Florida's economy outpaces U.S. with jobs, growth - and, yes, higher inflation

You want to know why the U.S. economy hasn't slipped into a recession this year even though such a prediction was commonplace? Well, it's because you keep spending. Consumer spending is the driver of the American economy. People, and companies, keep spending money. It hasn't meant gangbuster economic growth, and plenty of Americans continue struggling. Yet the U.S. economy has kept growing during the first half of 2023, and Florida's economy has outpaced the national economy in several important economic gauges. [Source: WUSF]

Florida Chamber issues progress report on 2030 goals

The Florida Chamber of Commerce has released a new report outlining the state’s progress toward the organization’s chief goal over the past five years: growing Florida into a top-10 global economy. According to the 2023 Florida Business & Economic Mid-Year Report, the Sunshine State ranks as the No. 16 economy in the world if measured as an independent country — nestled between Mexico and Indonesia in the current global pecking order. [Source: Florida Politics]

Which two Florida cities made the Top 10 for best recreation in the U.S.? Here's the list

Two of Florida's top destinations for fun things to do were recently named among the 10 best cities for recreation in the U.S. by a national website. Orlando and Tampa ranked No. 2 and 3, respectively, on the 2023's Best & Worst Cities for Recreation report released Thursday by personal finance website WalletHub. Florida was the only state to have multiple cities in the Top 10, which was topped by Las Vegas and also included Cincinnati, Atlanta, San Diego, Honolulu, St. Louis, Chicago and Scottsdale, Arizona. [Source: Florida Today]

DeSantis’ veto of electric cars bill cost taxpayers $277 million, critics say

Gov. Ron DeSantis was more concerned about Iowa corn farmers than Florida taxpayers when he vetoed a popular bill that could have saved the state $277 million by adding electric vehicles to state and local government fleets, a Democratic critic says. More EVs would mean less of a demand for ethanol, which is processed from corn grown in states such as Iowa, the expected home to the first presidential caucus next year. [Source: Orlando Sentinel]

State braces for more cases of deer disease

After Florida’s first recorded case of a contagious disease fatal to deer, wildlife officials said other cases are likely and that it will be a “long-term marathon” to address the issue. But it also could mean a short-term increase in hunting limits in the region of Northwest Florida where the case was found, as officials seek to quickly collect samples to determine the prevalence of chronic wasting disease. [Source: News Service of Florida]

ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› Jacksonville sees outsized number of corporate relocations [Jacksonville Business Journal]
Corporations are relocating at a record rate not seen in years and Jacksonville appears to be one of the city's most benefiting from this trend. About 9% of corporations in the United States moved their headquarters within the past fiscal year — the highest percentage since 2016-17, according to a new report by moving experts HireAHelper.com based on their internal data and information from the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Department of Labor.

› ‘Unfriendly political environment’: Broward convention cancellations blame Florida as reason for exodus [South Florida Sun-Sentinel]
Broward County has lost more than a half-dozen conventions as their organizers cite the divisive political climate as their reason to stay out of Florida. The list was compiled by Visit Lauderdale, formerly known as the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau. Broward’s tourism arm said the lost conventions could have brought hotel stays to Fort Lauderdale and its surrounding cities, which also meant money spent on restaurants and attractions.

› New basketball league for WNBA offseason is coming to Miami. Here’s what to know. [Miami Herald]
A new women’s basketball league is set to launch during the WNBA’s offseason to keep players from playing overseas, according to ESPN. And that new league, called Unrivaled, “would run from January through March and feature 30 of the top professional women’s players on six teams, playing games of 3-on-3 and 1-on-1 games at a soundstage in Miami,” ESPN wrote.

› A Tampa Monopoly is a go. What spots will make the board? [Tampa Bay Times]
The iconic American real estate board game will soon have a Tampa edition. No, not the luxury hotel on Water Street. But a game where players can build their own hotels across Tampa properties — if they have a monopoly, of course. Game and toy company Top Trumps USA announced last week that it is working on a Tampa-themed Monopoly board game set to release in February under the Hasbro license.

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› How will West Palm Beach spend its $8.1 million federal transportation grant money? [Palm Beach Post]
The largely Black Roosevelt Estates community north of Clear Lake in West Palm Beach has, for years, been bedeviled by flooding problems that make navigating local roads difficult after a hard rain. The city has begun work on various projects to solve the problem and on Thursday it received a giant shot in the arm in the form of an $8.1 million transportation grant from the federal government.

› Golf and lifestyle brand to make SWFL debut with pair of locations [Business Observer]
Southern California-infused athletic fashion brand TravisMathew is opening a pair of new retail stores in the region, including its debut in the Fort Myers-Naples market. The Fort Myers TravisMathew opened in early July in the Miromar Outlets in Estero, according to a statement. A second store, meanwhile, is coming to The Mall at University Town Center in Sarasota, according to the brand’s website.

› Southeastern Grocers introducing new store brand product line [Jacsonville Daily Record]
Southeastern Grocers Inc., parent company of Fresco y Más, Harveys Supermarket and Winn-Dixie grocery stores, announced July 6 it is introducing a new store brand product line – Know & Love – designed to offer customers affordable products made with ingredients they “know,” to create the everyday products they’ll “love.”

› Tampa Bay construction manager overcomes political turmoil, language barriers [Business Observer]
Maria Escalona was working on the type of project that can only happen in Miami when she got the call that brought her to Tampa. The now 35-year-old project manager for JE Dunn Construction was leading the build out of a high-end independent living facility with bars, beauty salons, game rooms and party rooms. A memory care center was attached. This was a place aimed at Miami’s wealthy, artistic class and had been the kind of project that had helped Escalona prove herself. “It was like a party house, but with a lot of luxury in it,” she says.