SHARE:
Wednesday's Daily Pulse
What you need to know about Florida today
› Sarasota Orchestra may have a site for new music center by spring
Despite calls by city officials to renew talks with the Sarasota Orchestra to build a proposed music center at Payne Park, leaders of the symphony say they are looking elsewhere and could have plans to announce by spring. City leaders are now wishing the orchestra “the best of luck in its relocation search” even as they offer to assist with finding another location within Sarasota city limits.
› Miami-Dade has a new transit director. He doesn’t think you need a car in downtown Miami
Miami-Dade’s new transit director commutes to his Miami office on the Metromover each morning, and he thinks the city has a better transit system than most people realize. “I was surprised this existed,” Eulois (pronounced YOU-liss) Cleckley said as he walked down the stairs from the Museum Park station for Metromover, a free county-run wheeled train that runs on elevated tracks throughout Miami.
› St. Petersburg bank reaches major lending milestone
First Home Bank has made good on its pledge to become a preeminent supporter of minority-owned businesses in the Tampa Bay region. The St. Petersburg-based bank recently announced that it had surpassed its goal, set 10 months ago, to loan $50 million to companies owned by members of minority groups. The bank’s Minority-Owned Business Lending Program has, to date, originated loans exceeding a total of $51.6 million, according to a news release.
› Jacksonville-area home prices fell slightly in August from prior month's peak
The buying fever that drove up Jacksonville home prices cooled slightly in August, with median sales price dropping back to $300,000, data released Friday by the Northeast Florida Association of Realtors showed. That price remained extraordinary for Northeast Florida but was still down $5,000 — about 1.6 percent — from the record-setting level seen a month earlier.
In case you missed it:
