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Tuesday's Afternoon Update
What you need to know about Florida today
As omicron spreads, Florida hospitals see more patients. Some are unaware they had COVID
With Florida reporting record new COVID-19 cases and South Florida leading the surge, all eyes are now on hospitalizations, which generally increase about two weeks after a spike in infections. Anecdotal reports and emerging evidence strongly suggest that the highly contagious omicron variant causes less severe illness than prior strains of the coronavirus, though public health experts emphasize that if more people get sick with COVID-19 — even a mild case — then the number of people hospitalized is likely to grow, too. More from the Miami Heraldand WPTV.
Target subsidiary sues Florida over $10.2 million in taxes and interest
A subsidiary of the Target retail chain is battling the Florida Department of Revenue over millions of dollars in corporate income taxes. Target Enterprise, Inc. filed a lawsuit last week in Leon County circuit court challenging the state’s attempt to collect more than $10.2 million in taxes and interest after an audit of the company for fiscal years that ended in January 2017, January 2018 and January 2019. More from the News Service of Florida.
Will the Miami tech explosion continue in 2022?
It was the blockbuster Miami tech year of Microsoft arriving, Miamicoin emerging, cryptocurrency conferences drawing crowds and homegrown companies gaining billion-dollar valuations. A confluence of factors in 2021 drove unprecedented growth in Miami’s tech sector. A steady stream of companies that had already staked out the region for growth early in the pandemic turned into an avalanche of newcomers from New York and California, as COVID-19 bore down. More from the Miami Herald.
Activist group asks Florida Supreme Court to overturn FPL’s planned rate hikes
Florida Power & Light’s plan to generate $4.9 billion in new revenue over four years faces a challenge in the state Supreme Court, but consumers shouldn’t expect any delay in rate hikes set to begin next month. The group Floridians Against Rate Increases (FAIR), which was formed earlier this year to oppose FPL’s requested four-year rate plan, on Monday filed a notice of administrative appeal that by law must be heard by the state Supreme Court. More from the Orlando Sentinel.
Title town? Tech town? Tampa Bay is both
A flurry of activity in the waning weeks of the year has reinforced Tampa Bay’s status as one of the country’s top markets in which tech firms can grow and thrive, as well as a community that attracts some of the nation’s top tech talent. On Dec. 7, Embrace Software, a Tampa-based company that specializes in acquiring tech firms, announced it had landed a major capital boost from CoVenture, an asset management organization headquartered in Manhattan. More from the Business Observer.
Florida History
'Jacksonvillage:' Frontier city was slow to grow but will mark its bicentennial in 2022
Next year will mark 200 years since Isaiah Hart and neighbors laid out eight blocks for a frontier city in the middle of sand and trees on the Northbank of the St. Johns. They may have had big dreams, but their new burg wasn't much to look at during its first few decades. "It was like a frontier town you can imagine from Western movies over your lifetime: main street unpaved, wooden buildings unpainted, a handful of settlers," said Jim Crooks, historian and professor emeritus at the University of North Florida.
» More from the Florida Times-Union.
Out of the Box
Ripley’s Believe It or Not! to drop giant 225-pound hairball for New Year’s Eve
On Dec. 31 at 11:59 p.m., millions will watch as a bright, sparkling ball drops in New York’s Times Square, signifying the start of 2022 on the Eastern Seaboard. But at that exact same time, Ripley’s Believe It or Not! will host a different kind of ball drop. One that involves more than 225 pounds of human hair.
» Read more from the Orlando Sentinel.
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