SHARE:
Friday's Daily Pulse
What you need to know about Florida today
› Fort Myers resort lays off 195, total hospitality layoffs in SWFL now top 1,000
Pink Shell Beach Resort & Marina in Fort Myers is laying off 195 employees after damage caused by Hurricane Ian forced it to close for at least a year. These layoffs bring the total number of hotel workers to lose their jobs because of the storm to 1,024 according to a state database, with The Ritz-Carlton, Naples cutting 591 employees and South Seas Island Resort 238.
› New Jacksonville museum shows feature armor, avant-garde
Two new shows opening at Jacksonville museums take very different views on what's considered art. At the Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens, "The Age of Armor: Treasures from the Higgins Armory Collection at the Worcester Art Museum" features swords, spears, crossbow winders, chainmail and full-sized suits of armor. At the Museum of Contemporary Art Jacksonville, "Don't Blame it on ZEN: The Way of John Cage & Friends!" explores the influence of composer/philosopher/artist/poet Cage.
› Orange County receives $24M in Tourist Development Tax collections for September
Orange County’s Tourist Development Tax collections in September topped August’s record-setting report by $1 million and soared quite high past last year’s numbers, according to a news release Thursday from Comptroller Phil Diamond. Collections received in September totaled $24,444,200, Diamond said, higher than September 2021′s collections by $17.4 million and the highest for the month on record. The county’s highest-ever monthly TDT collections were over $38.5 million, made in March 2022.
› Tampa’s Masonite to acquire North Carolina door parts maker for $375M
Door manufacturer Masonite, one of Tampa Bay’s largest public companies, is expanding. The company on Thursday announced it had reached a deal to purchase Endura Products, a Greensboro, N.C., maker of door parts and components, for approximately $375 million in cash. The transaction is expected to close by the end of the year, subject to regulatory approval. In a statement, Masonite president and CEO Howard Heckes called the merger “a natural fit.”
In case you missed it:
