Here are Florida’s most competitive primary races
Republican and Democratic voters on Tuesday will take major steps toward deciding the makeup of Florida’s congressional and legislative delegations for the next two years. While most seats will be contested in November, the outcomes of primaries in Republican and Democratic strongholds will go a long way toward determining the ultimate winners. Meanwhile, some incumbent lawmakers will try to fend off challengers Tuesday. More from the Tampa Bay Times.
See also:
» Do I need to wear a mask when I vote? How to cast your ballot safely amid COVID-19
» Ballot drop off boxes ‘a huge hit’ during Florida primary
Florida Trend Exclusive
CSX's CEO James Foote leads transformation of freight carrier
CSX seemed about to derail just three years ago. Now it’s leading a transformation of America's railroads, but can it ride the rails to growth? It’s hard to overstate the mess Jim Foote stepped into when he became an executive at CSX in October 2017. The freight carrier’s new CEO, Hunter Harrison, on the job for just seven months, had trashed the company’s traditional operating methods, going all-in on his own revolutionary way to run a railroad. More from Florida Trend.
Leepa-Rattner Museum of Art reopens in Tarpon Springs
Nestled on St. Petersburg College’s Tarpon Springs campus, the Leepa-Rattner Museum of Art has been closed since March due to COVID-19. Now that the college has resumed a portion of on-campus classes, the museum will open to the public with new guidelines and hours. The museum will be open Tuesday-Sunday from 1-5 p.m. Docent tours, group tours and in-person programs and gatherings have been temporarily suspended. More from the Tampa Bay Times.
How one South Florida Cuban restaurant chain is staying afloat during the pandemic
The pandemic has altered what it means to run a small business, especially in the restaurant industry. South Florida restaurant owners are trying to maintain business while figuring out how to keep their workers and customers safe. One of those owners is Carlos Gazitua. He grew up watching his grandmother and mother run Sergio’s, the popular Cuban restaurant chain. Now as CEO, he’s facing unique challenges. More from WUSF.
Sarasota-Manatee tourism hit hard by COVID-19, data show
Tourism in Sarasota County plummeted in April, May and June, the same time period when Florida as a whole saw a 60.5% drop in visitation. In the three months ending June 30, visitation in Sarasota fell by 67.9%, with the number of visitors falling to 111,800 compared to 348,000 in the same three months the year before. More from the Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
Legal Trends
Eager to test, law students plan protest over postponement of Florida bar exam
Law school graduates plan to gather at the Florida Supreme Court Wednesday to protest the third postponement of the summer bar examination and the Florida Board of Bar Examiners’ handling of the test’s administration. The protest will take place the same day would-be attorneys were set to take the bar exam online, a revelation that came in a Sunday night email that stemmed from “technical glitches” within the online software being provided by ILG Technologies of Missouri. The date was cancelled and the exam moved to an as-yet unspecified day in October.
» More from the Palm Beach Post.
Giving Back
Kids get a haircut and a reading lesson at this St. Pete barbershop
Antonio Brown, master barber and owner of Central Station Barbershop & Grooming on Central Avenue in St. Petersburg, teaches kids ages 4 to 12 how to read from 4 to 6 p.m. every Wednesday as they get their hair cut. And if they read the book to him, they get to keep the book and get a free haircut. Brown, 39, came up with the idea five years ago when he first opened the shop. He wanted to do something different in the barbershop — something that would help kids.
» Read more from the Tampa Bay Times.