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Monday's Daily Pulse
What you need to know about Florida today
Florida’s labor shortage spans wide range of industries
“We’re hiring” banners hang above grocery stories in nearly every community in Florida. “Help wanted” signs are taped to storefronts and posted on hundreds of online job boards. Florida’s unemployment rate is nearing a record low, even as the state population grows. This is Florida’s new normal, and the results will translate into competitive wages, longer waits for professional and domestic services, and higher costs of living — for everyone. [Source: Tampa Bay Times]
Tropical depression likely to form this week, hurricane center says
The National Hurricane Center said a system that formed off the coast of Africa this weekend is likely to become the season’s next tropical depression or storm. The low-latitude tropical wave is located several hundred miles south-southeast of the Cape Verde Islands in the Atlantic producing a large are of disorganized showers and thunderstorms. [Source: Orlando Sentinel]
A strong job market now, so why are these Florida business owners worried?
Jeff Lozama hopes his company is one of those adding jobs this month. He is president at CMS International Group in Miami. The company installs windows and doors for office buildings, condominiums and hotels. “We are looking for another half a dozen more folks for the projects. We have about three or four projects that are going on simultaneously. So we will need the workforce for it,” he said. The US job market has been incredibly resilient, adding hundreds of thousands of jobs each month, driving down the unemployment rate to historic lows. It has made it tough for some companies to find workers. [Source: WLRN]
Snook regulations changes: What did FWC decide to do with Florida's most popular fish?
Snook regulations changed slightly for some Florida waters, however changes to bag limits including harvest closures for some regions of the state will hold off at least until next summer, according to the state fishery management officials Wednesday. Four changes to snook management in Florida were proposed by Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission staff. [Source: TCPalm]
Florida kicked 63,000 people off Medicaid during the pandemic, report shows
Even as Florida accepted billions of federal dollars to keep people enrolled in Medicaid during the pandemic, the state terminated medical coverage for almost 63,000 residents, according to a new federal audit. The “continuous coverage” protection for Medicaid recipients was put in place through the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, passed in March 2020 as COVID-19 cases began spreading across the nation. States received billions of dollars in additional funding in exchange for keeping people covered through the health insurance program. [Source: Tampa Bay Times]
ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:
› Business as usual for Clearwater company — despite NYSE delisting
Officials at Clearwater’s Digital Media Solutions say the company is not changing how it operates the business day-to-day after being delisted from the New York Stock Exchange and that an agreement with lenders remains in place. In a statement to investors, it says being stripped of its place on the exchange “does not affect the company’s business operations and DMS continues to be focused on its core solutions in service of its advertising clients.”
› Discount Mexican airline plans takeoff next year from Miami airport, a growing global hub
Mexican airline Viva Aerobus is the latest discount airline with plans to take off from Miami International Airport, tapping into the airport’s expanding role as a global hub. The airline will operate three flights a week — Monday, Wednesday, and Friday — from Miami to Monterrey starting on July 1, 2024, officials said. Then a day later on July 2, 2024, Aerobus will start four weekly flights — Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday — between Miami and Merida.
› Sea cows gone wild? Manatee horror movie to be made by Sarasota production company
Florida’s beloved sea cow will get time on the big screen in a – record scratch – horror film that’ll be made by a Sarasota-based production company, according to the Tampa Bay Times. Film Tampa Bay received an application through the Hillsborough County film incentive for the manatee horror movie. The program offers 10% rebate on qualifying production with local spending of at least $100,000, according to Film Tampa Bay.
› Altamonte Springs first U.S. city to use AI for developer reviews
Hoping to get development projects through the approval process quicker while taking some of the workload off an under-staffed planning division, Altamonte Springs is turning to Artificial Intelligence for site plan reviews. The city is the first in the country to have a contract with Gainesville-based AutoReview.AI, according to a report in GrowthSpotter. It’s a newly formed company that aims to revolutionize the way code compliance checks are done using state-of-the-art patent-pending technology.
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