March 28, 2024

Tuesday's Afternoon Update

What you need to know about Florida today

| 1/19/2021

Florida layoff notices were sky-high last year. Where are we now?

Florida’s Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notifications — commonly known as WARN notices — are a 60-day heads-up the state requires companies to give before they lay off a sizeable portion of their workforce. Typically, only a handful are filed during a 30-day period. In 2019, for example, Florida companies announced an average of just over 1,000 total employees laid off each month. But last year, that average jumped to more than 14,500 workers cut each month. Most came from the hardest-hit sectors: service jobs, and leisure and hospitality. More from the Tampa Bay Times.

Florida Trend Exclusive
Florida Icon: Meteorologist Bryan Norcross

Bryan Norcross, 70, Miami Beach meteorologist tells us: "Florida is an extraordinarily vulnerable place. We have paved it, primped it, posed it, but not prepared for the damage that we’ve done to the natural environment. We have not treated our fragile environment with the care that it requires and deserves. There are efforts to address these things, but I don’t find the efforts to be up to the scale of the challenges." More from Florida Trend.

Fast-growing tech insurance firm expands, plans 200 jobs

Ensurem, an insurance broker, insuretech firm and multicarrier insurance brokerage that helps those in or approaching retirement optimize their health care spending, plans to open a major operation in Port Richey. The company intends to convert 10,000 square feet of retail space just off U.S. Highway 19 into offices that at full capacity will house 200 employees with salaries that are at least 156% of Pasco County’s average county wage, according to a statement. More from the Business Observer.

In Florida, worsening heat puts more people at risk

There are 47,000 farms in Florida, making up a more-than-$7 billion industry, yet farmworkers remain invisible and are among the most vulnerable to illness from constant exposure to heat. Although winter has arrived in Florida, the warming planet will continue to make summers hotter and more deadly. Temperatures are not only hotter in Florida today but there are more extreme heat days lasting longer. More from the Orlando Sentinel.

Sales and Marketing Advice
Your guide to perfect lead generation to accelerate sales

If revenue is the lifeblood of a business, then customers are the heartbeat. But customers don’t materialize out of thin air. And if your sales pipeline isn’t full, there are no deals to close. It’s not a big secret that sales teams need a consistent flow of leads. Yet, the path to more revenue isn’t simply paved with more leads – or as I like to call them, suspects and pre-qualified prospects. Read Ron Stein's full column here.

Florida History
‘Snow in Florida!’ 44 years ago the Sunshine State experienced the white stuff

 Tuesday got off to a slightly chilly start, but nowhere near as chilly as 44 years ago when, for the first time in recorded history, snow fell in South Florida. It was January 19th, 1977. Shivering South Floridians, young and old, looked up into the sky in total amazement as flakes landed on their faces.

» More from CBS Miami and the Orlando Sentinel.

 

Out of the Box
Kinetic Art Exhibit

floridaIf you like art to not only move you, but actually ... move ... then you should check out Boynton Beach’s 5th Biennial Kinetic Art Exhibit. The outdoor and indoor art show puts some sunshine on what organizers are billing as “meaningful and playful public art by prominent kinetic artists.” In other words, there’s a lot of ginormous, eye-popping mobiles and sculptures that often surprise the viewer with sound effects, playful lights and wind-powered choreography.

» Read more from the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

Tags: Daily Pulse, Afternoon Pulse

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Florida Trend Video Pick

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.

Video Picks | Viewpoints@FloridaTrend

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