Florida hit by Canadian smoke from historic wildfire season

A cloud of Canadian wildfire smoke smothered most of the Sunshine State in haze Tuesday, adding Florida to a list of U.S. states affected by a historic season of flames up north. Air quality in some parts of the state hit “unhealthy” levels and the air carried a mild scent, Ulrich said. Visibility was also diminished. The smoke originated in British Columbia and Alberta, Ulrich said, citing satellite imagery. It traveled thousands of miles to Eastern Canada by circulating winds and then was dragged southward by the remnants of Ophelia, as the storm petered out in the Atlantic Ocean. More from NBC News, the Tampa Bay Times, and the New York Times]

Florida Trend Exclusive
Driving climate conversations

Miami is considered especially vulnerable to sea level rise fueled by climate change. It’s also becoming an epicenter for resiliency initiatives to mitigate impact on the city and its residents. But that doesn’t mean the community fully understands what future adaptations it will require. To increase awareness and drive community engagement on the topic, the Knight Foundation has made $8 million in grants to two local organizations. [Source: Florida Trend]

Florida Supreme Court to hear arguments on recreational marijuana initiative

An initiative that aims to put recreational marijuana on the 2024 ballot still has a massive hurdle to clear in the Florida Supreme Court. On Tuesday, the state’s top court ordered oral arguments on Nov. 8 as part of the judicial review process for the Adult Personal Use of Marijuana ballot measure. Recreational marijuana initiatives made it onto the statewide ballot in 2014 and 2016, but neither surpassed the 60% threshold required to become law. More from WFLA and the News Service of Florida.

A new era for Cuban migrants: Some can’t get green cards despite decades-old law

For nearly six decades, Cuban migrants have enjoyed a fast track to permanent residence in the United States through the Cuban Adjustment Act. Now, the federal government has released thousands of recently arrived Cubans from the U.S.-Mexico border with paperwork that an immigration appeals board ruled makes them ineligible to get green cards under the Act. It’s a disruption in the longstanding preferential treatment that Cubans have historically received. [Source: Miami Herald]

Florida announces more locations, dates for Hurricane victims to receive federal benefits

More than a month after Hurricane Idalia peaked as a Category 4 and made landfall at Florida’s Gulf Coast as a Category 3 storm, wreaking havoc with strong winds and flooding across more than a dozen counties, many victims of the storm are still dealing with material and economic insecurity. [Source: Florida Phoenix]

ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› DeBary officials worry big industrial project may be a casualty of Florida's new Live Local Act [Orlando Business Journal]
Implications from Florida's still-new Live Local Act have jeopardized an already-approved industrial project in DeBary, city officials say — one they had hoped would be a boon to the local economy, creating jobs and millions in tax revenue. The still-unfolding situation in the suburb north of Orlando reflects both the potential effectiveness of the Live Local Act in incentivizing the development of new housing as well as the possibility for unintended consequences.

› Miami-Dade’s pit bull ban is over after three decades. Why it ended and what it means [Miami Herald]
Miami-Dade’s decades-long pit bull ban ended Sunday. In June, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a law that bars local governments and public housing authorities from banning dogs of a specific breed, weight or size. Under the new law, local governments can still adopt policies to prevent attacks as long as they don’t single out a breed.

› Jaguars owner maintains ranking on list of richest Americans [Jacksonville Daily Record]
Shad Khan maintained his ranking on Forbes magazine’s annual list of the 400 richest Americans as his wealth grew. The Jacksonville Jaguars owner ranked 55th in the Forbes 400 for the second year in a row with an estimated net worth of $12.2 billion, up from an estimated $11.2 billion a year ago, the magazine said in a story published online Oct. 3.

› Tampa has 25 remaining cigar factories, 23 are being used. Here’s how. [Tampa Bay Times]
Tampa is still known as “Cigar City” for a reason. In the 1920s, there were more than 200 cigar factories, mostly in Ybor City and West Tampa, making Tampa the global hub of the industry. Due to a mix of urban renewal, interstate construction and fires, only 25 of the factories remain and just one is still used as a cigar factory. But today, only two are vacant, a dramatic improvement.

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› Proposal would reduce waiting period on Florida gun sales [WCTV]
Florida lawmakers could make it easier for people to buy a gun. A new bill could reduce the waiting period for someone to take home a gun. Currently, anyone wanting to buy a gun in Florida has to wait at least three days for the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to run a background check. State Representative Joel Rudman, (R) Navarre, filed a bill in the 2024 legislature that would change that.

› This Florida city landed a spot on National Geographic’s ‘Best Fall Beaches’ list. See where, why [Daytona Beach News Journal]
Just because summer is over, that doesn't mean that beach season has to be. With the start of the new season, National Geographic shared its seven suggestions for the best U.S. beach towns to visit during the 2023 fall season, including one famous Florida beach. Experts claim that with fewer crowds and cooler temperatures, fall is the best time to explore coastal towns where "cultural sites, natural wonders, and tons of history tell memorable stories to take back home."

› Florida’s A1A could be renamed for Jimmy Buffett [WFLA]
Born and raised on the Gulf coast, Buffett carved out a niche in popular music with hits like “Margaritaville” and “Cheeseburger in Paradise,” combining elements of the country, rock and folk genres, with a tropical twist. He created an empire of restaurants, hotels, merchandise, timeshares and even cannabis products under the Margaritaville brand, with themes inspired by his music and his longtime home of Key West.

› TDT drops again as Orange County commissioners weigh future spending [Orlando Sentinel]
With Orange County commissioners scheduled this morning to consider multi-million-dollar projects for tourist-tax revenues, Comptroller Phil Diamond announced that August collections were down from a year ago. The tax brought in $22.1 million, about 5.6% less than a year ago, the fifth consecutive drop in monthly collections of the Tourist Development Tax or TDT when compared against the previous year.