March 28, 2024

Friday's Afternoon Update

What you need to know about Florida today

| 8/6/2021

Florida teacher shortage predicted to grow to 10,000 vacancies

It is a simple math problem that is not getting solved in a classroom. Florida has a shortage of teachers. “I think it has gotten a lot worse,” said Andrew Spar, President of the Florida Education Association, the state’s largest association of professional employees. Two years ago, Spar, who began his education career in Daytona Beach in 1994, went on the record warning districts about a projected statewide shortage of teachers for Florida’s schools. In 2019, roughly 5,000 teaching positions were unfilled. Today, Spar believes that number has doubled. More from Click Orlando.

University of Florida economists detail tourism revenue losses following 2018 red tide blooms

A new University of Florida report outlines the economic fallout to the marine industry and tourism in Southwest Florida during the 2018 red tide event that shut down beaches and shuttered some businesses. Researchers at the UF's Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences put a fine point on decreased revenues that charter boat fishing, marine recreation and Airbnb operations saw due to the harmful bloom. The study looked at Charlotte, Collier, Hillsborough, Lee, Manatee, Monroe, Pinellas and Sarasota counties. More from the Naples Daily News.

Lull is over. Tropical depression could develop by early next week.

A tropical wave in the Atlantic basin is forecast to become a tropical depression over the weekend or by early next week, according to the latest advisory from the National Hurricane Center. Closer to the U.S., another system is showing a low chance for development. The next two names on the 2021 list for the Atlantic hurricane season are Fred and Grace. More from the Florida Times-Union.

Kroger CEO says grocers uniquely situated to prosper in Florida as service set to expand south and beyond

The top executive of one of the largest grocers in the country, The Kroger CEO Rodney McMullen, says he's not looking to steal business from Florida's own supermarket king, Publix. Kroger's actions in the state, including recent debuts of grocery delivery in Tampa and Jacksonville, with Miami likely in the next few months, show something else. More from the Business Observer.

Tampa airport projects more passengers, record revenues in 2022 budget

Last August, Tampa airport officials were staring down a budget shortfall of $76 million due to slashed passenger traffic, and steeling themselves for a tighter fiscal year. One year later, as the air travel industry continues its recovery from the coronavirus pandemic, they’re aiming for record annual revenues. A draft budget presented to Hillsborough County Aviation Authority board members on Thursday pointed to better-than-expected revenues for the current fiscal year, which ends in September, and increased passenger counts and even higher revenues next year. More from the Tampa Bay Times.

Business BeatBusiness Beat - Week of August 6th

Get top news-to-know with Florida Trend's headline-focused video news brief, hosted by digital content specialist Aimée Alexander.

 

 

Out of te Box 
Pinellas company uses vending machines to sell art, odd items

floridaSt. Petersburg’s Chance Ryan and Kayla Cox rescue old vending machines from the junk yard and turn them into works of art. They are then used to sell the works of local artists, along with a variety of items such as hangover cures and dog treats. The company, Lucid Vending, places the refurbished vending machines in restaurants, bars and other entertainment venues. Each machine is personalized to the location requesting it, making it a piece of art on its own.

» Read more from the Tampa Bay Times.

Tags: Daily Pulse, Afternoon Pulse

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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.

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