March 28, 2024

Monday's Daily Pulse

Photo: Martha Ascencio Rhine \ Tampa Bay Times

Monday's Daily Pulse

What you need to know about Florida today

| 5/4/2020

Florida is reopening. Is the plan safe?

Restaurants, state parks and stores will open in most of Florida on Monday for the first time in weeks. Businesses once deemed “nonessential” will welcome back workers. Hospitals will perform surgeries put on hold since March. It’s the first step in restarting an economy intentionally halted to slow the spread of the coronavirus. It is also a real-life experiment: Never in the lifetimes of Floridians have leaders attempted to reopen in the middle of a pandemic of this scale. More from the Tampa Bay Times and the Miami Herald.

Publix sales jump to $11.2 billion as coronavirus boosted business by $1 billion

Publix sales soared to $11.2 billion for the first three months of the year, with the grocery store giant estimating business was up about $1 billion because of the coronavirus pandemic. The Lakeland-based company reported Friday sales through March 28 were up 16.1% from $9.7 billion in the same quarter last year. Comparable store sales increased 14.4%. [Source: Orlando Sentinel]

The next plague? ‘Strong’ termite season starting in South Florida

South Florida’s annual swarm of termites is winging in strong this season – but relax, at least they won’t be spreading the new coronavirus. “It’s starting and it’s strong from the samples I’ve gotten in the mail [from pest control operators] this last few days,” says Rudolf Scheffrahn, a University of Florida entomology professor based in Davie. “We’re starting in heavy-duty flight season now, and I don’t expect it to end for six weeks, two months.” [Source: South Florida Sun-Sentinel]

SpaceX and NASA will try to fly new vehicle to space this month for only 9th time in world history

May 27 could mark only the ninth time in the history of the world that a crew of astronauts will take off from a brand new launch vehicle on a mission to space. The last time the United States did it was in 1981, 39 years ago. The magnitude of the historical milestone and the pressure of the launch is weighing on the teams at SpaceX and NASA that are orchestrating the mission, a piloted test flight of SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule that plans to return to the U.S. the capability of flying astronauts to the International Space Station from American soil. [Source: Orlando Sentinel]

No more free cookies, breakfast buffets —hotels to cut back touch points

When hotels reopen, they won’t look or operate the same as they did pre-COVID-19. The virus has led most properties to adopt new practices aimed at reducing touch points and minimizing human contact. Forget about breakfast buffets, lobby coffee stations, plates of free cookies, and concierge Happy Hour buffets. Mini-bars may be a luxury of the past. Even pads of paper and pens may be removed from rooms. Pool chairs will be spaced out. Hotel restaurants, bars and meeting rooms will reconfigure their seating charts. Floor decals will remind guests what a 6-foot distance looks like. [Source: Miami Herald]

ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› Derby Lane plans to open again after 49-day layoff
Derby Lane will resume greyhound racing this week after a 49-day closure because of the coronavirus pandemic, the track announced Saturday on Twitter. The facility, which closed March 20 — in accordance with Gov. Ron DeSantis’ executive order to help combat the spread of COVID-19 — is scheduled to begin racing Friday with a 15-race matinee performance. Derby Lane did not address how it plans to adhere to social distancing guidelines, other than to say, “Please stay home if you are showing any symptoms.”

› Volusia County breweries fight over vintage cars, similar themes
A craft beer fight is brewing in Volusia County. Arriving first on the scene, Ormond Brewery Co. became the county’s first established brewery in 2013. A mile away, Ormond Garage Brew began serving suds nine months ago on the main drag in a historic garage that once held race cars from the early 1900s. Both breweries feature vintage car themes, a nod to Ormond Beach’s history where early racers christened the area the Birthplace of Speed.

› Despite tough times, these Miami-area businesses are sharing what they have
At Lil Greenhouse Grill in Overtown, free meals are provided to hungry neighborhood kids when they show up at the restaurant. At the 11 South Florida locations of CAO Bakery & Cafe, another family-owned enterprise, each customer gets a free loaf of Cuban bread each Monday. As the coronavirus pandemic rages, local and regional businesses of all sizes are pitching in to help support and nourish workers who’ve lost jobs — as well as their hungry families — and to show gratitude to first responders and healthcare workers.

› ETHEL quartet puts ‘Circus’ show online
Sarasota’s circus heritage and photos from The Ringling archives provided the inspiration for the world premiere of “Circus: Wandering City” by the string quartet ETHEL at Historic Asolo Theater in 2018. The production, which The Ringling co-commissioned with the Brooklyn Academy of Music’s 2018 Next Wave Festival, was presented for a weekend in Sarasota in January 2018. But now, the acclaimed quartet is making it available for streaming for free while the museum and live performance venues are shut down.

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