SHARE:
Wednesday's Daily Pulse
What you need to know about Florida today
Florida holiday travel may be stymied by coronavirus, election fears
Somehow, the holiday season is just a few weeks away. And while it would normally be one of the busiest travel periods of the year, many Floridians may opt to stay closer to home over concerns about the pandemic and the political landscape. According to AAA the Auto Club Group’s annual holiday travel forecast, about a quarter of Floridians surveyed said they expect to travel for the holidays — half as many as last year. The vast majority (84 percent) cited the coronavirus as a travel concern. [Source: Tampa Bay Times]
Florida again tops 4,000 new cases of COVID-19
Florida health officials on Tuesday reported 4,298 new cases of COVID-19, continuing a recent upward trend of infections across the state. It’s the third time in the past six days that Florida announced that at least 4,000 more people had tested positive. Watching the rising numbers, health experts are urging the public to protect themselves and help the state avoid a resurgence of the disease. [Source: South Florida Sun-Sentinel]
Florida program encourages truckers to fight human trafficking
Florida officials recently launched the Highway Heroes campaign, which aims to involve truck drivers in the fight to end human trafficking. Attorney General Ashley Moody and the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FLHSMV) on Oct. 26 launched the campaign, which aims to enlist 500,000 truckers. More from TT News and Florida Trend.
NASA, SpaceX set launch date for next mission of Crew Dragon
NASA has set a launch day and time for the first operational mission of the SpaceX Crew Dragon to send four astronauts to the International Space Station. Originally eyeballing a Halloween launch date, NASA has now targeted the Crew-1 mission for Saturday, Nov. 14 at 7:49 p.m. Sunset on that day falls at 5:30 p.m., so the night sky could make for a nice view across Central Florida. [Source: Orlando Sentinel]
Tampa, South Florida and Orlando among top 5 U.S. COVID moving destinations
The COVID-19 pandemic has locked many Americans in place. But some are picking up stakes — choosing Florida over almost every other destination. According to real estate firm FCP and geospatial analytics group Orbital Insight, Tampa is the No. 1 relocation destination for Americans who have moved during COVID. South Florida — meaning the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach area — comes in at No. 4, with Orlando at No. 5. [Source: Miami Herald]
ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:
› Thieves take $1 million worth of gloves meant for Florida hospitals
Thieves have stolen over 6 million gloves, worth $1 million, meant for first responders at Florida hospitals. Medgluv, a supplier of medical gloves to the national health care industry, said it received the shipment at its office in Coral Springs on Friday night. On Sunday night, surveillance video shows thieves backing a truck up to the shipping container and hauling off the personal protective equipment. It took only a few minutes.
› South Florida’s median home price has hit an all-time high: $425,000 for a house
For the second month in a row, South Florida residential sales are beating out 2019. They’re also driving up prices, bringing the median price for a single-family home in Miami-Dade and Broward counties to $425,000 — the highest ever. The total number of home sales was up more than 12% in September 2020 over September 2019 sales in both Miami-Dade County and Broward, according to the Miami Association of Realtors.
› Orlando nonprofit SALT gets $250K grant to keep lending hand to homeless through 2021
As a wave of unemployment and evictions swells up on Central Florida’s horizon, Orlando is investing in homeless outreach groups to help those most affected by the economic implications of COVID-19. The Christian based nonprofit Service and Loving Together Outreach Inc., better known as SALT, is one of those groups and recently received a large sum of funding to act as one of Orlando’s shields in the fight against homelessness.
› With business back on track, vitamin-maker Avanti is leasing more space in Miami Lakes
With business back on track and its employee numbers growing, supplements-producer Avanti Nutritional Laboratories is increasing its Miami Lakes footprint by 50%. The South Carolina-based vitamin maker has signed a five-year lease at Palms Corporate Centre for 40,000 square feet of warehouse space, said Steve Medwin, a Newmark Knight Frank manager that arranged the deal with landlord Link Logistics Real Estate, a branch of Blackstone.
Go to page 2 for more stories ...
In case you missed it:
