March 28, 2024

Monday's Afternoon Update

What you need to know about Florida today

| 1/24/2022

After troubling new forecast, Florida citrus advocate says industry is 'at a crossroads'

Since 95% of Florida oranges are used to produce about half of the orange juice Americans drink, consumers can expect to pay more. Additionally, communities propped up by the citrus industry could also feel a painful squeeze as the industry loses both farmers and acreage. However, for all the despair, there is still hope. More from WFTS.

New York and Chicago top feeder markets for Florida West Coast

Florida leads the country as the place where the highest number of people moved to in 2021, a new report found, followed by Texas and California. Florida’s top ranking came in large part because of Sarasota and Tampa, which both ranked among the top five cities people moved to. Sarasota was No. 3 and Tampa No. 5. Both saw the biggest influx of new residents coming from New York. More from the Business Observer.

Jacksonville hotels report record December

Hotel occupancy in Duval County was 65.1% in December. While not the record, that occupancy percentage represents the most rooms sold in December in Jacksonville, according to a Jan. 20 report from Visit Jacksonville. Data from STR, a hotel business analytics firm, shows December 2017 had occupancy at 66.5% but the Jacksonville market had almost 500 fewer rooms to sell per day that year than in December 2021. More from the Jacksonville Daily Record.

St. Petersburg’s Trop development won’t (and will) feel like Miami. Here’s why.

Alex Vadia was in his early teens the first time he came to St. Petersburg. His parents brought him from South Miami to a bed and breakfast downtown, where they rented bikes and visited the Dalí Museum. What Vadia remembers even now was the grid. The city’s north-south, east-west street patterns that made everything feel just a short walk away.  If there’s a guiding principle behind Vadia’s vision for downtown St. Petersburg, that may be it.More from the Tampa Bay Times.

Lawmaker pulls plug on solar power plan, but it still could affect industry

As solar power advocates nervously watch a bill that could change the amount solar users can sell their excess energy for, another proposal in the 2022 legislative session could also affect the industry, even after it was withdrawn. The measure (HB 259), by Rep. Rick Roth, R-Palm Beach Gardens, sought to prohibit cities and counties from allowing solar panels to be installed without being considered what’s termed “accessory use structures.” More from the Orlando Sentinel.

Out of the Box
Florida and the Bandit: Burt Reynolds legacy lives on at car restoration shop

 At 9 years old, Gene Kennedy went with his father to catch the new 1977 hit film Star Wars at the Century Mall Theater in St. Petersburg, but the line was too long, and they saw Smokey and the Bandit instead. His life would forever change when he first laid eyes on the famed black and gold Pontiac Trans Am and the man who would eventually become a dear friend, actor Burt Reynolds.

» More from the Sarasota Herald-Tribune.

 

Business Profile
Limbitless Solutions creates personalized bionic arms for children

floridaLimbitless’ bionic arms build on electromyography (EMG) technology, the tech that makes prosthetics mobile. The arms are built in modular sections so they can, to an extent, grow with the child. The art that makes the arms fun to wear — often with superhero themes — is also innovative, and the themes are interchangeable.

» Read more from Florida Trend.

Tags: Daily Pulse, Afternoon Pulse

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Bitter-to-swallow cocoa costs force chocolate shops to raise prices
Bitter-to-swallow cocoa costs force chocolate shops to raise prices

Central Floirda chocolate shops are left with a bitter taste as cocoa prices hit an all-time high earlier this week.

Video Picks | Viewpoints@FloridaTrend

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