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Thursday's Afternoon Update
What you need to know about Florida today
Florida's Supreme Court justices to take up redistricting fight
The Florida Supreme Court on Wednesday agreed to take up a challenge to the constitutionality of a congressional redistricting plan, but it appears the case will not be resolved before a candidate-qualifying deadline for the November elections. The Supreme Court issued an order saying it will hear an appeal by voting-rights groups and other plaintiffs, rejecting arguments by the state that it should turn down the case. The voting-rights groups went to the Supreme Court after the 1st District Court of Appeal on Dec. 1 upheld the constitutionality of the redistricting plan. More from the News Service of Florida.
CSX earnings, revenue dip in Q4 but CEO encouraged by volume
CSX's fourth quarter profit slipped 13%, but the railroad hauled slightly more freight and kept its trains running smoothly. The Jacksonville, Florida-based railroad said it earned $886 million, or 45 cents per share, during the quarter. That's down from $1.02 billion, or 49 cents per share, a year earlier. More from the AP and the Jacksonville Daily Record.
Will Hillsborough voters see half-cent sales tax on the November ballot?
Hillsborough County’s 27-year-old Community Investment Tax — the half penny sales tax that once famously funded a football stadium for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers — could be in front of voters for consideration on the November ballot. While a 2024 referendum on renewing what’s better known as the CIT tax is still in the talking stages — and the tax doesn’t expire until 2026 — the idea was recently met with enthusiasm by Hillsborough commissioners, even from likely opponents. More from the Tampa Bay Times.
Miami may scale back its downtown billboards aims
A year after Miami expanded its outdoor advertising sites, the city commission may reverse the decision and return to just the three places allowed under a 2015 law. Today, the commission is to hear a resolution to repeal a policy that allows outdoor ad signs at ten government-owned sites. If approved, the measure would reinstate the 2015 law that allows for billboards up to 750 square feet at the James L. Knight Center, the Olympia Theater/Gusman Center for the Performing Arts and the Miami Children’s Museum. More from Miami Today.
Rural east Orange residents triumph over development again
Residents in rural east Orange County celebrated Wednesday the dramatic early morning defeat of the latest mega-development proposing to build hundreds of homes on a former cattle ranch in the environmentally sensitive Econ River basin. Many, wearing their red “Stop Urban Sprawl” t-shirts from previous fights, endured a marathon Orange County commission meeting Tuesday to cheer the 4-3 vote against requesting a land-use change from state authorities. But some were convinced they haven’t seen the last such proposal for the area. More from the Orlando Sentinel.
Florida Dining
Ohio hot dog joint chooses south Sarasota County for Florida debut
Hot Dog Shoppe, a popular Ohio-based eatery founded in 1946, is opening a new location in Venice — its first franchise store and first spot outside the Buckeye State. Local entrepreneur Marty Rauch owns and leads Hot Dog Shoppe Venice. He plans to open 20 locations as part of the company’s expansion in Florida.
» More from the Business Observer.
Out of the Box
How South Florida lizards are reshaping Darwin’s theory of evolution
What do the finches of the Galapagos Islands and the lizards of a tiny island at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden have in common? They’ve both shaped ideas on how Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution works. But the lizards of Fairchild are shaking things up. A recent study by Georgia Tech evolutionary ecologist James Stroud shows that evolution can happen much faster than Darwin thought.
» Read more from the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
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