SHARE:
Monday's Afternoon Update
What you need to know about Florida today
How will small businesses adapt to vaccine passports?
The hot-button subject of the moment is vaccine passports. Unlike the paper proof-of-vaccination cards that you received when you got your shot, vaccine passports are digital records that are more secure, more reliable, and more universally recognized. So what do America’s entrepreneurs need to know and what do they have to do in order to adapt and survive? More from Yahoo! Finance.
COVID-driven real estate frenzy levels off: You can start looking for that home again
The influx of “COVID buyers” dramatically shook up the local housing market, leading to bidding wars and buyer mania unlike anything we’ve seen in recent memory. This priced many locals out of the market and caused them to give up looking. Good news for those buyers: You can start shopping for a house again. The data shows that August and September have marked a decline in single-family home transactions. More from the Miami Herald.
St. Petersburg is trying to attract a Fortune 500 company. Is it Foot Locker?
A mystery company may move its global headquarters to St. Petersburg and would get subsidies if it does. The City Council voted Thursday to provide $475,000 in financial incentives to a Fortune 500 company dubbed Project Athena. Among the conditions: The company would have to bring 300 new jobs to St. Petersburg, pay an average wage above $120,000 each year and contribute to the community. Project Athena also asked for a property tax exemption, according to city documents. The City Council passed a resolution allowing the company to apply for an exemption later. More from the Tampa Bay Times.
City of Ocala looking to award over $900,000 in lawn maintenance contracts to Diverse Small Business Enterprise members
Contracts with fourteen citywide grounds maintenance companies are up for approval during the next Ocala City Council meeting on Tuesday, October 19. The fourteen companies will provide a variety of grounds maintenance services including mowing and trash cleanup, across stormwater drainage retention areas throughout the area. More from Ocala News.
Bon Voyage! First cruise sets sail from Port Tampa Bay since 2020; local businesses thrilled
Travelers, cruise employees, and local business owners are all thrilled. “This is a momentous day…we are so so excited,” said Vicky Evans, AAA Vice President for Travel Sales and Development at the celebratory event Saturday. This weekend travel industry leaders including Visit Tampa Bay, the Port of Tampa Bay, and AAA celebrated a new voyage. After rough waters last year for the cruise industry, many hope for smooth sailing ahead. According to experts, the cruise industry makes up 20 percent of the port’s income, which translates to $7.5 million. More from WFLA.
Infinity and Beyond
NASA’s Lucy mission will explain the origins of our solar system
Over the next 12 years, Lucy will fly by the seven Trojan asteroids believed to be the only remaining original matter that formed giant planets. “Lucy embodies NASA’s enduring quest to push out into the cosmos for the sake of exploration and science, to better understand the universe and our place within it,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “I can’t wait to see what mysteries the mission uncovers!”
» More from NASA
Florida Entrepreneurs
Three entrepreneurs from Argentina are the new makers of Angel Mint in Clearwater
Florida Candy Factory, the Clearwater-based manufacturer of salt water taffy and Angel Mint – century-old products that were first sold in Atlantic City, N.J.-- has new owners. Diego Ramírez and his wife, Vanina Morelli, from Argentina, bought the factory in the spring and have changed nothing. Longtime employees operate machines from the early 20th Century. The machines’ metallic che-chunk che-chunk provides the drumbeat as employees feed the mix in one end and collect wrapped candy at the other. Ramírez and Morelli are partners in the business with Darío Rodríguez, who sold Angel Mint in his Life & Food Superstore in Ellenton and told them about the business. They were neighbors and friends in Argentina.
» Read more from the Tampa Bay Times.
In case you missed it:
