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Thursday's Daily Pulse
What you need to know about Florida today
Can Florida’s iconic citrus industry survive its own pandemic?
For the past seventeen years, the Florida citrus industry has been grappling with a pandemic of its own – in this case an exotic bacterial disease. This story has been unfolding slowly over these many years. The reason such a long-running problem has returned to the news of late is that the USDA published a depressingly dark production estimate for the 2022 Florida orange crop. [Source: Forbes]
Florida COVID update: Where we stand on cases, deaths and people in the hospital
Florida on Wednesday reported 37,661 cases and two new deaths to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, according to Miami Herald calculations of CDC data. In the past seven days, the state has added 78 deaths and 32,005 cases per day, on average, according to Herald calculations of CDC data. In all, Florida has recorded at least 5,420,755 confirmed COVID cases and 64,005 deaths. [Source: Miami Herald]
Column: Florida’s rooftop solar industry creates jobs. Let’s keep them.
Florida is an economic engine for job creation. Our job growth numbers are outperforming the nation thanks to forward-thinking policies by our elected officials — and a key part of that job growth has been Florida’s clean energy industry. According to a recent study, the rooftop solar industry alone supports more than 40,000 jobs across the state. From installers and manufacturers to engineers and electricians, the solar industry is quite literally supercharging our economy — and those are careers that can’t be outsourced. [Source: Florida Politics]
Controversial local lawsuits bill to see changes
A controversial measure that could lead to businesses filing lawsuits against cities and counties likely will be revamped Thursday when it goes before the Florida Senate. Sen. Travis Hutson, a St. Augustine Republican who is sponsoring the measure (SB 620), filed a series of proposed changes late Tuesday that include adding ways local governments could be shielded from lawsuits and scaling back part of the bill dealing with attorney fees. [Source: News Service of Florida]
A lack of tax incentives has scared film producers away from Florida. What will get them back?
Florida used to have a tax incentive program for the film and TV industry. However, there were so many takers that the money quickly ran out and lawmakers let the program lapse about six years ago. An incentive plan is back in play in Tallahassee during this year's legislative session in the form of House Bill 217 and Senate Bill 946. The measures replace the old incentives model with a rebate system. If the bills pass, film, television, and digital media projects produced in Florida would need to meet specific criteria to be eligible for tax credit awards. [Source: WLRN]
ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:
› Senators look to stem Citizens Insurance growth
A Senate panel Tuesday approved a proposal aimed at stemming the growth of the state-backed Citizens Property Insurance Corp. and shifting more policies into the private market. The Senate Banking and Insurance Committee backed the bill (SB 186), sponsored by Sen. Jeff Brandes, R-St. Petersburg. Lawmakers are looking at Citizens issues after the insurer ended 2021 with 759,305 policies, an increase of nearly 217,000 policies from a year earlier.
› Charlotte County bans phosphate industry
Charlotte County commissioners unanimously approved a change to zoning bylaws Tuesday that will prohibit phosphate mining and related activities such as phosphate manufacturing. The move follows a decision by DeSoto County in October to ban phosphate gypstacks, one of the most toxic byproducts of phosphate mining. Mosaic has sought to rezone land to allow phosphate mining in the county’s northwest corner, near Hardee and Manatee counties.
› Miami may bar more gambling venues
Miami commissioners are one move from banning new gambling within the city, and that could come today (1/27). On the agenda is legislation to amend Miami 21 zoning “to prohibit gambling facilities.” The measure is scheduled for a second and final vote. In July 2021, the Planning, Zoning and Appeals Board recommended the ban on a 6-3 vote.
› Amazon announces a second site for Pasco, this one featuring robotic sorting
Online shopping giant Amazon will build a new distribution site in Pasco County that will feature a unique and extensive robotics system, Bill Cronin, president and CEO of the Pasco Economic Development Council, announced to county commissioners on Tuesday. The company will soon begin construction on a $150 million, 517,220-square-foot facility on State Road 52 at Bellamy Brothers Boulevard. It will provide 500 new jobs. Construction is expected to take just less than a year.
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