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Monday's Daily Pulse
What you need to know about Florida today
‘A pandemic of the unvaccinated’: Florida is accounting for 1-in-5 of nation’s COVID-19 cases
Florida saw a significant jump in the number of new COVID-19 cases in the past week, a surge noted by the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as part of a “pandemic of unvaccinated.” The Florida Department of Health reported on Friday that there were 45,604 new COVID-19-related cases and 59 deaths in the week that ended July 15. The same weekly report also showed that the COVID-19 positivity rate has surged from 7.8% to 11.5%. The numbers reflect a period following the long July 4 holiday weekend. More from the News Service of Florida, the Tampa Bay Times. the Orlando Sentinel and nd the Miami Herald.
Florida has gained more than 900,000 new jobs since last June
Employers in Florida hired nearly 70,000 workers in June, doubling May’s job growth despite a marginal increase in the state’s unemployment rate, according to the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO). “The change in Florida’s unemployment rate – up 0.1 percentage point from May – reflects the significant increase in the labor force of 83,000 over the month, showing that active job seekers continue to rejoin the workforce with many job opportunities available,” the DEO said in a Friday news release. [Source: The Center Square]
Column: Florida leads the nation in occupational licensing reform
Last year, the legislature passed the Occupational Freedom and Opportunity Act, which is now law. Among other things, the law recognizes a range of out-of-state licenses and reduces or eliminates licensing requirements for more than 30 professions—hairdressers, interior designers, and boxing timekeepers among them. [Source: Florida Times-Union]
Court grants hold on Florida cruise ruling in win for CDC
In a win for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a federal appeals court has granted a hold on a U.S. district judge’s ruling that backed Florida in a fight about the cruise-ship industry. The CDC put in a request on July 7 for the court to issue a stay after U.S. District Judge Steven Merryday refused to put on hold his June 18 ruling that the CDC overstepped its legal authority in placing cruising restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic. [Source: Click Orlando]
Georgia is rivaling Florida as a retirement destination
About five years ago, Realtor Dorrie Love noticed that retirees were making up more and more of the out-of-town home buyers in her Atlanta suburb. “There’s been an influx from California and the Northeast,” says Love, an agent at Harry Norman Realtors in Peachtree City and president of the Georgia Realtors. She sees a number of reasons that Georgia is rivaling Florida as a retirement destination: “Four seasons, the mountains, the beach, an airport to go see children or grandchildren.” [Source: McClatchy-Tribune ]
ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:
› Overdose deaths surged in Tampa Bay as pandemic compounded loneliness, stress
More than 7,400 Floridians died of drug overdoses in the yearlong period ending in November, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A year earlier, the state had reported more than 5,400 deaths — a roughly 37 percent increase from 2019 to 2020.
› River City Brewing Company to close after 27 years
The River City Brewing Company will close its doors Sunday after 27 years of business. It comes after a redevelopment agreement to improve an area near Friendship Fountain with an apartment complex and restaurant got a thumbs-up from the entire Jacksonville City Council last month.
› Demonstrations may herald new political force as Sarasota Cuban community gains visibility
Unlike Miami and Tampa, the Sarasota region is not known for having a large Cuban community, and most Cubans who do live in the area have not been highly visible. That low-key presence changed last week when hundreds of people with Cuban roots descended on downtown Sarasota to demonstrate in solidarity with anti-government protesters on the island.
› Jacksonville’s jobless rate rises to 5% in June
Jacksonville’s jobless rate jumped higher in June, a month when unemployment typically rises with new high school and college graduates entering the labor force. The unemployment rate in the Jacksonville metropolitan area of Duval, Baker, Clay, Nassau and St. Johns counties rose from 4.2% in May to 5% in June, the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity reported July 16.
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