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Thursday's Daily Pulse
What you need to know about Florida today
Gov. Ron DeSantis says most of Florida will enter phase 2 of reopening Friday
Gov. Ron DeSantis reopened bars, movie theaters and other entertainment in 64 counties on Wednesday, announcing Florida’s movement into Phase 2 of his three-step plan to restart the economy amid the coronavirus pandemic. The changes go into effect Friday but don’t apply to three hardest-hit counties in the state: Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach. More from the Orlando Sentinel, the Tampa Bay Times, and WKMG.
See also:
» Florida coronavirus cases surge past 58,700, the biggest daily gain in six weeks
SpaceX launches another set of 60 Starlink internet satellites
SpaceX on Wednesday night launched another batch of Starlink internet satellites, just four days after sending into space the first two American astronauts from U.S. soil since 2011. The liftoff, which came at 9:25 p.m., took 60 internet satellites to orbit from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station’s launch complex 40. The 570-pound satellites tightly stacked in the rocket’s fairing will become part of a constellation of tens of thousands that will work together to provide high-speed internet to the world, including some of its most remote areas. [Source: Orlando Sentinel]
Florida tells feds thanks, but no, we don’t need the anti-riot force. It had already arrived
The feds are here. They are ready to quell the unrest in the streets. But who summoned them? Anybody? State and local officials insist they were blindsided by the arrival of a Federal Bureau of Prisons riot-control team in Miami on Monday, purportedly to assist the local police in clamping down on people protesting the killing by Minnesota police officers of George Floyd. [Source: Miami Herald]
MLS, facing $1B loss, to resume season with Orlando summer tournament
Major League Soccer, which could lose as much as $1 billion because of the COVID-19 crisis, averted a lockout and will return to action with a summer made-for-TV tournament at Orlando’s ESPN Wide World of Sports complex, league commissioner Don Garber confirmed during a teleconference Wednesday. MLS positioned itself to be the first major U.S. sports league to resume after the MLS Players Association ratified a revised collective bargaining agreement that cleared the way for the Orlando plan. [Source: Miami Herald]
Trump wants to move RNC convention. Florida cities wonder if they’re in contention
President Donald Trump’s latest threat to move the Republican presidential convention from North Carolina is renewing chatter among Florida Republicans of luring the party’s seminal gathering to the Sunshine State. “We welcome the opportunity to host the @GOPconvention in Jacksonville,” Mayor Lenny Curry tweeted Tuesday night after Trump announced the Republican National Committee would seek a new home for its August convention. More from the Miami Herald and the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:
› Major losses in jobs, GDP in Northeast Florida because of coronavirus
A study commissioned by the Northeast Florida Regional Council forecasts that more than 41,000 jobs will be lost because of the coronavirus in 2020 compared to 2019. The report says that the effects in Northeast Florida are expected to be 15% more severe than the national average. The report forecasts a 2.6% loss in gross domestic product value in St. Johns County in 2020 compared to 2019, though numbers are expected to be better in 2021 and 2022.
› Analysis: Florida, Texas, Minnesota cities show biggest drop in used car prices
While used car sales have always been prone to fluctuations, data from the U.S. Census Bureau found that retail used car sales plummeted more than 20 percent year-over-year in March even before the full effects of stay-at-home orders were realized. The last time that used car sales fell so precipitously was at the onset of the Great Recession in 2008.
› Margaritaville Orlando reopens with ‘Stay in Paradise’ deal
Paradise has reopened! Well, the one with cheeseburgers in it, anyway. The Margaritaville Resort Orlando is back in business and taking bookings. And they are looking to incentivize people into taking a getaway with the Stay in Paradise deal.
› Spirit Airlines announces comeback: 47 FLL flights planned by July as demand increases
Spirit Airlines plans to more than triple its current service out of South Florida by July, the company announced Wednesday. The return of many of the low-cost airline’s pre-pandmic flights to its home base at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport came sooner than expected as demand has taken off, said John Kirby, Spirit’s vice president of network planning.
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