Friday's Afternoon Update

What you need to know about Florida today

| 4/5/2019

Florida’s latest timeshare battle pits developers against relief companies. Are there any winners?

At best, the timeshare industry has a spotty reputation. There are so many disappointed timeshare owners that a counter-industry sprung up to help them. The timeshare exit providers charge thousands of dollars for their services and lots of people are quick to pay. But too many of the companies are calculating, criminal in some cases. More from the Tampa Bay Times.

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As 2020 nears, Puerto Rico statehood looms large in Florida

As President Donald Trump and his pack of would-be 2020 Democratic opponents trade fire over disaster relief for Puerto Rico, another issue — statehood — is looming large for the island’s diaspora. More than 80 percent of Puerto Rican likely voters in Florida said the island should be granted statehood and said the issue would be important to them as they weigh presidential candidates, according to a new poll. More from Politico.

Subway partners with Fresh From Florida

Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried got behind the counter of a Subway sandwich shop in the capital Thursday morning to promote the 'Fresh From Florida' campaign. Fried made a veggie sandwich with Florida-grown products, which will be used at every Subway restaurant in the state through the end of April. More from WCTV.

Driving on empty: Florida could expand self-driving car law

Self-driving vehicles could be operated in Florida without a human backup under a bill approved by a House committee Thursday, which could pave the way for companies like Uber and Lyft to deploy fleets of driverless vehicles. More from the AP.

BJ's Wholesale Club is about to makes its Pinellas County debut

There's only a few places shoppers can find 30-ounce tubs of hummus, 48-count Pop-Tarts and 4-pound boxes of mozzarella sticks. In Pinellas County, that type of bulk selection has long been limited to Costco and Sam's Club. But that's set to change this Saturday when a new BJ's Wholesale Club opens its first Pinellas location in Clearwater. More from the Tampa Bay Times.

Florida Film
True Love Blooms

The St. Petersburg-filmed Hallmark movie formerly known as Garden Party will arrive on screens this weekend as True Love Blooms. The movie was filmed in February, followed by another Hallmark movie filmed in Pinellas and Hillsborough counties in March.

» More from the Tampa Bay Times.

Profile
Curt Hemmel runs Florida’s largest clam hatchery

Across the street from Curt Hemmel’s Terra Ceia home, off a sun-bleached dock, are millions upon millions of clam seed—clam babies that look like brown beach sand—resting in open tanks. When you ask Hemmel how many clams he’s brought into this world, he has no idea: “After 23 years, you kind of lose count.” Hemmel is the founder and managing director of Bay Shellfish Co., Florida’s largest bivalve hatchery, an aquaculture business that sells these itty-bitty clam babies, mostly hard-shell clams, to clam farmers all over Florida and Southern seaboard states so they can grow them into edible adults.