SHARE:
Monday's Daily Pulse
What you need to know about Florida today
› Florida says Busch Gardens can begin reopening June 10
Get ready, roller coaster fans. Busch Gardens can officially reopen. Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, part of SeaWorld Entertainment, presented and got approved for its reopening plans on Thursday by Hillsborough County. Tampa Mayor Jane Castor also approved the plans. The plans then went to the state for final approval, which was given Saturday.
› People’s Trust pays workers bonuses to cut corners on repairs, lawsuit claims
A property insurer that requires its customers to get their homes fixed by its own repair company is facing allegations that it pays bonuses to workers for cutting corners on those repairs. People’s Trust Insurance Co., based in Deerfield Beach, pioneered what’s called the managed repair insurance model in 2008 by forming its own contracting company, Rapid Response Team, which operates out of warehouses around the state.
› Sarasota officials say hurricane shelter space could be cut by one-third due to COVID-19
If a hurricane approaches, Sarasota-Manatee residents who flee to disaster shelters could be met with medical screenings, and even “no vacancy” signs. That’s because more space is needed at shelters to accommodate the Centers for Disease Control’s new social-distancing guidelines. The hurricane season begins June 1 and lasts until Nov. 31. However, weather experts are calling for an above-average season and there have already been two named storms: Arthur and Bertha.
› Crashes are down more than 50 percent across Tampa Bay and Florida
Like it has done with so many areas of our lives, COVID-19 changed everything. The respiratory infection, caused by the novel coronavirus, triggered social distancing under safer-at-home orders issued in March. Traffic fell dramatically. As traffic counts dropped, so did crashes, according to data from the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.
In case you missed it:
