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Monday's Daily Pulse
What you need to know about Florida today
Florida bank profits slip to start year
Florida’s financial institutions kicked off 2019 by posting lower profits. The state’s 115 banks and thrifts earned a combined $467 million in the first quarter, down $44 million from the previous year and $21 million short of fourth-quarter 2018, according to data released last week by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Some of that decline is due to the shrinking roster of banks in the state. Mergers and acquisitions have gobbled up 12 lenders in the past year and 29 since 2017. [Source: Sarasota Herald-Tribune]
Hurricane season 2019: A sense of fear for towns already hit
The annual start of hurricane season casts a shadow of dread over coastal sections of the United States. People fret over the next Big One, even as communities struggle to recover from the last one. For some communities, the devastation remains an open wound, as in Florida’s Panama City, slammed by Hurricane Michael in October. [Source: AP]
See also:
» Nearly 8 Months After Hurricane Michael, Florida Panhandle Feels Left Behind
» No Move To Tighten Building Codes As Hurricane Season Starts In Florida
Florida septic tanks in crisis
Millions of Floridians flush toilets, take showers and wash clothes every day with little thought about all the waste flowing down the drains and into their septic tanks. But many of those septic tanks are too old, too close to each other, and too close to groundwater. Most were never designed to remove nitrogen. [Source: Gainesville Sun]
Florida governors have been around the world in search of jobs but have sometimes found criticism instead
Florida governors have crisscrossed the globe from Tokyo to Paris in hopes of returning with high-paying jobs and foreign investment. Sometimes, they found controversy instead. Gov. Ron DeSantis finished his first international trade mission Friday, a four-day business development trip to Israel. The governor helped broker research agreements, rubbed elbows with the Israeli business community and stirred up some controversy of his own. [Source: Orlando Sentinel]
People are leaving Silicon Valley and Orlando might be the next hot spot
Orlando has already seen the Silicon Valley exodus pay dividends, with fast-growing Fattmerchant. Orlando's challenge will be migrating real estate investors to startups and high tech. The success of Fattmerchant and the work Donna Mackenzie and others are doing in the incubator space will help. [Source: Inc.]
ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:
› Does mandating Daylight Saving Time year-round for Florida have a chance in Congress?
Whether the Sunshine Protection Act actually has a chance in Congress is unknown, despite bipartisan support and a Twitter endorsement from President Donald Trump. The idea of staying on Daylight Saving Time – springing forward one day and just staying there forever, adding an extra hour of sunlight to the evening and never moving the clocks back and forth again – has been a controversial one.
› Florida driver’s license revamp is strong on consumer protection
Advanced security features newly added to Florida driver’s licenses mean changes are coming for 15-million Florida drivers. The announcement came last week from the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FDHSMV) that those seeking new or renewed driver’s licenses would immediately start seeing new features added.
› Remaining businesses pack up, move out of Jacksonville Landing
For a few hours in one small part of The Jacksonville Landing, the end of the road was like old times. A steady line of customers waited patiently at the Coastal Cookies stand on Friday as employees baked the last batches of cookies they’ll ever serve at the Landing, where Coastal Cookies has operated since the mall opened in 1987. Elsewhere in the mall, business owners were packing up and moving out as their leases come to an end at the orange-roofed building, which is headed toward demolition in the coming months.
› Trump tariffs and keg duties leave Tampa Bay craft brewers in panic
Most craft brewers rely on affordable Chinese kegs, which were already slapped with a 25 percent tariff at the start of May. Brewers knew that tariff was coming — it was a scheduled jump from a 10 percent steel tariff instated by President Donald Trump last year. What they didn't expect was the addition of new duties on kegs that the U.S. Department of Commerce tacked on this week.
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