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Wednesday's Daily Pulse
What you need to know about Florida today
Florida’s economy now expected to contract 6% in 2020 — but bounce back strong next year
The full economic toll from coronavirus is starting to come into view — but so is the recovery, assuming the pandemic abates. According to a new report from the University of Central Florida’s Institute for Economic Forecasting, Florida’s economy is expected to contract by 6% year-on-year in 2020 — but will bounce back with growth of 7.6% in 2021. [Source: Miami Herald]
Coronavirus Florida: Vaccine trial gets underway as state deaths close in on 10,000
The COVID-19 vaccine trial in Palm Beach County will start revealing results by November with the possibility it will be available — if it works — to the public by January, doctors running the study say. The first 10 subjects of the trial were expected to receive the vaccine on Tuesday at the campus of JFK Medical Center. The vaccine arrived Monday morning for the Phase III trial, the final step before governmental approval. [Source: Palm Beach Post]
Florida Trend Exclusive
Drinkware maker Tervis reduces office and factory space during pandemic
Although Tervis is growing — revenue was up 10% last year — the drinkware maker is looking to reduce its office and factory space, thanks to what it learned during the COVID-19 pandemic when it allowed many of its employees to work remotely. “Our team members proved to be efficient and productive working from home,” says Rogan Donelly, Tervis’ president. “And more importantly, they were happy.” [Source: Florida Trend]
SpaceX launches 11th batch of Starlink satellites on record-breaking Falcon 9 mission
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket punched through a thin layer of scattered clouds over Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on Tuesday, delivering dozens of satellites for SpaceX’s internet-beaming constellation during a record-breaking mission. After the 10:31 a.m. blastoff from Launch Complex 40, the previously flown 230-foot rocket met little weather resistance as it delivered 58 Starlink satellites to low-Earth orbit. It marked the sixth flight – a SpaceX record – for the first stage. [Source: Florida Today]
Carnival Corp. passenger and employee data compromised in ransomware attack
Carnival Corporation warned passengers and employees Monday that their personal information may have been hacked. One of the company’s cruise brands detected a ransomware attack over the weekend that accessed an encrypted a portion of its information technology systems. The company said it has notified law enforcement. [Source: Miami Herald]
ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:
› State regulators approve Duke plan to decommission Crystal River nuclear plant
State regulators unanimously approved a deal Tuesday to allow Duke Energy Florida to decommission its Crystal River nuclear plant ahead of schedule without extra protections for customers. The approval by the Florida Public Service Commission means that Duke Energy locked in a $540 million price tag for a contractor to dismantle the nuclear portion of the plant by 2027, about 50 years sooner than scheduled.
› Broward’s convention center is on tap for huge overhaul. But the pandemic has struck with delays.
The pandemic has struck Broward’s big renovation of the county convention center, putting on hold the construction of an 800-room hotel as well as the east side of redeveloped center. Now, the county now will consider next week signing off on new bank loans to finish the east-side expansion, as well as pay off old debt used to buy land for the hotel. Commissioners need to borrow $279 million to replace tourist tax money interrupted by the COVID-19 crisis.
› FSU funding helps researchers turn inventions into business ideas
A faster way to make test samples for the automotive and aerospace industries, an improved method for producing a wound-healing therapy and the development of an environmentally friendly X-ray material all earned funding from a Florida State University program that helps researchers bring their work to the marketplace.
› Postal workers rally for relief bill in St. Petersburg
In T-shirts that said “U.S. mail, not for sale” Theodore Faison stood outside St. Petersburg’s historic outdoor post office on Tuesday with a message he wanted people to know. “We can do the job,” said the 56-year-old mail carrier, who burned a vacation day from delivering mail in New Tampa to be there.
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