While one potential negative sign looms, Florida remains a population boom state

The number of people moving into Florida, a net positive, has slowed, according to a report — but so too has the number of people leaving. The reasons officials cite for Florida’s prowess in attracting new people remains the same, coming down, in a word, to climate. That’s not just the sunshine but in tax climate, a business-friendly climate and more. [Source: Business Observer]

Southwest Florida restaurants continuing to struggle to hire after Ian

Some southwest Florida businesses say they are still having a hard time finding workers. One restaurant was forced to close on Monday in order to give their current employees a break. Rum Bucket Bar and Grill in Buckingham has close to 40 employees, and the owner says they need more to fully open. "I have a feeling we turned away a lot of business today," said Shauna Shows, owner of the Rum Bucket. "It's heartbreaking." She believes the hiring issues has been a constant for about two years, well before Hurricane Ian hit. [Source: Fox 4 Now]

Migrant flights lawsuit to cost Florida up to $1 million in lawyers fees

Florida has agreed to pay up to $1 million to two law firms to defend it following Gov. Ron DeSantis’ controversial decision last summer to relocate nearly 50 Venezuelan migrants from Texas to Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts. So far, the state has paid nearly $112,000 to the firms Consovoy McCarthy and Campbell Conroy & O’Neil to represent DeSantis and other state officials in a class action lawsuit filed in Boston by attorneys representing the migrants. [Source: Gainesville Sun]

A federal judge has reopened the fight over Florida's transgender athlete law

After an appeals court upheld a school-board policy that prevented a transgender male student from using boys’ bathrooms, a federal judge has reopened a legal battle about a 2021 Florida law that bars transgender female students from playing on women’s and girls’ sports teams. U.S. District Judge Roy Altman on Friday issued an order reopening the transgender-athlete lawsuit, which had been on hold for nearly a year as the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals considered a challenge to the St. Johns County School Board bathroom policy. [Source: News Service of Florida]

Here’s what snowbirds need to know about homebuying this season

It’s buying season for snowbirds, the time of year when out-of-state seasonal buyers flock to South Florida for their second home. Picking up speed in January and lasting through the spring, these next few months are the optimal home shopping time for these buyers. Here’s what seasonal buyers need to know about the state of the condo market, projects in the works and whether they might have some advantages this season. [Source: South Florida Sun-Sentinel]

ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› New Florida town? Siesta Key's straw poll shows strong support for incorporation [Sarasota Herald-Tribune]
A recent informal poll by proponents of incorporating Siesta Key showed overwhelming support for creating a new town on the barrier island, giving self-rule advocates more ammunition in their push to convince local state lawmakers to support the idea. An elaborate, election-like straw poll of thousands of people, designed to gauge the Siesta Key community's support for the incorporation effort , showed that 87% of those responded favored the creation of a new town and local government on the island.

› More retailers, eateries slated to open downtown in Miami Worldcenter [Miami Herald]
In the ever-changing downtown Miami, more retailers and restaurants are coming in 2023 and the additions will fill most of the city’s largest real estate development Miami Worldcenter. Eight stores and restaurants are slated to open at the Worldcenter, the 27-acre, $4 billion residential and commercial project across from the FTX Arena where the Miami Heat play basketball games.

› Pair of large Tampa-area accounting firms announce merger [Business Observer]
Spoor Bunch Franz, one of the region's largest accounting firms, has merged with Westbay CPAs. Financial terms of the deal, which took effect Jan. 1, weren't disclosed. The merger with Clearwater-based Westbay, one of the state’s top firms specializing in forensic accounting and business valuation, "broadens SBF’s capabilities while bringing together two firms that already had a number of clients in common," according to a statement. The move will also add a Clearwater office for SBF, which already has its headquarters in St. Petersburg and an office in Tampa.

› Dry Tortugas reopens to public following influx of Cuban migrants [WTSP]
A national park in the Florida Keys is back open after temporarily closing due to the arrival of hundreds of migrants. Dry Tortugas National Park closed on Jan. 2 after more than 300 Cuban migrants arrived over the New Year's weekend, according to park officials. It reopened on the morning of Jan. 8. The park wrote that the closure was "necessary for the safety of visitors and staff because of the resources and space needed to attend to the migrants."

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› This museum would tell the story of Miami’s segregated era. It has stalled for years [Miami Herald]
Virginia Key is at once a natural gem in Biscayne Bay and a battleground for politicos, environmentalists and social justice advocates. The island’s irresistibility places it in constant cross hairs: Preserve it or capitalize on it? The clash has been renewed under a cloud of fear that local government will ruin the city of Miami’s only public beach — a historic landmark of the city’s racist past — and sell out the beautifully vulnerable slice of waterfront land for profit.

› Under new leadership: Gainesville commission takes step to bring back single-family zoning [Gainesville Sun]
Exclusionary zoning may soon be coming back to Gainesville after a recent vote from new leadership on the City Commission. The elimination of exclusionary zoning, which paved the way for multi-family housing to be built in single-family neighborhoods, has been a hotly debated topic throughout the year, one that the previous commission pushed through before leaving office.

› Here's what's next for redevelopment in downtown Eustis near Orlando [Orlando Business Journal]
The Lake County developer working with the city of Eustis to redevelop a prime 4.8-acre site in its downtown is seeking to broaden its focus, first, and zoom out some. Representatives for G3 C2 LLC — a partnership of Mount Dora-based G3 Development and C2 Construction — presented to the Eustis City Commission Jan. 5, outlining the case for doing a new master plan for the entirety of the city's downtown.

› Local aviation company becomes Buccaneers team airline [Business Observer]
Just before the new year, AeroVanti Club, a private aviation company, announced a big win: a partnership with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The company the signed the team as its exclusive private aviation partner and the is now the team’s official airline. Through the partnership, the Buccaneers Champions Lounges will be rebranded to The AeroVanti Lounges. “The Tampa Bay Buccaneers organization is one of the most well-respected and recognizable brands in the country,” AeroVanti Founder and CEO Patrick Britton-Harr says in a news release.