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Friday's Afternoon Update
What you need to know about Florida today
Florida jobless claims again below 4,000
Florida had its third consecutive week with fewer than 4,000 first-time unemployment claims, according to a report released Thursday by the U.S. Department of Labor. The agency estimated that Florida had 3,730 new unemployment applications last week, down from 3,830 during the week that ended March 5. Florida had 3,328 claims during the week ending Feb. 26. This is the first time since at least 2006 that Florida has recorded three consecutive weeks below 4,000 claims. Florida has averaged 4,100 new claims over the past four weeks. More from the News Service of Florida.
Spring Training games resume in South Florida
Baseball is back! After months of negotiations between team leaders and the players association, Major League Baseball Spring Training games are back in South Florida. 2022 marks one of the longest lockouts in the sports history. Although fans will miss out on about two weeks of spring training games, teams are set to play a full 162-game schedule. More from WFLX.
Wealthy Russians in Florida's 'Little Moscow' are 'anxious' while they wait to see how sanctions will affect their money
In Sunny Isles Beach, Florida, wealthy Russians are playing a waiting game. The 1.5-mile strip of island located just north of Miami was nicknamed "Little Moscow" thanks to the Russian immigrants who settled there decades ago and the many wealthy Russians who have parked their money in luxury real estate there. In recent years, Florida saw the most number of Russian property purchases in the US. More from the Business Insider.
Snakes alive! Herpetologist takes over as new president of Jacksonville Zoo
When Jeff Ettling started his new job this month as president and CEO of the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens, it was just the latest step in his lifelong love of zoos. Ettling grew up in southern Illinois and said he spent a lot of time as a kid at the Saint Louis Zoo in St. Louis. "My entire youth, we made at least one trip to the zoo every summer," said Ettling, who comes to Jacksonville from the Sedgewick County Zoo in Wichita, Kansas. More from the Florida Times-Union.
Hollywood says yes to turning over beachfront land to a developer for 99 years. Critics are still fighting it.
It might be Hollywood’s most controversial deal of the century — the leasing of public beachfront land for 99 years to pave the way for a private condo built for millionaires. But Hollywood leaders said yes to the deal Tuesday, arguing it will transform a priceless block on the beach while funneling up to $1.4 billion into city coffers over the next century. The vote did not come easy. There were right hooks. Defensive maneuvers. Jabs and left hooks. More from the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
Bright Futures: Today's path to future success
Twins Kehinde and Taiwo Sogbesan were typical high school students in Jacksonville. Kehinde ran track, was a member of the National Honor Society, and served as president of the Student Government Association. Taiwo was a first-string football player and president of the Black Student Union. Both had big plans for the future, including becoming first-generation college graduates. But their plans were seemingly derailed when they began to discuss tuition expenses and how they would pay for college. [More from the ]Sponsored report]
Business Beat - Week of March 18th
Get top news-to-know with Florida Trend's headline-focused video news brief, hosted by digital content specialist Aimée Alexander.
Florida Dining
Tampa-based restaurant chain continues international expansion
Quick-service restaurant chain PDQ has opened a second store in Kazakhstan and targeted Cairo for the next phase of its international expansion. Tampa-based PDQ signed a franchise agreement last year with Eastern Investment Co., headquartered in Dubai, that gives EIC the rights to own, operate and open PDQ restaurants across 40 countries in the Middle East and northern Africa.
» Read more from the Business Observer.
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