As hyperinflation talk mounts, Florida reckons with rising prices

Hyperinflation — a term used to describe periods of sharp, prolonged inflation in the price of goods and services — is one of those economic buzzwords that’s gained traction in 2021, spurred along by everyone from cryptocurrency investors to critics of President Joe Biden’s infrastructure spending. From boardrooms to small businesses, Floridians are dealing with inflation, and hoping it doesn’t get worse. [Source: Tampa Bay Times]

Children’s COVID vaccines are arriving in Florida. Here’s how parents can make appointments.

The initial rush began on Wednesday with South Florida parents making appointments at pharmacies to get their young children ages 5 to 11 vaccinated for COVID-19. Pharmacies such as CVS and Walgreens allowed parents to make appointments online in South Florida for slots beginning on Saturday. By mid-morning, many of the weekend times had been filled. [Source: South Florida Sun-Sentinel]

2021 hurricane season uses up name list for only 3rd time in history but is it over?

The 2021 hurricane season will go down in history for its tropical fecundity, exhausting the storm names list for only the third time on record before easing into a sluggish finish. Wanda’s formation 1,000 miles west of the Azores on Halloween eve put this year in third place for cyclonic quantity behind the 30 named storms of 2020 and 2005’s 28 named storms. Tropical meteorologists said they were surprised by the lack of storm activity in October and see little brewing in the final weeks of the season, which runs through Nov. 30. [Source: Palm Beach Post]

Lottery records exemption gets Senate support

A proposal that would temporarily shield the names of winners of big Florida lottery jackpots cleared its first Senate committee on Tuesday. The Regulated Industries Committee backed a measure (SB 170) that would create a public-records exemption for the names of people who win lottery prizes of $250,000 or more. [Source: News Service of Florida]

Tampa’s Bloomin’ Brands to raise menu prices at Outback, Fleming’s, more

Inflation is coming for your Bloomin’ Onion. Tampa’s Bloomin’ Brands said Tuesday it expects to raise menu prices this fall by an average of 3 percent across its family of restaurants, including Outback Steakhouse, Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse, Carrabba’s Italian Grill and Bonefish Grill. Executives said the price hikes were necessary to combat expected rises in the price in labor, fuel, freight, commodities and other costs. [Source: Tampa Bay Times]

ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› Battle over expressways – MDX vs. GMX – back in courts [Miami Today]
Miami-Dade and Tallahassee are back in court battling to control five expressways in the county, as the Miami-Dade Expressway Authority last week sued state-created Greater Miami Expressway Agency (GMX) and its five members. Also last week, GMX met for the first time since April and advertised a public meeting and a closed meeting in Fort Lauderdale today (11/4).

› JAX Chamber and Florida Blue join to fight opioid deaths [Jacksonville Daily Record]
The JAX Chamber and Florida Blue launched a campaign Nov. 2 to change the way opioid addiction is treated and erase the stigma of mental illness. They brought together 200 people from business, churches and city government at the Jacksonville River City Downtown Hotel to discuss the formation of Project Opioid JAX. Pat Geraghty, president and CEO of GuideWell and Florida Blue, told the group that fentanyl is the opioid that is killing most of today’s victims.

› Money sought for Keys protections [News Service of Florida]
Up to $20 million a year would be directed toward environmental projects in the Florida Keys, including the barrier reef, under a proposal filed Tuesday in the state House. The proposal (HB 449) by Rep. Jim Mooney, R-Islamorada, would draw money from the state’s Land Acquisition Trust Fund, which receives real-estate tax dollars under a 2014 constitutional amendment aimed at land and water conservation.

› Bonita Springs-based equipment giant makes acquisition, expands in New England [Business Observer]
Herc Holdings, a leading North American equipment rental supplier operating through Herc Rentals Inc., has acquired a New Hampshire equipment rental business. Herc, according to a statement, acquired substantially all the assets of Reliable Equipment LLC, which has branch operations in Dover and Londonderry, New Hampshire. Financial terms of the deal weren’t disclosed.

Go to page 2 for more stories ...

› Altamonte Springs animal haven receives more critters, donations during pandemic [Orlando Sentinel]
While businesses and nonprofits alike have struggled during the coronavirus pandemic, an Altamonte Springs haven for injured wildlife says its donations have “probably doubled,” while the number of arriving critters in need has also jumped. Mary Jane Isner, who founded what became The Haven for Injured and Orphaned Wildlife at her home more than 30 years ago, attributes the influx of hurt animals to more people spending time outside over the past year-and-a-half.

› Opportunities seen in added Port of Miami rail cargo [Miami Today]
An eight-year-old Florida East Coast Railway link carrying cargo in and out of the Port of Miami is now hauling 60 to 80 loaded shipping containers a day from the inland US to sail seaboard to other nations, and operators say there’s plenty of room for expansion. One or two trains daily roll east past the Freedom Tower, cross Biscayne Boulevard and head into the seaport, delivering their cargo to departing ships and carrying back from arriving ships 50 to 60 loaded freight containers headed around the Southeast.

› Fresco y Más opening third Tampa grocery store [Tampa Bay Times]
Fresco y Más Supermarket is expanding in Tampa Bay. Southeastern Grocers Inc., the parent company of Fresco y Más and Winn-Dixie, announced it’s opening a third location in Tampa today. Fresco y Más is a supermarket brand that caters to Hispanic and Caribbean communities.

› Fort Lauderdale worker accused of Christmas lights bid-rigging [South Florida Sun-Sentinel]
Broward County’s top government watchdog has found a city of Fort Lauderdale employee manipulated documents to wrongly award a contract to a company for holiday lights. Broward Inspector General John W. Scott announced Tuesday that his office’s findings show Fort Lauderdale CRA Coordinator Thomasina Turner-Diggs steered the city contract to South Florida Lighting Team, which was known as Miami Christmas Lights. Investigators say they are turning the case over to prosecutors to consider charges for bid-rigging, a felony.