Floridians are quitting their jobs more than almost anywhere else in the country

Tens of thousands of Floridians quit their jobs in February, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), in what was one of the highest rates of quits in the nation. The number of people who quit their jobs rose by 35,000 for the month, the data showed. The quit rate amounted to about a 0.4 percent jump, BLS revealed. Other states that saw substantial levels of employees leaving their jobs included Missouri, with a 25,000 jump for February, along with Nevada, which lost 10,000 workers. More from Newsweek and Florida Insider.

Business Beat - Week of April 19th

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Study finds 1 in 3 Floridians who get dropped by their homeowners insurance company are choosing to move

One in three Floridians who get dropped by their homeowner’s insurance company have moved or plan to move somewhere else. It’s new data that was just released by the real estate brokerage firm Redfin, but according to Florida’s Chief Financial Officer, there are ways struggling families can save money. [Source: News 4 Jax]

Upcoming Florida rains to amplify breeding of invasive Cuban tree frogs

The invasive, and elusive, Cuban tree frog has spread throughout Florida, requiring only a puddle of water to breed. With spring rain on the horizon, Dr. Steve Johnson, a professor of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation at the University of Florida, said seasonal reproduction rates are about to skyrocket. The invasive frogs have been in Florida since the early 1900s, likely arriving via ships from their native Cuba. [Source: WUFT]

Poll shows Florida abortion, marijuana referendums short of passage; bigger challenge for pot question

The two high-profile referendums on the 2024 Florida ballot — on abortion rights and recreational marijuana — are polling short of what they need to pass. A statewide public opinion poll released Thursday by Florida Atlantic University found less than 50% support for each. Passage requires 60% of the vote. More from the Orlando Sentinel and Florida Politics.

ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› Fort Lauderdale is maxing out on cemetery space. Could closed Broward schools be the fix? [Miami Herald]
Fort Lauderdale is running out of cemetery space. One potential solution? Turning shuttered Broward County schools into more burial space. During a city commission conference Tuesday, Mike Watson, the District 1 representative for the city’s Cemetery System Board of Trustees, urged commissioners to consider it as an option, saying city-owned cemeteries are almost full and more space is needed.

› GRU Authority makes controversial change to solar net metering system [Gainesville Sun]
The Gainesville Regional Utilities Authority board voted Wednesday evening to change the utility's net metering system, a move which will result in reduced savings for customers generating solar energy at their homes. Moving forward, grid-provided energy will be billed at retail rates and those who generate excess solar energy will be credited at the current fuel adjustment rate.

› Recent protests over USF’s financial ties harken to a 1980s controversy [Tampa Bay Times]
The controversy began in March with protests and a hunger strike by a group of students also pushing for divestment from Israel, but USF’s board of trustees refused their demands. It’s not the first time the university has found itself in a debate over divestment. In 1987, after a two-year campaign by students and faculty, USF divested from some companies supporting South Africa and its system of racial segregation known as apartheid. The circumstances are different.

› West Palm Beach to spend up to $300,000 studying women and minority business assistance [Palm Beach Post]
The West Palm Beach City Commission voted unanimously to spend up to $300,000 on a study that will show if there is an ongoing need for the city's women- and minority-owned business assistance program. The current program was established in 2019 after a four-year study of city contracts showed that firms owned by women and minorities were not getting a fair share of that contract work.

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› Will this be Florida’s first Amazon Fresh grocery store? What we know about a mystery [Miami Herald]
There could be a new national grocery player coming to the Gulf Coast of Florida, even though the parent company won’t say one way or the other. Amazon Fresh seems to have earmarked the Cortez Commons shopping center in the Bradenton area for a future store. The grocery could be the first Amazon Fresh store in Florida.

› UF scientists hope to stop deadly bronzing disease in Florida palm trees [Lanka Times]
It's been nearly two decades since it was discovered that the slime-colored planthopper was killing more than 20 species of palm trees in Florida by spreading a terminal bacterial infection called pyroptosis. But a landmark study by scientists from the University of Florida has managed to decipher a warning signal — a kind of scented SOS — that diseased trees emit that triggers a protective response in nearby palms. Now they are cloning the melancholy fragrance in the laboratory.

› Second public meeting on West Palm Beach waterfront draws more marina opponents [WPBF]
Another meeting about the future of West Palm Beach's waterfront drew a standing-room-only crowd Tuesday night. And just like last week's meeting, residents made it clear they are not in favor of a marina. About 70 people jammed into South Olive Tennis Center to hear a consultant's ideas on how to improve the waterfront. Many there said the waterfront is the city's crown jewel because it is all natural and undeveloped and open to everyone to enjoy.

› 'Tiger King' star Carole Baskin seeks help from Florida Supreme Court after defamation suit [Tallahassee Democrat]
“Tiger King” star Carole Baskin is asking the Florida Supreme Court to protect her against a defamation lawsuit filed by the longtime assistant of her missing former husband. Whether it will is yet to be seen. But in new legal filings, that assistant, Anne McQueen, told the state’s highest court to throw out the animal rights activist’s request, leaving an appeals court decision as is.