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Monday's Daily Pulse
What you need to know about Florida today
› Orange Crush 'beach day' low-key, with few crowds; events in Jacksonville area quiet
Overcast, humid weather helped make Jacksonville’s first taste of the Orange Crush Festival damp but uneventful, with the transplanted celebration centered around Black young people unfolding quietly Saturday. “It looks like a nice day at the beach,” said Jacksonville Beach Mayor Chris Hoffman, who said uncertainty about details of the event had made preparations more difficult and frustrating.
› Tampa Bay shoppers face fireworks shortage ahead of July 4
Florida skies may not be as bright as expected this Independence Day. A national fireworks shortage has left Tampa Bay shops with fewer bottle rockets, ball shells, Roman candles and more. Local showrooms say they stocked for the busy month ahead, but are encouraging fireworks fans planning private Fourth of July celebrations to buy early. “Remember, we all deal with the same factories,” said Tampa’s Galaxy Fireworks president Sharon Hunnewell-Johnson. “So we’re all running short.”
› ‘The ministry of the unnoticed’: Eastside nonprofits band together to revitalize neighborhood
Cleveland Sinclair bought the blue-trimmed house on Van Buren Street on Jacksonville’s Eastside in 1972 after marrying his wife, Pauline. He saved precious funds through the decades of building a life there by doing the upkeep work on the one-story house by himself. But that came to an end when he fell off of a ladder trying to paint the front of his house and his wife saw him fall. On Thursday afternoon, he stands outside of the place he’s called home for half a century and watches as dozens of volunteers spread out across the quiet street for United Way Worldwide’s Day of Action to add a fresh coat of paint and do other exterior work on six different houses, including his.
› $13 million foundation announces new treasurer, board members
The Immokalee Foundation recently announced the addition of four new members to its 2021-22 board of directors. The newly appointed treasurer is Drew Yurko, CFO of Lipman Family Farms. New board members include Katherine Ahearn, senior VP at Northern Trust Naples; Katherine “Kitty” Green, VP for advancement and foundation executive director at Florida Gulf Coast University; and Carol Joseph, former VP of organizational development at Magnum Products.
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