March 29, 2024

Tuesday's Afternoon Update

What you need to know about Florida today

| 12/1/2020

Giving Tuesday allows Florida nonprofits to raise money as needs grow while donations fall

Nonprofit organizations hit hard by the pandemic will get their moment in the sun today as the focus of the holiday season turns from shopping to donating to a worthy cause. Giving Tuesday is a dedicated day for nonprofits of all sizes to band together to draw attention to the work they do yearround, and to raise a few dollars to continue that work. This year’s Giving Tuesday brings extra urgency for many organizations that have seen donations drop while the need for their services grows because of the pandemic. More from the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, the Tampa Bay Times, the Orlando Sentinel, and WINK.

Amazon is growing fast across South Florida. It wants to build even more.

Amazon, the e-commerce giant that has rapidly expanded across South Florida, has even more plans to build for speedier deliveries: It wants to open a distribution warehouse on a gem of undeveloped land near Pembroke Pines. It has its eyes set on 61 acres situated near U.S. 27 and Sheridan Street, the largest chunk of undeveloped land owned by Broward County. For the online retailer, it’d be the latest in a string of new stations and warehouses across the tri-county area. With data showing South Florida is still a growing destination, Amazon wants a piece of that, experts say. More from the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

Fort Myers builder, with nearly $300M in revenue, names new president

Owen-Ames-Kimball Co., one of the largest construction firms in the region, has named Matthew Zwack president, part of a multi-phase succession plan. Zwack, who joined O-A-K Florida in 2005 as an assistant superintendent, succeeds David Dale in the top role, according to a statement. The transition at the employee-owned firm is effective in January, the release adds, and Dale will remain with the company through the end of 2021 to facilitate the transition. More from the Business Observer.

‘I can’t afford it’: 30,000 people are behind on FPL bills as power shutoffs resume

More than 30,000 Florida Power and Light customers are three months (or more) behind on their power bills, according to October numbers provided by FPL. At this time last year, only about 6,000 people were that far behind. Another 40,000 people are two to three months behind. And on October 1, FPL resumed disconnections after pausing them in March. More from the Miami Herald.

Despite Atlantic hurricane season’s end, NHC keeps its eyes on a system with odds of development

The 2020 Atlantic Hurricane season is officially over, but specialists at the National Hurricane Center haven’t gone home for the holidays as a system in the east Atlantic continues to have odds of development. The NHC is tracking a gale-force, non-tropical low pressure system centered a couple of hundred miles north-northwest of the Madeira Islands, which continues to produce a broad area of showers and thunderstorms well to the east of the center, according to the NHC’s 7 p.m. Monday update. More from the Orlando Sentinel.

Transportation
CSX reaches deal to acquire Pan Am Railways

 CSX Corp. announced an agreement Nov. 30 to acquire Pan Am Railways Inc., a Massachusetts-based company that operates a regional rail network in the Northeast. Pan Am operates a 1,200-mile rail network and a partial interest in another 600-mile system. Jacksonville-based CSX, which operates rail networks through most of the eastern U.S., said the deal will expand its reach in Connecticut, New York and Massachusetts and add Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine to its network.

» More from the Jacksonville Daily Record.

 

Out of the Box
Mowbots

floridaTim and Kim Church opened their Mowbot of Pinellas franchise in July and now sell the monthly service to a dozen customers. It’s similar to a regular lawn care business, except the Roomba-like robots, manufactured by Swedish outdoor equipment company Husqvarna, do the mowing. The robots run off battery power and are touted as an eco-friendly option that keeps people out of the yard in the time of COVID-19.

» Read more from the Tampa Bay Times.

Tags: Daily Pulse, Afternoon Pulse

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Bitter-to-swallow cocoa costs force chocolate shops to raise prices
Bitter-to-swallow cocoa costs force chocolate shops to raise prices

Central Floirda chocolate shops are left with a bitter taste as cocoa prices hit an all-time high earlier this week.

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