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Monday's Afternoon Update
What you need to know about Florida today
How much money Florida small businesses have already lost amid coronavirus pandemic
New numbers from a state of Florida business survey show how much of an economic toll the coronavirus is taking on local business, so far. The ongoing survey is being conducted by the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity. As part of its Business Damage Assessment Survey, the agency is collecting information from businesses, such as how much money they have lost so far, and how many employees they have had to lay off. More from Click Orlando and the Capitolist.
Florida’s total crime rate drops even as murder rate increases
Statewide, Florida saw another year of reduction in its average arrest rate even as crimes such as murder went up. In 2019, the arrest rate in Florida fell by 6.3%, marking the 49th consecutive year the state has seen a reduction, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. More from the Orlando Sentinel.
Orange juice sales surge amid coronavirus crisis
As many Americans scurry to fortify their immune systems amid the coronavirus outbreak, the beverage once synonymous with Florida is rebounding. Retail sales of 100-percent orange juice rose 9.8 percent nationally compared to the same recent four-week period (ending March 14) of 2019, according to Nielsen data provided by the Florida Department of Citrus. More from the Tampa Bay Times.
Restaurants receive more than $1 million from Miami hospitality fund. More is needed
Miami restaurants fattened up the internationally recognized South Beach Wine & Food Festival. Now, the festival, along with Florida International University’s Chaplin School of Hospitality & Tourism, has found more than one million ways to help the thousands of workers at independent restaurants and bars who lost their jobs or were temporarily laid off because of the coronavirus pandemic. More from the Miami Herald.
Many governors getting a huge approval boost amid coronavirus response — but not DeSantis
State governors across the country have seen their job approval ratings soar amid their handling of the coronavirus outbreak, with one notable exception: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. In a list of 15 governors’ most recent approval numbers compiled by the political statistics website FiveThirtyEight, DeSantis was the only one to not see a double-digit improvement on his baseline approval from the end of 2019. More from the Orlando Sentinel and the Tampa Bay Times.
Entertainment
A Disney World musician, soon to be furloughed, still finds a way to share joy during coronavirus
For three decades at Walt Disney World, Carol Stein has entertained tourists, playing Disney melodies for children at the Grand Floridian Resort or drinking songs on her piano at Epcot’s British pub. For the first time, her songs have been silenced at the company’s theme parks. But Stein refuses to stop entertaining.
» More from the Orlando Sentinel.
Tech Trends
App built in Orlando helps consumers know what’s ‘InStock’ at grocery stores
Two Orlando developers have built an app that could limit shoppers’ potential exposure to coronavirus by telling them what’s on the shelves at nearby grocery stores. The free InStock app is available for iPhone, and the developers say they expect to release it for Android devices soon. The project was born after Andrew Dushane could not find a small freezer at a Sam’s Club shortly before awareness of coronavirus spread in early March.
» Read more from the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
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