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Monday's Daily Pulse
What you need to know about Florida today
Visit Florida tourism agency faces another fight for survival
Visit Florida is fighting for its life again, six months after the beleaguered tourism marketing agency got a last-minute reprieve from the Legislature and Gov. Ron DeSantis. Lawmakers in the spring cut Visit Florida’s budget by $26 million and extended its charter in state law only until June 30, 2020. Visit Florida leaders are pushing for a longer lease on life. [Source: Orlando Sentinel]
Florida among 5 states resisting creation of panels to promote the census
With billions in federal aid and seats in Congress at stake, some states are dragging their feet in carrying out one of the Census Bureau’s chief recommendations for making sure everyone is counted during the 2020 census. Five states — Florida, Louisiana, Nebraska, South Dakota and Texas — have not set up “complete count committees” that would create public awareness campaigns to encourage people to fill out the questionnaires. [Source: WPLG]
Florida Walmart stores employ robots to clean floors, scan shelves
Customers at some Orlando-area Walmart stores may have noticed a machine scanning shelves of chips, canned goods or other merchandise. Autonomous shelf scanners that check inventory or for issues with prices or labels, along with autonomous floor scrubbers, have rolled out this year in stores across Florida. [Source: Orlando Sentinel]
High hopes, no cash: Florida’s homegrown pot amendment withers while industry initiative sprouts
Michael Minardi has been working toward his dream of giving the marijuana plant back to the people one hundred bucks at a time. Over the past four years, the Tampa attorney slowly raised about $450,000 for his constitutional amendment petition to legalize recreational marijuana, with most donations at $100 or less. Then an industry-backed campaign swooped in with a bigger supply of green four months ago. Two marijuana companies have poured $2.8 million into a campaign called Make It Legal Florida since August. [Source: South Florida Sun-Sentinel]
Iguana population and damage booms. Florida’s not sure what to do about it
The green iguana is the most in-your-face invasive species in South Florida. Unlike the infamous but elusive Burmese python, iguanas freely mingle with people — and often act like they own the place. They’ve now been spotted in the wild across much of the state, everywhere from Gainesville down to Key West, where they have a habit of shorting out power lines. [Source: Miami Herald]
ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:
› New cruise ship Norwegian Encore brings end of era to Florida
Norwegian Encore is the last ship of Norwegian Cruise Line’s Breakaway Plus class, the four largest cruise ships in the fleet. Encore, Bliss, Joy and Escape are beefed-up versions of the designs started by Norwegian Breakaway and Getaway. That’s six ships in the last six years, all with a similar approach, and all a little bit different.
› Daytona Beach merchants await Black Friday shoppers
It was quiet in the aisles at Bass Pro Shops at One Daytona this past week, the calm before a shopping storm that area retailers expect to shift into high gear on Black Friday, always among the busiest shopping days of the year. “We’re extremely optimistic this holiday season,” said Todd Blanchard, general manager at Bass Pro Shops, among the retailers anticipating big pre-dawn lines of Black Friday shoppers.
› Looking back at South Florida’s long-lost restaurants
As South Florida’s population spread northward from Miami during the previous century, restaurateurs were always there, eager to roll out their unique culinary visions or provide simple comfort and sustenance to busy workers. But visitors’ demands to be entertained forced these merchants to dig deep into their imaginations inside and outside of the kitchen.
› Tampa International Airport wins $6 million terminal improvement grant
Tampa International Airport’s ambitious plans to upgrade its terminal got a $6 million boost Friday from the U.S. Department of Transportation. Tampa International is in the second phase of a $2 billion construction program that already has brought in new restaurants and concessionaires, moved rental car operations out of the terminal to a massive new rental car center accessible by the airport’s new SkyConnect train.
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