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Friday's Afternoon Update
What you need to know about Florida today
DeSantis wants Florida to accept cryptocurrency for state fees
Gov. Ron DeSantis is using his budget proposal to state legislators to try to make Florida more friendly to cryptocurrency. DeSantis’ $99.7 billion proposal released Thursday includes $700,000 for cryptocurrency projects at the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, the Agency for Health Care Administration and the Department of Financial Services. "We're going to have a program to allow Florida businesses to pay state fees in cryptocurrency," DeSantis told reporters at the Capitol. More from the News Service of Florida and Business Insider.
A Florida community bank seeks to build nationwide mortgage business
Florida’s second largest community bank is expanding its presence in wholesale mortgage lending through its joint venture, Amerant Mortgage LLC, which has hired 28 new employees dedicated to providing products and services to mortgage brokers and their clients. More from Inman.
Citrus greening now found in North Florida
Citrus greening, a disease that has already ravaged citrus groves in Central and South Florida, has been detected for the first time in North Florida. A tree confirmed to be infected with the disease was discovered in late November in a Leon County homeowner’s backyard. The USDA recently forecast that Florida growers would produce 47 million boxes of oranges this season, down 11 percent from last season, and 3.8 million boxes of grapefruit; a fraction of the 244 million boxes Florida’s citrus groves produced 25 years ago. More from Fresh Plaza and CBS Miamii.
Economic forecast: ‘Jacksonville’s recovery is on the fast track’
It took 19 months, but employment at Jacksonville area businesses finally recovered to its pre-pandemic level in September. While COVID-19 remains a threat to the economy, the outlook for 2022 is brighter for Northeast Florida. “Jacksonville’s recovery is on the fast track,” said PNC Bank Senior Economist Abbey Omodunbi. More from the Jacksonville Daily Record.
Car wash giant soaks up Florida locations with $390M deal
Arizona car wash brand Mister Car Wash is entering the Southwest Florida market as part of a $390 million acquisition. Tucson-based Mister Car Wash, a publicly traded company that posted $729 million in revenue over the past 12 months, has acquired Orlando-based Clean Streak Ventures LLC, according to a statement. The deal, funded through cash on hand and incremental debt, the release adds, covers Clean Streak’s 23 operating locations, 10 development locations and the underlying real estate at all 33 locations. More from the Business Observer.
Business Beat - Week of December 10th
Get top news-to-know with Florida Trend's headline-focused video news brief, hosted by digital content specialist Aimée Alexander.
Sports Business
Jeff Vinik to sell minority share of Tampa Bay Lightning
Jeff Vinik plans to sell a minority share of the Tampa Bay Lightning. He sent a statement to the Tampa Bay Times late Thursday saying he is in talks to sell an undisclosed share of Vinik Sports Group, which owns the Lightning and manages Amalie Arena, to an undisclosed buyer. Vinik, 62, said he plans to retain control of the company and the defending Stanley Cup champions.
» Read more from the Tampa Bay Times.
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