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Thursday's Afternoon Update
What you need to know about Florida today
Alcohol-to-go is now permanent in Florida
Appearing at a Volusia County eatery, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law Thursday a bill that makes permanent a popular COVID-19 emergency order allowing restaurants to sell alcoholic drinks with take-home meals. “It's probably the most difficult year that the restaurant industry has had to face, certainly in recent times,” DeSantis said during a news conference at Houligan’s in Ormond Beach. “And yet, you look at Florida, not that it was a piece of cake, but now this industry is really thriving in Florida. We have people that will move to Florida and start new restaurants because they know they have an environment that they can do very well.” More from the News Service of Floridaand the Orlando Sentinel.
Lots of jobs, few hires: Labor shortage puts Tampa Bay restaurants in a pinch
For all the economic progress made in America’s pandemic recovery, many businesses are struggling to hire new workers — or, in some cases, the workers they let go last year. A number of industries that rely on low-wage workers are feeling the pinch, from hotels, theme parks and travel to construction and manual labor. The effect has been particularly pronounced in the food service industry, where cooks, dishwashers and bussers aren’t re-entering the workforce as quickly as they left it. More from the Tampa Bay Times.
DeSantis signs landmark Florida sea level rise bills into law
Gov. Ron DeSantis signed two bills Wednesday that lawmakers say will leave Florida better prepared for future flooding and sea level rise. The bills, SB 1954 and SB 2514, will — among other things — invest hundreds of millions of state dollars in flooding infrastructure projects. The Republican-led efforts would redirect a significant portion of that money from an affordable housing trust fund to the storm hardening efforts. More from the Tampa Bay Times.
Want a Wynwood office — for free? Apply to this tech startup competition
If you’ve always wanted a Wynwood office for free, now’s your chance. Prominent local developer Goldman Properties has joined with Miami Mayor Francis Suarez and his new Venture Miami team, alongside On Deck, the modern educational institution founded in Silicon Valley, for a pitch competition for emerging tech startups. Each applicant will be judged on progress, product, polish and a wildcard category. More from the Miiami Herald.
PGA Tour requests $16.7 million in incentives for digital media facility
The St. Johns County code-named Project Breeze has been identified as the PGA Tour, according to a May 18 St. Johns County Commission agenda. The project, previously described as an unnamed information technology project, is a broadcast media building for the PGA Tour, according to the economic development agreement. The PGA Tour would relocate its PGA Tour Entertainment arm from its 32,329-square-foot building in World Golf Village to the new 150,000-square-foot facility. More from the Jacksonville Daily Record.
Entertainment
Miami Jewish Film Festival sets attendance record despite pandemic
The Miami Jewish Film Festival drew the largest audience in its history for its 24th edition with more than 55,000 viewers from across the United States. The 2021 MJFF featured virtual, drive-in and outdoor screenings. It also hosted 83 free virtual talks and filmmaker Q&As which were viewed in more than 100 countries, and are available to watch on the festival’s Youtube channel.
» More from the South Floriida Sun-Sentinel.
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Out of the Box
You can now book a speakeasy room at a Tampa funeral home
There’s a new spot in town where you can toast in honor of deceased loved ones. In fact, you don’t even need to leave the funeral home to hit the bar. Blount & Curry Funeral Home at MacDill Avenue has opened a speakeasy-themed room to help people grieve in a space that feels authentic to their loved ones. “The world of funerals is changing a bit,” said Bridgette Soto, a licensed funeral director and the MacDill Avenue location manager. “We’re trying to make them more personalized, more focused on the deceased individual as a whole in terms of the interests they had and the life they led.”
» Read more from the Tampa Bay Times.
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