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Tuesday's Daily Pulse
What you need to know about Florida today
Extended job benefits available for Floridians as first-time jobless claims soar
Extended unemployment benefits included in the latest federal stimulus package are starting to become available for Floridians out of work because of the coronavirus pandemic, the state Department of Economic Opportunity said Monday. Meanwhile, the weekly average of first-time jobless claims over the last two months of 2020 continued to exceed totals from 2009 and 2010, the last time the state faced a major recession. Department of Economic Opportunity spokeswoman Paige Landrum said Monday the agency has started to implement benefit extensions while “working diligently to fully implement program updates.” [Source: Miami Herald]
DeSantis announces steps to smooth COVID vaccinations after difficult week
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced a series of steps Monday to speed COVID vaccinations, after a week in which seniors ran into bureaucratic and technical walls as they tried to get the life-saving injections. The state will convert selected COVID test sites to vaccination sites, use houses of worship in underserved communities as vaccination sites, activate contracts for an additional 1,000 nurses and send Emergency Response team members into long-term care facilities. The governor also increased the pressure on hospitals, saying those that don’t administer vaccines quickly won’t get future doses. More from the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, the Tampa Bay Times, and the Orlando Sentinel.
Florida filmmaker’s new documentary details human struggle in The Villages
Florida native Lance Oppenheim makes his documentary feature debut with a film that details life in the United States’ largest retirement community: The Villages. “Some Kind of Heaven” examines “ ‘The Truman Show’-like” community designed to remind inhabitants of their youth. It follows four residents whose “Villages dreams have become a nightmare in an attempt to find what heaven truly is after finding the pre-packaged version isn’t going to cut it,” Oppenheim said. Read more from the Orlando Sentinel and the Tampa Bay Times and watch the trailer below.
5 Florida legal fights to watch in 2021
From a water battle to a gun law passed after the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, courts are grappling with numerous major Florida legal issues. Read a rundown of five cases to watch in 2021. [Source: Tampa Bay Times]
Florida gas prices in 2020 were lowest in 16 years because of pandemic
Gas prices in Florida during 2020 were the lowest in 16 years as travel and daily commuting dropped because of the coronavirus pandemic, according to AAA. The travel and club also said that as 2021 started, prices at the pump averaged $2.19 a gallon, down from $2.50 a year ago. As of Monday, the average price for a gallon of regular unleaded was $2.18 in Orlando, down from $2.50 a year ago, according to a survey conducted by AAA. [Source: Orlando Sentinel]
ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:
› In heated meeting, Sarasota City Commission may decide to revisit Bobby Jones
When a five-year community conversation about the fate of Sarasota’s Bobby Jones Golf Club culminated last year in a plan for a smaller footprint for a historic course, many sighed with relief. It was finally over. But that was a different City Commission, and there are strong indications that elected officials plan to revive past controversies.
› 21 predictions for 2021 from Tampa Bay’s business and community leaders
Even with 20/20 vision, you couldn’t have predicted 2020. No one could have. It was the year of the coronavirus pandemic, great racial unrest, an unprecedented election and so much more. What lessons can we pull from the year that just happened? Well, that depends on whom you’re asking.
› Blackstone signs multi-year lease for downtown Miami tech office site
Blackstone is officially landing in downtown Miami. The global finance giant announced it has signed a multi-year lease for its new in-house technology unit, which will occupy 41,000 square feet in the 2 MiamiCentral office building located at 700 NW First Ave. The firm expects to hire at least 200 employees.
› In Orlando’s funky Audubon Park, auto shop and gas station become spots for doughnuts and coffee
Two garage doors on the front of The Salty Donut pay homage to the renovated Audubon Park property’s decades as an auto repair shop. “There has to be a story. There has to be character,” said Andy Rodriguez, who founded the Miami-based doughnut chain with his wife, Amanda Pizarro. “There has to be a narrative to the buildings that we choose to open stores in.”
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