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Monday's Afternoon Update
What you need to know about Florida today
Florida Chamber, business groups want to cut rising unemployment tax
The 2021 rate schedule, posted by the Florida Department of Revenue (FDOR) in early December, varies by employer, with businesses that laid off workers this year paying the highest rates next year. Most Florida businesses pay the state’s minimum unemployment tax rate. That 0.1% rate, or $7 per employee, nearly will triple to $20.30 for each worker under the FDOR’s 2021 structure – a $13.30 increase beginning Jan. 1. More from The Center Square.
Tampa Bay bars and restaurants feel sting of coronavirus enforcement
Restaurants and bars in the Tampa Bay area are caught in a showdown between local and state government, and some are paying the price. In September, Gov. Ron DeSantis told the businesses they could open without restrictions. He said they were best positioned to keep their customers safe from the coronavirus, not government. But according to local officials, some businesses aren’t meeting that standard. More from the Tampa Bay Times.
Year of protest carries over to business world in confronting racial gaps
When Mincy Pollock made a pitch to other African-American business owners about joining him as a JAX Chamber member, the response typically was a dismissive "why bother" shrug. As much as Pollock sees the chamber as a valuable way for growing his two small businesses — Florida Care Insurance and Pollock Group — he could understand the skepticism. "When I go to the (chamber) meetings, a lot of times, as my grandma would say, I'm a fly in a glass of milk," he said. "I would go and I would talk to other business owners about 'Hey, you really should be connected with the chamber,' and they have said in the past, 'It doesn't look like we fit. I don't know if they want us.'" More from the Florida Times-Union.
Environmentalists against new wetlands construction permit process
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency signed an agreement that allows Florida to issue construction permits in protected wetlands, which was previously handled by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the EPA. In the 43 years since states were allowed to seek wetland permitting authority, only two had requests approved, and none since 1994. Those states, New Jersey and Michigan, have since had trouble meeting federal law’s requirements that are in place to protect natural resources. More from WZVN.
Coronavirus turning Miami into a 'hot spot' real estate destination: Luxury real estate specialist
Luxury real estate specialist Katrina Campins says that Miami has become a “hot spot” for those relocating from other big cities amid the coronavirus pandemic. Campins, who founded boutique real estate brokerage firm The Campins Company, noted that celebrities and top executives in the financial sector have been relocating to Miami since the pandemic started for several reasons, including “the policies in places like New York and California.” More from FOX Business.
Community Care
Orange Park bakery remaining open another 2 weeks thanks to community support
An Orange Park bakery is no longer planning to close its doors due to declining sales from the COVID-19 pandemic, thanks to an uptick in sales on Sunday. First Coast News first reported Saturday that Wicked Batter Cafe announced its closure due to the hardships caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The scratch-made bakery that opened in 2018 said their sales had dropped by more than 70%.
» More from First Coast News.
Florida Health
Two weeks. Three lost. One Florida family ravaged by coronavirus.
The family took their seats under the green cemetery tent and passed hand sanitizer row to row. Yes, Lord, my life is yours drifted from the speakers. Boyzell Hosey prayed in front, facing the bone-white casket and the empty space beside it. A man from the funeral home passed out two memorial cards. In Loving Memory: Amos Hosey. Forever in our hearts: Roy Hosey. Boyzell wiped his glasses and nodded as the bishop talked of trusting the hand of God. It was Nov. 21. His elderly father had died on the 5th. His older brother had passed on the 15th. Soon there would be a memorial for his brother-in-law, Bob, who had died in between. Boyzell himself had fought COVID-19 and was only a week out of the hospital, where his sister had gone for treatment, too.
» Read more from the Tampa Bay Times.
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