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Friday's Afternoon Update
What you need to know about Florida today
Florida’s nursing home residents are trailing most of the US in getting booster shots
AARP released the Nursing Home COVID-19 Dashboard, which shows Florida ranks the third-worst state in the nation with only 24% of nursing home residents receiving boosters — well behind the national average of 39%. The low percentage has AARP Florida director Jeff Johnson concerned as experts warn that a booster shot is critical to fully protect people against the omicron variant. More from the South Florida SunSentinel.
Luxury condos replacing low-income housing in Brickell. Related Group teams with Marriott
Related Group, Miami’s largest condominium developer, hotelier Marriott International — the nation’s largest hotel operator — and Integra Investments partnering to redevelop the waterfront site of an older affordable housing building in Miami into a pair of luxury St. Regis-branded condo towers. Prices are expected to start at $2 million, and units will range from 1,300 square feet to 7,000 square feet. More from the Real Deal.
A quarter of Florida residents may have trouble finding a doctor by 2035
A new report by IHS Markit shows that the state could only have physicians for 76% of its population by 2035, leaving the state unable to provide for nearly 25% of its residents. Justin Senior is the CEO of the Safety Net Hospital Alliance of Florida, one of the entities that commissioned the report. Part of the reason for this, he said, is that more than 36,000 of the state's physicians are expected to retire by that time. More from WUSF News.
Indian River State College enrollment decline follows state trend; college eyes rebound
There are about 100,000 fewer students in Florida's college system now than there were 10 years ago. For IRSC, enrollment peaked during the 2017-18 academic year at 29,189. It's at 22,851 this year, but it's making efforts to reverse the trend. More from TC Palm.
Gene Lee to retire as CEO of Darden Restaurants; Rick Cardenas to replace him
The Orlando-based company’s current president and chief operating officer, Rick Cardenas, was unanimously selected by the board to replace Lee in the top job, the company revealed Friday morning. Lee, 60, was named to the top job in 2015 after serving in an interim role with the departure of Clarence Otis the prior year. More from the Restaurant Business.
Business Beat - Week of December 17
Get the top news-to-know with Florida Trend's headline-focused video news brief, hosted by digital content specialist Aimée Alexander.
Florida History
Tampa Steel Erecting Co., which built Spaceship Earth, celebrates 75th year
The story of Tampa’s connection to an iconic Florida tourist attraction begins with a German boxer’s 67th win. That fighter’s right hook in the fifth round ended Bob Clark Sr.’s boxing career in 1932. Clark Sr. hung up his gloves and lived as a hobo. His travels brought him to Tampa, where he founded Tampa Steel Erecting Co., which fabricated Spaceship Earth — the giant golf ball-like attraction that has been the symbol of Disney World’s Epcot since the theme park opened in 1982.
» Read more from the Tampa Bay Times.
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