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Monday's Afternoon Update
What you need to know about Florida today
Virgin Trains ends 2019 “ramp up” year nearing 1 million Florida riders
Virgin Trains finished November with almost 900,000 riders — less than half its initial projected estimate. But the company says it is still on track to its goal of 2.9 million riders by 2021. Total ridership through November climbed above 885,000, with 100,627 riders for the month. It was the first time ridership topped six figures in a single 30-day period since Brightline began South Florida operations in May 2018. More from the Miami Herald.
Related Florida Trend Content
» Brightline Passenger Train: 2018 Floridian of the Year
SpaceX's next Starlink launch will kick off busy period for the Space Coast
Monday's launch of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral will ignite the way for a slate of high-profile missions over the next month, an appropriate premiere for the Space Coast's first liftoff of the year. More from Florida Today.
The Ben hotel plans on being the latest hip hotspot in West Palm Beach
Pretty soon West Palm Beachers might ask you, “Have you been to the Ben?” That’s because a cool new hotel — the Ben West Palm — is coming to the hot downtown area with an opening slated for Feb. 13. The boutique hotel sits on Flagler Banyan Square, where City Hall used to be. The location gives the Ben bragging rights as downtown West Palm Beach’s only waterfront hotel. More from the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
Jacksonville attorneys request more time to investigate suspended JEA CEO Aaron Zahn
City attorneys asked JEA’s board of directors on Monday to cancel their special meeting scheduled Tuesday to discuss the terms of ousted CEO Aaron Zahn’s termination, saying they need two more weeks to finish their investigation into whether the board has grounds to fire him for cause. More from the Florida Times-Union.
Palmetto gets $1.5 million grant for infrastructure to support convention center hotel
The push to build a hotel near the Bradenton Area Convention Center that will help make the facility more attractive for conferences and other events is getting financial help from the state. Gov. Ron DeSantis announced recently that Palmetto will receive $1.5 million to help improve infrastructure near the Bradenton Area Convention Center. More from the Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
Profile
New leader of century-old retailer has plans to encourage collaboration, employee growth
Early in his career, Matt Beall remembers people telling him that when they walked into his dad’s office, it would feel like they were talking to a family member. Matt Beall’s father, Bob Beall, was president and CEO of Bealls from 1980 to 2006. In December, Matt Beall was named CEO of the Bradenton-based company himself
» More from the Business Observer.
Out of the Box
Urban scrawl
If it’s not graffiti, or secret code, or treasure hunt clues, what exactly is the tangle of spray-painted, multicolored hieroglyphics defacing sidewalks in downtown Miami? Call it urban scrawl. The squiggles, lines, numerals, circles, diamonds, arrows, dots, blobs and Xs — proliferating by the day — are utility markings, used to show electrical contractors, telecommunication companies, water and sewer engineers and construction workers where underground lines, cables and pipes are located.
» Read more from the Miami Herald.
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