Deal could open doors to new casinos

For more than a decade, the glitziest casinos in the state have operated on lands owned by the Seminole Tribe of Florida. But a multibillion-dollar deal announced last month by Gov. Ron DeSantis and tribal Chairman Marcellus Osceola Jr. opens the door for other gambling behemoths to establish a footprint in the nation’s third-most populous state, which draws tens of millions of tourists annually. Lawmakers approved the agreement, known as a “compact,” during a three-day special session last week. [Source: News Service of Florida]

Is unemployment pay keeping Floridians at home?

Florida’s move to strip away people’s federal unemployment benefits appears unlikely to drive packs of workers back to low-paying jobs, especially at restaurants and tourist destinations. There is limited evidence to prove the prevailing political argument that workers are staying home in droves to collect free money. In reality, many people are changing careers to escape historically low pay. Others are sick of the way their previous employers treated them, or they’re wary of what some consider reckless precautions against COVID-19. [Source: South Florida Sun-Sentinel]

Hurricane season starts as pandemic continues

Florida emergency-management workers aren’t approaching this year’s hurricane season as anything basic, but they are looking forward to what the new state director calls the ABCs --- “Anything But COVID.” As the six-month hurricane season officially begins June 1, the Florida Division of Emergency Management will have surpassed 450 days responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. “They would love to get back to doing tropical cyclones and wildfires and things like that, because we have been doing COVID a very long time, and we're ready to be doing something else,” division Director Kevin Guthrie said. [Source: News Service of Florida]

New South Florida residents push self storage business to the max

The hot South Florida real estate market has pushed the self storage business to the max and it is no surprise that the price of storage units have kept up with the high rents. “It is about supply and demand, sounds like a cliche. Miami area is one of the hotspots,” said Doug Ressler, Senior Research Officer at Yardi Matrix. Yardi Matrix researches and reports on multifamily, office and self storage properties across the United States. They say their clients need to know who is on the move, where they are going, the impacts. [Source: CBS Miami]

Tons of brown, stinky seaweed washing up on Florida's coasts. Get ready for more

While vital seagrass vanishes in coastal waters statewide, the Caribbean Sea keeps on gifting Central Florida's beaches mounds of mushy, stinky golden brown seaweed. And researchers warn that this so-called Sargassum storm is likely to get worse before it gets better. Fed by sewage and fertilizers in Brazil and thereabouts, the seaweed is expected to keep coming all summer long. Oceanographers expect the Sargassum to thicken on beaches from the eastern Caribbean throughout Florida's east coast from now until July at least, but possiblythrough September. [Source: Florida Today]

ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› Not even a global pandemic stopped Jacksonville's tax base from growing, report finds [Florida Times-Union]
Duval County's property tax base has posted solid growth despite the COVID-19 pandemic and is set to deliver an extra $56 million in property taxes to city government for next year's budget, based on a preliminary report from the property appraiser's office.

› Anna Maria Island is among Florida’s ‘most charming’ small towns. Is the island still a ‘best kept secret’? [Bradenton Herald]
Travel + Leisure released its top 10 most charming small towns in Florida earlier this week and the website ranked Anna Maria Island as No. 2 overall. It’s hard to imagine if you’ve ever been in beach traffic that the island is still a best-kept secret, but Travel + Leisure writes, “Considered one of the state’s best-kept secrets, Anna Maria Island is home to wide white-sand beaches lapped by emerald and sapphire seas.”

› As Miamians go back to work, new ‘digital nomads’ are changing the city’s economy [Miami Herald] 
If remote working helped usher in Miami’s current wave of migrants, what happens now that it’s safe to return to work? After a year away from the office, companies whose business can be conducted with just a phone and computer are working out just how to balance cost, lifestyle and corporate culture variables in the post-pandemic era. The shakeout could have implications for Miami’s entire economy.

› Florida Lottery reaches landmark milestone of $2 billion in education contributions in a single fiscal year [Florida Trend]
Today, the Florida Lottery (Lottery) announced another record reached – $2 billion in contributions to the state’s Educational Enhancement Trust Fund (EETF) during fiscal year 2020-21! This milestone marks the first time in the Lottery’s 33-year history that education contributions for a single fiscal year have reached $2 billion. Additionally, the Lottery reached the $1 billion mark for this fiscal year in December 2020, one month earlier than any other year in Florida Lottery history.

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› Collier County commissioners vote to move forward with ClubCorp/BigShots Golf [Naples Daily News]
Golf is staying as part of the Golden Gate Golf Club property. Collier County commissioners did approve a lease agreement with ClubCorp/BigShots Golf at Tuesday's meeting by a 3-1 vote. Getting to the actual vote fittingly took a while, given the county's nearly 22-month ownership of the property it had shut down. The county purchased the 167-acre property on Aug. 1, 2019, and since then it's taken a winding road as to how — and sometimes if — to preserve golf on a portion of the property.

› iHeartMedia sells Tampa radio station studios for $3.8 million [Tampa Bay Times]
Radio giant iHeartMedia has sold the Gandy Boulevard property that houses its Tampa Bay radio stations in a deal worth $3.8 million. The Tampa studios are home to eight local stations, according to iHeartMedia’s most recent annual earnings report, including 93.3-FLZ, 98 Rock, 95.7 The Beat, U.S. 103.5 and WFLA 970.

› Sarasota County to roll out ride-hailing public transit in June. Here's how it works [Sarasota Herald-Tribune]
With a $2.2 million contract with a New York-based ride-hailing company in hand, the Sarasota County Transit Agency is gearing up to transform the area’s public transportation system. And it could come as early as June 6. River North Transit LLC, a subsidiary of Via Transportation, will help SCAT implement its new vision for public transportation that will link county services with the ride-share company.

› Vaccinated SeaWorld employees can go mask-free, too [Orlando Sentinel]
SeaWorld Orlando employees who have been vaccinated for the coronavirus can now take off their masks at work, which makes the park the first major Orlando attraction to loosen the rules for staff. SeaWorld spokeswoman Lori Cherry confirmed the rule change Tuesday, although she declined to discuss the park’s internal policies further.