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Monday's Afternoon Update
What you need to know about Florida today
Florida tourism numbers plummet in 2nd quarter of 2020
Florida’s vital tourism industry suffered an estimated 60.5 percent drop in visitors as the COVID-19 pandemic hit hard during the year’s second quarter, with international travel off more than 90 percent. And the outlook remains dim for the state following the nearly 20 million visitor drop from April through June. The tourism industry must combat ongoing negative perceptions of Florida’s handling of COVID-19, international travel bans, people slow to return to entertainment venues and double-digit unemployment. More from WWSB and the Orlando Sentinel.
Neiman Marcus to close in Fort Lauderdale and Palm Beach; 195 workers to lose jobs
Luxury retailer Neiman Marcus will permanently close its stores at the Galleria Mall in Fort Lauderdale and on Worth Avenue in Palm Beach. The last day of business for each location is Sept. 12. Work forces of 122 in Fort Lauderdale and 73 in Palm Beach will lose their jobs effective Oct. 2, according to filings with the state Department of Economic Opportunity. More from the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
Technical glitches postpone Florida Bar exams set for Wednesday
The first-ever online Florida Bar exams, set for Wednesday, have been canceled amid reports of technical problems with the exam software. The Florida Board of Bar Examiners announced in a statement Sunday that the exams would be postponed until October. More from the Tampa Bay Times.
NASA won’t launch next Crew Dragon mission until late October
Crew-1, the first of six regular contracted missions for the commercial company to ferry astronauts to and from the ISS was originally thought to occur as soon as the end of August. But NASA on Friday announced the mission won’t launch until at least Oct. 23. It will be first operational flight for SpaceX after the completion of Demo-2. More from the Orlando Sentinel.
In race to prevent more fish kills, governments deploy pumps on Biscayne Bay shores
With the northern area of Biscayne Bay temporarily starved of oxygen, environmentalists and governments raced to use massive pumps this weekend to recirculate some of the sea water and pump it with air. “This was a Hail Mary,” said Rachel Silverstein, executive director of Miami Waterkeeper, the environmental group that’s been rallying the response to a fish kill that was discovered on Biscayne last week. More from the Miami Herald.
Out of the Box
Four-car ’sky garage’ elevates Sunny Isles Beach penthouse
As many homebuyers rethink the advisability of living in a condominium due to COVID-19, a penthouse unit has hit the market in Sunny Isles Beach that might allay some of their fears. The unit has an attached four-car “sky garage” that allows the owners to whisk their vehicle from the garage directly to th
eir unit via an automated car elevator, thus avoiding the need to interact with a valet or come into contact with fellow residents in the lobby or a shared elevator.
» More from the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
Profile
President of Tallahassee-based Bascom Communications, Sarah Bascom
A Clearwater native, Bascom, 45, got into politics in the late 1990s after earning a communications degree from Florida State University. The daughter of two teachers, she had contemplated a career as a news reporter but changed her mind during an internship with News Channel 8 in Tampa, when she realized she was more intrigued by the work that Jeb Bush’s campaign press team was doing than by the political reporter she was following around.
» Read more from Florida Trend.
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