March 28, 2024

Tuesday's Afternoon Update

What you need to know about Florida today

| 9/7/2021

Hemp industry slow to take root in Florida

When proponents wanted to expand hemp agriculture in Florida, it was touted as a new mega cash crop for the Sunshine State. But, a new study shows it is taking longer than anticipated to take root. “The big so what is, 'How does this replace or contribute to cropping systems across the state?'” said Zack Brym, an agronomy assistant professor at the University of Florida's Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) and Hemp Pilot Project lead scientist. "Hemp has the potential to be a viable crop in Florida. There's still a lot of work to do to get there." More from Bay News 9.

No failing grades, but failing performance in South Florida schools

South Florida schools will escape the stigma of getting F grades this year, but many still failed miserably in their student achievement scores during the first full year of the pandemic. Had the state released grades this year, almost half of Broward County schools and a third of Palm Beach County schools would have received D’s or F’s, according to state data released by the two school districts. More from the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

Labor Day weekend saw highest gas prices in 7 years

Florida gas prices jumped 8 cents following Hurricane Ida, and AAA reported Tuesday that this past weekend’s gas prices were the highest in the last seven years. Prices at the pump are now about $3.02 per gallon in Florida. According to AAA, that’s 83 cents more than last year’s holiday, and 58 cents more than what drivers paid during the 2019 holiday weekend. More from WPLG.

Fish kill hits Biscayne Bay as high heat, still waters worsen pollution impacts

Another summer fish kill hit Biscayne Bay over the holiday weekend as oxygen-starved waters appeared to smother dozens of fish, the latest indicator of a pollution problem Miami-Dade County needs to fix. The scope of this fish kill isn’t known, with environmental groups, academics and county crews on the bay Monday to search for more dead fish and obtain detailed readings on oxygen levels and other indicators of water quality. More from the Miami Herald.

Southwest Florida tourism continues to climb despite COVID-19 cases

Southwest Florida tourism is booming despite the spike in COVID-19 cases that the state has seen recently. Lee and Collier County have actually had a record-breaking year in tourism. Brian Hamman, Lee County commissioner and chair of the Tourist Development Council, said most hotels in the area are booked. “We anticipate our August tourism numbers to be the best August that we have ever had in the history tracking Lee county tourist numbers,” Hamman said. More from WINK News.

Out of the Box
Ybor’s 10th annual Cuban Sandwich Festival is breaking records

 It takes approximately one minute and nine seconds to walk the length of the world’s longest Cuban sandwich. The 10th Annual Ford International Cuban Sandwich Festival in Ybor City built what it claims is the world’s longest Cuban sandwich, coming in at a whopping 240 feet long. The sandwich will feed around 500 homeless people in the Tampa bay area, said Jolie Padilla, co-founder of the event.

» More from the Tampa Bay Times.

 

Sports Business
Fore! Big changes coming for public golf courses in Boca Raton and Delray Beach

floridaBucking the national trend of golf courses shutting down, Boca Raton is set to debut its new public course on Nov. 1, while Delray Beach is considering $10 million to $15 million in renovations for its nearly 100-year-old course. In addition to the major upheaval at two of Palm Beach County’s most prominent public courses, some of the land could be used to build more homes in a depleted housing market.

» Read more from the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

Tags: Daily Pulse, Afternoon Pulse

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Florida Trend Video Pick

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.

Video Picks | Viewpoints@FloridaTrend

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