Newly signed COVID relief package could have big impact on Florida businesses

Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, around 70% of all business partnerships were shown to fail. But now, all across the country, businesses of all kinds are being forced to shut their doors — either temporarily or permanently — as a response to our current health crisis. While Florida has done everything possible to keep businesses open during this time, many organizations are still hurting as a result of a severely reduced tourism industry and an increased emphasis on staying home. But the newly signed COVID-19 relief package, which was passed by Congress just before Christmas, could bring some much-needed help to small businesses in the Sunshine State. [Source: South Florida Reporter]

Long lines, crashing websites, conflicting information confound COVID-19 vaccine rollout to Florida seniors

Scenes of waiting, confusion and frustration played out across the state as medical systems and counties scrambled to create distribution systems for groups they hadn't expected to vaccinate for at least a week or two. "If you're opening it up to everyone in Florida 65 and older, then you'd better have a plan," said Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease expert at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in Nashville, Tennessee. That hasn't necessarily been the case in the Sunshine State, where the chaotic coronavirus vaccine rollout for people 65 and older may be a lesson for the rest of the nation, as a decentralized, county-based public health system copes with overwhelming demand. More from USA Today, the Orlando Sentinal, and the Miami Herald.

Florida families struggle more than national average with food, housing, health care

In less than three months, the Florida Legislature will convene to pass new policies and set priorities for the state budget. Childcare experts are hoping a new report on the pandemic's impact on children will help guide their decisions. The latest Kids Count report - Kids, Families and COVID-19: Pandemic Pain Points and the Urgent Need to Respond - said Florida’s families are struggling at higher percentages than families nationwide when it comes to food security, housing stability, and affordable health care. [Source: WUSF]

Florida sports wagering bills filed to spur stalled Seminole pact negotiations

With states scrambling for revenue to boost pandemic-stressed budgets, it’s a good bet a raft of sports gambling bills will be approved by lawmakers across the nation in 2021 – including in Florida. With a projected $3 billion shortfall in revenue over the next two years and after two sessions of not passing gambling legislation, lawmakers will likely be amenable to measures that create new revenue without raising taxes when Florida’s 60-day legislative session begins March 2. More from the Center Square and WJXT.

Sex, drugs and pickleball: What a 24-year-old filmmaker learned about growing old in the Villages

In the new film “Some Kind of Heaven,” there is a drug scandal, nonstop parties, gallons of cocktails and a scheming Don Juan who would be right at home in the Vince Vaughn comedy “Old School.” But this is not some college-age romp cleverly scripted for the young and the restless — in fact, there’s no script at all. “Some Kind of Heaven” is a documentary, a beautifully composed, deeply personal examination of four lives playing out among the old and the restless at the Villages, the sprawling retirement community northwest of Orlando. [Source: South Florida Sun-Sentinel]

ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› Visit Orlando hires Cassandra Matej as new CEO amid COVID-19 crisis [Orlando Sentinel]
Visit Orlando said Tuesday it has hired Casandra Matej, a tourism executive from Texas, to be its next CEO, a leader immediately faced with the task of helping the region rebound from the coronavirus pandemic. Matej, president and CEO of Visit San Antonio, will replace retiring Visit Orlando leader George Aguel who said in August he wanted to step down to spend more time with his family after seven years on the job.

› Popular Texas Japanese spot is bringing fancy sushi and fried milk to Wynwood [Miami Herald]
The first Uchi Japanese restaurant started in a bungalow in Austin, Texas in 2003. Now, it’s coming to Wynwood. The popular brand, with restaurants in Austin, Dallas, Houston and Denver, was created by the Hai Hospitality group and Chef Tyson Cole, who won a James Beard award for best chef in the Southwest in 2011.

› Tampa-based College H.U.N.K.S. Hauling Junk helps those in need [Tampa Bay Times]
Perhaps you’ve seen the orange moving trucks around with the green logo of a strong man holding up the words “College H.U.N.K.S.” The acronym stands for honest, uniformed, nice, knowledgeable, service. And in 2020, Tampa-based College H.U.N.K.S. Hauling Junk and Moving lived up to its name by moving more than 100 victims of domestic violence free of charge and by providing more than 1.6 million meals for Feeding Children Everywhere.

› Westfield Siesta Key mall in Sarasota has a new owner [Sarasota Herald-Tribune]
Starting next year, Westfield Siesta Key mall in Sarasota will no longer be a Westfield property. The 435,000-square-foot mall, at U.S. 41 and Siesta Drive in the city of Sarasota, is now owned and operated by O'Connor Capital Partners, a real estate development, investment and management firm with offices in New York, Palm Beach and Mexico City.

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› JTA to close St. Johns River Ferry on Jan. 6 for eight weeks [Jacksonville Daily Record]
The Jacksonville Transportation Authority temporarily will close the St. Johns River Ferry starting Jan. 6 for about eight weeks to complete planned upgrades. According to a Dec. 29 news release, the $6.6 million of work is the fourth phase is an improvement project funded by a U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Transit Administration grant.

› Faulhaber Fab Lab receives $40,000 grant from Selby Foundation [Sarasota Herald-Tribune]
The Suncoast Science Center/Faulhaber Fab Lab has announced that it has received a $40,845 grant from The William G. and Marie Selby Foundation to enhance its ability to serve as a hub for transformative education and exploration. “We are honored to partner with the Fab Lab in growing the opportunity for students to gain a greater appreciation for the sciences,” said foundation President/CEO Carol Butera.

› Building Tampa Bay homes through a pandemic and lumber shortage [Tampa Bay Times]
After the real estate market bounced back with ferocity from a brief slowdown early in the pandemic, there has been demand plus an extremely low supply of homes on the market. That meant that the industry turned to home builders to increase construction and help slow down the rapid churn — and consequently rising prices — of the hyper-competitive, constrained market. But in addition to that increased demand for new homes, the home builders have been dealing with other challenges, including a lumber shortage.

› You can still get gift cards and other COVID relief in Miami-Dade [Miami Herald]
The deadline for South Florida cities to distribute federal COVID-19 relief money that has helped residents pay for groceries, rent, utilities and keep their business afloat is here. Some cities like Miami, which has been giving away free grocery gift cards this month, are still rushing to give away their last batch of cards. The city of Opa-locka still has some left too.