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Wednesday's Afternoon Update
What you need to know about Florida today
COVID-19 vaccines prevented thousands of deaths among seniors in Florida
A new government report has found that 17,000 senior citizens in Florida were shielded from being infected with the coronavirus because they were vaccinated against COVID-19, 6,700 were saved from being hospitalized, and 2,400 avoided death. The report from the Department of Health and Human Services found that Florida was among three states, alongside California and Texas, that benefited the most from the vaccine shots. More from the Miami Herald.
Worker shortage puts group homes in ‘survival mode'
A labor shortage has unleashed a litany of problems for Florida employers scrambling to fill vacant slots and hold on to workers. But for some of the state’s most vulnerable citizens who receive around-the-clock care in residential facilities, the competition for workers is having more-dire consequences. More than 100 group homes for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities have shuttered since March, and more closures might be on the horizon, providers warn, unless the Legislature boosts funding for the facilities. More from the News Service of Florida.
Nymbus moving headquarters to Jacksonville, will hire 673 workers
Bank and credit union software company Nymbus Inc. announced Oct. 5 it will move its corporate headquarters from Miami Beach to the VyStar Credit Union corporate campus in Downtown Jacksonville. Nymbus Chairman and CEO Jeffery Kendall discussed the corporate move during a news conference outside the JAX Chamber offices Downtown. The news conference announced Nymbus as the previously code-named Project End Game, which was approved for $4.53 million in state and city tax dollars to create fintech jobs in Jacksonville. More from the Jacksonville Daily Record.
Hurricane center monitoring disturbance next to Florida
The National Hurricane Center continues to monitor a system brewing east of Florida Wednesday morning. A grouping of disorganized showers and thunderstorms associated with a surface trough is about 100 miles northeast of the northwestern Bahamas, the NHC said. For now, odds of the disturbance’s development remain low at 10% over the next five days due to unfavorable winds preventing organization, the NHC said. More from the Orlando Sentinel.
Port Canaveral returns to profitability after cruises resume, after 16 months of losses
The financial numbers are improving so much at Port Canaveral with the return of cruising that Canaveral Port Authority Commissioner Micah Loyd says AC/DC's "Back in Black" should have been playing as walk-up music when Chief Financial Officer Michael Poole made his budget presentation. The port had been operating in the red for 16 months in a row until cruises restarted on July 31. In August, the port was once again able to cover operating expenses and debt payments with its revenue, as a total of 24 Carnival, Disney and Royal Caribbean cruises sailed out of the port by the end of August. More from the Florida Today.
Out of the Box
Children's hospital looks to cryptocurrencies
The Nicklaus Children’s Hospital Foundation has started accepting donations of cryptocurrencies, as it looks for new ways to reach more donors. The hospital said in a news release Tuesday that it thinks it is the first health-care foundation in South Florida to accept cryptocurrency donations, though, for example, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tenn., also accepts such donations, according to the St. Jude website.
» More from the News Service of Florida and Florida Trend.
Event
St. Petersburg’s Central Avenue hosting a pedestrian-friendly Halloween
The City of St. Petersburg has joined Car-Free St. Pete, the Edge and Grand Central districts and Open Streets St. Pete for Halloween on Central, 2 miles of car-free, pedestrian-friendly Halloween fun. From noon to 5 p.m. Oct. 31, 22 blocks of Central Avenue will be closed to traffic from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Street to 31st Street. Families are invited to come in costume and enjoy costume contests, DJ dancing, trick-or-treating, parties, magic, vendors, food and drinks.
» Read more from the Tampa Bay Times.
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