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Thursday's Afternoon Update
What you need to know about Florida today
Florida sports betting deal facing second court challenge
Upping the ante in the courts, two pari-mutuel facilities have filed a second federal lawsuit challenging a 30-year gambling agreement reached by Gov. Ron DeSantis that gives the Seminole Tribe control over sports betting throughout Florida. The latest legal challenge, filed Monday in Washington, D.C., came less than two weeks after the U.S. Department of the Interior signed off on a gambling “compact” negotiated by DeSantis and passed by the Florida Legislature in May. More from the News Service of Florida.
Florida’s crush on Publix: Why the Sunshine State loves its grocery store
Newcomers have been known to puzzle over the deep devotion many Floridians feel for the 91-year-old Lakeland-based grocery. But generations have shopped the supermarkets with their palm-treed parking lots, familiar green logos and cool terrazzo floors. Publix is where Florida picks up Cuban sandwich party platters and buttercream birthday cakes, Thanksgiving Butterballs and bottled water when a hurricane threatens. More from the Tampa Bay Times.
Port Canaveral projects record cruise revenue for 2022
Port Canaveral is projecting a banner rebound in its financial projections for the 2022 fiscal year. Port CFO Michael Poole presented the initial operating and capital budget proposal at a port commission meeting Wednesday that projects $85.1 million in cruise revenue for the fiscal period from Oct. 1, 2021 to Sept. 30, 2022. More from the Orlando Sentinel.
‘Living your best life’: Miami slated for holistic ‘Blue Zone Center’ well-being hub
It will be the first East Coast facility for the California-based Adventist Health, the owner of Blue Zones. The $100 million center will offer diagnostic, surgical, medical, spa, fitness and well-being programming by 2024. Blue Zones is inspired by National Geographic journalist and Blue Zones CEO Dan Buettner’s observations from reporting on the longest-living communities around the globe, including a positive outlook, healthy diet, exercise and staying connected. More from the Miami Herald.
Hashtag Red Tide: TikTok is all over Tampa Bay’s environmental crisis
Tampa Bay’s Red Tide problem is having a moment on TikTok, the fastest-growing social media platform. TikTok allows users to play short videos that can be synced with popular music. It started out as a way for teens to lip sync and dance in their own music videos. Now, it has more than a billion users of all ages and has been downloaded 200 million times in the U.S. The hashtag “Red Tide” has over 27.3 million views and more than 600 videos. More from the Tampa Bay Times.
Entertainment
PopStroke, Tiger Woods' golf and entertainment experience, breaks ground in Sarasota
When Tiger Woods' PopStroke opens in Sarasota early next year, it will be the crown jewel of a new commercial development that has been teased for years. PopStroke, the golf and casual dining concept in which Woods is a partner, broke ground on its newest location, in Sarasota on Wednesday. It's the first dining and entertainment project in development for the long-awaited East District.
» More from the Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
Out of the Box
Dive bar bathrooms around Tampa Bay are the subject of a new photo exhibit
Dive bars all look pretty much alike. But the bathrooms set them apart. The graffiti, the cleanliness or lack thereof, the layout and the artwork illustrate the type of “clientele you can expect to see there at 11 on a Saturday night.” Now, 24 photographs — each of a different area dive bar — are on display through Sept. 7 at the Emerald Bar, also on Central Ave. in St. Petersburg.
» Read more from the Tampa Bay Times.
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