environmental Protection Board endorsed a $274,000 pilot project this week to measure how well a device with the unsexy name of a nutrient-separating baffle box will lower the amount of nitrogen and phosphorus flowing toward the Trout River (a St. Johns tributary) through a drainage line on Carbondale Drive East.
› Sarasota-Manatee unemployment dips under 3%
Unemployment in Sarasota-Manatee fell below 3% in February for the first time since 2019, as the number of people actively seeking work decreased slightly compared to the month before. The combined unemployment rate for Sarasota and Manatee counties was 2.8% in February, 1.8 percentage points lower than February 2021, and a slight dip from January's rate of 3.1%.
› ‘A wing and a prayer:’ 2 women behind Playalinda Brewing credit Titusville community for success
“A wing and a prayer.” That’s what started one of Titusville’s first breweries just over seven years ago. Playalinda Brewing Company opened its first location in Titusville’s historic district in November 2014, making it the first microbrewery in the area, according to its website. Donna Scott, one of the owners of the brewery, said the business took flight with “a wing and a prayer” and the community momentum has made it what it is today, now with two locations.
› Judge rejects Hillsborough sales tax refund plan
A circuit court judge Friday rejected Hillsborough County’s pitch to refund $562 million collected from a transportation sales tax voided by the Florida Supreme Court. Circuit Judge Rex M. Barbas denied the county’s motion to set up a panel of three retired judges to oversee public applications for refunds, saying “there is no clear legal basis from which to fashion a remedy for the collection of the invalidated sales tax.”
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