SHARE:
Wednesday's Afternoon Update
What you need to know about Florida today
Forecast cone for Tropical Storm Eta takes in most of Florida peninsula
Most of the Florida peninsula including the Tampa Bay area is now in the forecast cone of Tropical Storm Eta. The storm that made landfall as Category 4 hurricane in Nicaragua on Tuesday is forecast to weaken to a tropical depression as it boomerangs over Central America over the next couple days and then returns to the Caribbean Sea. Forecasters then expect Eta to strengthen again, regaining tropical storm status as it moves northeast toward Cuba and Florida. More from the Tampa Bay Times, the AP, and the Florida Times-Union
Miami Beach seeks to end tourism economic dependence
Miami Beach is a world-renowned tourist destination, but commissioners are hoping to shift the city’s economy away from dependence on this singular industry. Covid, Hurricane Irma and the Zika virus are just some events within the past 15 years that have put a damper on visitation dollars, Commissioner Mark Samuelian said at a meeting Friday, and the city needs to find a way to diversify revenue streams. More from Miami Today.
Lockheed to lay off 90 employees at Cecil Commerce Center in Jacksonville
Lockheed Martin Logistic Services filed a notice with the state last week saying it will lay off 90 employees at Cecil Commerce Center at the end of this year after losing a government contract. The letter filed under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act said employees were providing maintenance for the P-3 aircraft at the site on Jacksonville's Westside. More from the Jacksonville Daily Record.
Food truck park comes to Gainesville in March
Gainesville’s first permanent food truck park is expected to open next March. The Midpoint Park and Eatery, at 931 SW Second Ave. in the Innovation District, will include four food trucks with long-term leases to satisfy guests’ tastebuds. Matthew Luedecke, director of commercial real estate for Trimark Properties, said the goal for the space, which will include a green area for guests to lounge and places to hang hammocks, is to create an experience. More from the Gainesville Sun.
Riviera Beach manufacturer adds 350 jobs as demand for its air purifiers soars
Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, RGF Environmental Group, a manufacturer of indoor air purification systems, has seen demand for its residential, commercial and medical FDA-cleared products skyrocket 500 percent. In response, the company based at the Port of Palm Beach Enterprise Zone in Riviera Beach has boosted its workforce to more than 500 employees from 140 in earlier in the year and is opening a plant in Lakeland, its first outside Palm Beach County. More from the Palm Beach Post.
Out of the Box
Florida man invents robot to insert special contact lenses
A unique invention by a South Florida man is helping people with vision problems gain the gift of sight. Craig Hershoff, who himself suffers from vision problems that require special lenses, realized that many people have difficulty inserting contacts due to age and dexterity. His own experience led him to design a voice-activated lens fitting robot that can both insert and remove scleral lenses, which are for vision problems that cannot be corrected with standard contacts and glasses.
Arts Business
'Artists are historians,' and the pandemic isn't stopping them in Jacksonville
During the COVID-19 pandemic, artists have lost galleries in which to display their work, venues in which to play their music, movie houses in which to show their films. Yet many have still kept creating, looking for alternative ways to get their work out — or simply because it's what they have to do.
» Read more from the Florida Times-Union.
In case you missed it:
