As Florida’s tourism rebounds, CDC fears a travel-fueled COVID-19 surge

Florida’s COVID-19 cases are rising again as air traffic reaches numbers not seen in more than a year, sparking concerns that the nation’s wide-open Southern vacation playground could help fuel a fourth surge of infections. The White House and Centers for Disease Control Prevention called for vigilance on Monday, describing a feeling of “impending doom” with an alarming new uptick in cases nationwide and increased spring break travel. Meanwhile, Gov. Ron DeSantis continued on his course of fully reopening the state’s tourism sector and downplayed the federal government’s concerns. [Source: South Florida Sun-Sentinel]

State senators consider boosting Florida’s weekly unemployment benefit to $375

A year after Florida’s unemployment system was wrecked by a crush of pandemic-related claims, lawmakers took the first step toward expanding benefits. Under a bill (Senate Bill 1906) that passed its first committee on Thursday, the state’s maximum weekly unemployment benefits would increase by $100, to $375. The minimum weekly benefits would increase from $32 to $100. And the state’s strict work-search requirements to keep those benefits would be reduced from five different job applications per week to three. [Source: Miami Herald]

Florida Trend Exclusive
Florida grapples with projected $2.75 billion deficit for 2021-22 fiscal year

At the end of January, Gov. Ron DeSantis proposed a $96.6-billion budget — $4.3 billion over the current year. In making his request, DeSantis cited higher-than-expected revenue for December and January and optimism that Florida’s economy is gaining momentum. But lawmakers, who’ll consider DeSantis’ priorities as they craft the budget, are warning of deep cuts as they grapple with a projected $2.75-billion deficit in general revenue for 2021-22 fiscal year. [Source: Florida Trend]

DeSantis names Florida’s new chief science officer

A water and environmental policy expert at the University of South Florida was named Florida’s new chief science officer Tuesday, taking a job created by Gov. Ron DeSantis when he took office. Mark Rains, director of the university’s school of geosciences, will replace Thomas Frazer, dean of USF’s College of Marine Science. DeSantis won praise for creating the position when he took office, as Florida faced threats from toxic algae, hurricanes and climate change that demanded high-level scientific expertise. [Source: South Florida Sun-Sentinel]

South Florida tech boom accelerates as Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund lands in Wynwood

If there was any doubt about the willingness of some of Silicon Valley’s leading venture capital firms to make Miami their new home base, they may be put to rest now. Founders Fund, the multi-billion dollar venture capital firm led by PayPal co-founder (and new Venetian Islands homeowner) Peter Thiel, announced Tuesday it has signed a multi-year lease at the Wynwood Annex, the recently completed class-A office tower developed by Jorge Pérez’s Related Group along with real estate group East End Capital. [Source: Miami Herald]

ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› Children's Trust tackling social issues, awards $1.6 million to 22 projects [Florida Trend]
In 2002, Miami-Dade County voters approved a referendum creating a special taxing district for the Children’s Trust, a local fund dedicated to improving the lives of children and families. Last year, amid COVID-19 and protests over police killings of black people, the trust put out a call for innovative ideas addressing social justice and racial equity, ultimately awarding more than $1.6 million to 22 projects.

› Jumbo Shrimp CEO: Team running at ‘full throttle’ [Jacksonville Daily Record]
Last year, the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp was two weeks away from the start of the season when “ the world stopped,” shut down by the COVID-19 pandemic. Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp owner and CEO Ken Babby told the Meninak Club of Jacksonville at its virtual meeting March 29 that the team now is running at “full throttle” preparing for baseball this spring.

› Tampa Realtor uses Brazilian background to help other international home-buyers [Tampa Bay Times]
Many home-buyers know the process of buying real estate can be stressful — but it can be even more-so for people who are buying Tampa Bay real estate from outside the country, or who have recently moved to the U.S. Corina Lessa Silva knows this firsthand, because she moved to the Tampa Bay area in the early 2000s from Brazil and didn’t know much about how to buy a house here. Now, she’s the broker and founder of Tampa Bay Key Realty, a firm that specializes in helping international buyers.

› South Beach curfew calmed spring break. City to extend crackdown despite business pleas. [Miiami Herald]
Miami Beach’s spring break crackdown may have evoked backlash from business owners and inspired late-night TV parodies, but city leaders said Monday that emergency curfew and travel restrictions had made a difference: crowds last weekend were smaller and calmer than in past weeks. “The curfew has been working,” said Interim City Manager Raul Aguila. “We’ve seen arrests go down, the size of crowds go down and safety restored in South Beach.”

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› Jury duty postponement backed in emergencies in Florida [News Service of Florida]
Proposals are moving through the Legislature that would allow Floridians to postpone jury duty for a year during public-health emergencies and states of emergency. The House Justice Appropriations Subcommittee on Tuesday unanimously approved a broader courts bill (HB 1197), sponsored by Rep. Vance Aloupis, R-Miami, that includes the jury-duty change.

› JAX Chamber: With mask mandate expired, businesses ‘know what their employees and customers are comfortable with’ [Jacksonville Daily Record]
As Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry allows Duval County’s requirement to wear face masks in public places to expire, JAX Chamber says local businesses “know what their employees and customers are comfortable with and should continue to make decisions accordingly.” Curry released a statement last week on lifting the mask mandate after it was in effect for nine months. “Since the start of the pandemic, the decisions I’ve made have been based on data,” Curry said.

› 2 Florida businessmen may try to buy Orlando Sentinel to head off hedge fund [Tampa Bay Times]
In an attempt to prevent the Orlando Sentinel from being sold to hedge fund Alden Global Capital, two Florida businessmen have said they’re interested in buying the 145-year-old Orlando newspaper to keep it in local hands. One of them, Mason Slaine, a former CEO of Thomson Financial, has expressed interest in buying both of Tribune Publishing’s Florida papers, the Orlando Sentinel and the Sun-Sentinel in South Florida, where he lives.

› COVID-19 relief funds are coming. Here’s what the city of Sarasota is getting [Sarasota Herald-Tribune]
The city of Sarasota soon will get a hefty infusion of money from the federal government through the most recent COVID-19 aid bill, the American Rescue Plan. City officials are not yet sure exactly how much Sarasota will get, but estimates as of last week were at $10.9 million. Sarasota is still determining how the city can spend the money under the law and what should done with it.