Can the boss require workers to get a COVID-19 vaccine? There are rules in Florida

More businesses, including some in Florida, are requiring employees to get vaccinated against COVID-19 as concerns over the more contagious delta variant continue to grow. While COVID-19 vaccines are optional, the federal government has said employers have the right to require workers who will physically be in the workplace to get vaccinated, even while the shots are still under emergency-use authorization. Accommodations must still be made for people who cannot get the vaccine because of a disability or a religious belief, practice, or observance. More from the Miami Herald and the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

Florida gambling deal with Seminole sports betting passes federal review

A key federal agency will not block a sweeping gambling deal Gov. Ron DeSantis signed with the Seminole Tribe of Florida, opening the door for sports betting to start as soon as Oct. 15 in Florida and setting the stage for a legal showdown over the issue. The U.S. Department of the Interior took no action after a 45-day review, which under federal rules means the 30-year gambling agreement is considered to have received approval. [Source: Orlando Sentinel]

Bobby Bowden, Who led FSU to be a football powerhouse, dies at 91

Bobby Bowden, one of college football's legendary coaches, has died. He was 91. Over his 57 year career, Bowden won more games than nearly any other head coach. For 34 of those years, he led the Florida State Seminoles, turning the Tallahassee school into a football powerhouse. During his career, Bowden claimed two national titles at FSU and 40 winning seasons overall. [Source: NPR]

More Cubans try dangerous trip to U.S. across Florida Straits

Cuba is seeing a surge in unauthorized migration to the United States, fueled by an economic crisis exacerbated by the pandemic, increased U.S. sanctions and cutbacks in aid from its also-crisis-wracked Venezuelan ally. That has led to shortages in many goods and a series of protests that shook the island on July 11. [Source: AP]

Tragedies often spur changes to building codes. Will the Surfside collapse bring more?

A Miami-Dade grand jury is set to probe what went wrong and is likely to make recommendations, as is the National Institute of Standards and Technology, a federal agency that has launched an investigation into the collapse. The biggest changes to standards and codes have often come in the wake of tragedies, said structural engineer Mohammad Ehsani, inventor of QuakeWrap technology used to reinforce old concrete structures. [Source: Miami Herald]

ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› Frito-Lay revives plan for $180 million plant with 180 jobs in Osceola County [Orlando Sentinel]
Two years after Frito-Lay put the brakes on its plan to build a mega-fulfillment center across from the Poinciana SunRail station, the company is rebooting the $180 million project with plans to open in 2025, according to a report in GrowthSpotter. Osceola County commissioners are scheduled to vote Monday to reauthorize the economic incentive package with Frito-Lay parent company, PepsiCo, that includes property tax rebates for 10 years.

› How do you get 5,000 tech nerds to relocate to Miami? ‘Hack Week’ may have the answer [Miami Herald]
Earlier this year, Tyler Cowen, an economist and columnist for Bloomberg, wrote after a visit to Miami that while he was “surprised” at the strides the city had made toward becoming a tech hub, it still fell short. For one thing, Cowen said, “the city does not have much of what I would call ‘nerd culture.’” Soon, that may no longer be the case.

› St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport sets passenger record reenforcing sentiment that tourism is back — at least for now [Business Observer]
St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport, which traces its history back to 1941, had the best month in its history in July as questions remain whether red tide and the Delta variant will derail tourism gains. In all, 262,681 passengers came through the airport last month surpassing the previous peak of 246,223 travelers in June of 2019.

› Safariland parent Cadre Holdings postpones initial public offering [Jacksonville Daily Record]
Cadre Holdings Inc. postponed its initial public offering Aug. 5 as the stock sale was expected to reach the market. Several financial news outlets have been reporting the IPO market has cooled off recently after two months of strong activity. IPO research firm Renaissance Capital said Jacksonville-based Cadre was the sixth company to postpone its stock sale in the past two weeks.

Go to page 2 for more stories ...

› ‘Megarenter rap’ describes plot to cheat Wyndham timeshare customers, lawsuit contends [Orlando Sentinel]
“Just you wait, we’re gonna figure it out. We’re gonna put you outta business and surely make you pout.” Those lines come from “the Megarenter rap,” written by an employee of the Wyndham network of timeshare resorts, and it points to a conspiracy among the company’s executives to penalize timeshare owners too successful at turning their points into profits, according to a lawsuit filed in Orange Circuit Court in Orlando.

› Amazon to bring 500 jobs to Port St Lucie [WPEC]
Amazon announced that the company will be opening a fulfillment center and creating more than 500 full-time jobs in Port St. Lucie. Amazon will operate a traditional non-sortable fulfillment center in a 1.1-million-square-foot building to be constructed on 110 acres at Midway Business Park on West Midway Road near the Interstate 95 ramps. Site clearing has begun and construction is projected to be complete by late summer or early fall of 2022.

› There were 40 athletes with South Florida ties at Tokyo Olympics. Here’s how they did [Miami Herald]
They traveled 7,500 miles from South Florida to Tokyo in the quest for Olympic glory. Among the 40 local athletes who competed were a U.S. Army officer and Greco-Roman wrestler from South Miami, a karateka from Hialeah, a water polo player from the Redland, a beach volleyball player from Cooper City, equestrian jumpers from Wellington, sprinters who trained at Tropical Park and sailors who trained on Biscayne Bay.

› Sarasota EDC concludes search for CEO and announces formation of task force   [Business Observer]
The Sarasota County Economic Development Corp. concluded its search for a new leader, naming prominent retired area insurance executive Lisa Krouse CEO. Krouse has been interim CEO of the EDC since early July, soon after Sarasota County Commissioners voted to begin a process to roll back funding to the organization. The decision also comes on the heels of the EDC’s announcement of promoting Erin Silk into the VP position for business development services.