Florida's wage growth during the COVID pandemic

High-demand sectors like Accommodation and Food Services, Retail Trade, and Management of Companies and Enterprises have had the steepest rise in wages since spring 2020, but several sectors have only seen paychecks increase between 1.4 and 2.5 percent. When adjusting for inflation, these figures turn negative and suggest employees have witnessed consumer prices grow faster than their pay. [Source: Florida Daily]

Florida Trend Exclusive

Florida company aims to use augmented reality and A.I. to train U.S. military pilots

Dan Robinson, a soft-spoken native of northeast England, chats in a Miami Beach coffee house, his dog at his feet. Meanwhile in California, representatives of the U.S. Air Force test a video game-like technology his company is developing to answer America’s military pilot predicament. The nation is short of pilots — by about 2,000 for the Air Force in recent years. It misses the mark in readiness. Training is expensive. “Accelerate change or lose,” Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. said in 2020 directive to the service. Robinson echoes Brown’s thoughts. [Source: Florida Trend]

New strain of avian flu causes concerns in Florida, officials urge caution handling birds

The bird flu is becoming an issue in the Sunshine State. Last week after several cases of bird flu were reported in Brevard County, the Brevard Zoo announced it was closing its bird experiences to the public as a precaution. Zoo officials said the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has reported positive cases of the illness in wild birds in parts of South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Kentucky and Florida. [Source: WFTV]

Sticker shocked: Florida gasoline prices hit new high for 2022

Gasoline prices in Florida hit another high mark over the last week, increasing by 6 cents and setting a new record for the year at $3.51 a gallon, according to AAA-The Auto Club Group's weekly briefing. The increase, nearly a dollar more than last year’s high price, comes after a slight dip in crude oil prices — a determining factor for the cost to consumers at the pump. [Source: Sarasota Herald-Tribune]

Lawmakers want to shake up Florida’s virtual school system

State Rep. Randy Fine says Florida’s online education program needs an overhaul. Crafted before the iPhone, the model that allows Florida Virtual School to offer classes and also franchise its curriculum has become too expensive and duplicative, the Palm Bay Republican argues. Florida law requires school districts to provide virtual course options for their students. This proposal would force them to look elsewhere for materials that meet state standards — potentially at a greater cost than what they are spending now. [Source: Tampa Bay Times]

ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› Chiquita bananas come to Seaport Manatee, joining a growing list of tropical imports [Bradenton Herald]
The temptation is to say that Chiquita bananas have started arriving in bunches at Seaport Manatee, but in fact they are arriving by the shipload. Chiquita began chartering space on Del Monte ships arriving at SeaPort Manatee about one month ago. “This will bring additional good produce to the port,” Carlos Buquersas, executive director of Seaport Manatee, said.

› Hertz invests $19M in European electric vehicle company [Business Observer]
Rental car giant Hertz recently announced an investment in UFODrive, a self-service electric vehicle rental company and eMobility service provider in Europe. The Series A financing round in UFODrive, for $19 million, was co-led by Hertz and Certares, in partnership with Knighthead Capital Management, according to a statement, and included participation from existing investors.

› Baker County 'MegaFactory' for green housing will be California firm's first on East Coast [Florida Times-Union]
A California-based company that makes high-tech, energy efficient modular housing is opening what it calls a “MegaFactory” in largely rural Baker County, where it plans to make 5,000 buildings every year, including luxury housing and middle-class subdivisions

› Supreme Court to hear Pinellas, Pasco tax case [News Service of Florida]
The Florida Supreme Court on Monday said it will take up a dispute about whether Pinellas County should be required to pay property taxes on land it owns in neighboring Pasco County. Pinellas County went to the Supreme Court after a panel of the 2nd District Court of Appeal ruled that Pinellas was not immune from taxes on the land.

Go to page 2 for more stories ...

› Winter Haven developer partners with national chain on new modular store design  [Business Observer]
Tom Wolf Co., a commercial real estate development and management firm based in Winter Haven, has created the first modular, drive-thru-only Jimmy John’s restaurant. Located in Bartow, the restaurant is made from a repurposed shipping container, and according to a news release, the entire project took just 161 days to complete.

› Northeast Florida housing market is showing ‘signs of moderation’ [Jacksonville Daily Record]
The housing market in Northeast Florida has begun to show “signs of moderation,” according to the Northeast Florida Association of Realtors. The median sale price of a single-family home was $345,000 in January, a 1.4% drop from December 2021, but still 24% higher than a year ago. “The Northeast Florida real estate market continues to show signs of moderating, although, as we expected, still is firmly entrenched as a sellers’ market,” NEFAR President Mark Rosener said.

› Judge backs permit for FPL’s Turkey Point canals, rejects concerns about Keys well fields [Miami Herald]
Rejecting arguments about threats to Monroe County’s water supply and Biscayne Bay, an administrative law judge has ruled the state should renew a permit for a massive canal system at a Florida Power & Light plant in Miami-Dade County. Judge Cathy Sellers on Friday issued a 125-page recommended order backing a decision by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection to renew the permit for FPL’s Turkey Point site.

› ‘It’s going to be unique’: New elementary school becomes reality for students in Boca Raton [South Florida Sun-Sentinel]
A three-story elementary school is finally rising in Boca Raton, a brand-new building that’ll be equipped with the latest technology and will help ease student overcrowding across the region. Their mascot? Florida’s official state reptile, the alligator. And both students and parents can look forward to a full-time gifted program, new technology, including 3D printers and new Chromebooks, a fine arts program and more.