Florida lawmakers could be back for more special sessions in Tallahassee
Lawmakers are heading back to Tallahassee next week. That's for a special session to draw redistricting maps, but property insurance could be on list of priorities too. Insurance advocates say Florida accounts for 76 percent of all the property insurance lawsuits in the United States. That's why some lawmakers say it's time to address some loopholes to help homeowners. [Source: WTSP]
Florida’s growers help feed the nation
Growers in Florida provide a wide variety of delicious and healthy fruits and vegetables throughout the year, and the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services’ division of marketing and development is committed to raising awareness of these produce items through its Fresh From Florida campaign. According to the Fresh From Florida website, agriculture has an economic impact in Florida of more than $132 billion, and it is essential to the economy by providing more than 2 million jobs to the workforce. [Source: The Produce News]
Bars lose appeal over COVID-19 shutdown
An appeals court has rejected arguments that bars should receive money from the state and Orange County because they were forced to shut down or significantly scale back early in the COVID-19 pandemic. A panel of the 5th District Court of Appeal on Friday upheld an Orange County circuit judge’s dismissal of a lawsuit in which bars sought damages for what is known as “inverse condemnation.” [Source: News Service of Florida]
Here’s what Florida voters need to know about still-pending congressional districts
Gov. Ron DeSantis is going to lead the process of drawing Florida’s congressional districts, both Republican leaders in the Legislature announced in a joint statement Monday, confirming they’re going to defer to DeSantis in the once-a-decade reapportionment of seats in the U.S. House of Representatives. DeSantis already vetoed the congressional map approved by the Florida Senate during the regular legislative session. [Source: Miami Herald]
Florida gas prices lowest in a month, a trend AAA says is likely to continue
Average gas prices across the Sunshine State are the lowest they’ve been in a month, according to the latest weekly gas prices briefing by the AAA-The Auto Club Group. Down 10 cents in the last week, drivers paid an average of $4.05 a gallon on Tuesday. After record highs over the last few months, nearly $4.40 a gallon, the downward trend is predicted to continue because of a slump in crude oil prices, AAA spokesman Mark Jenkins said. [Source: News Service of Florida]
Community paramedicine: Providing better care and lowering health costs
Community paramedicine allows paramedics to function outside their traditional emergency response and transport roles to help facilitate more appropriate use of emergency care resources while enhancing access to primary care for medically underserved populations. The basic idea behind this innovative program is for communities to launch local or regional offices that are staffed by paramedics who have received specific community paramedicine training. Whenever a patient of concern gets discharged from a hospital or ER, the hospital team will inform the community paramedicine office serving that patient’s place of residence. [Sponsored report]
ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:
› Sneak peek at the $30 million future ‘village’ of a Miami arts nonprofit
Today, a row of five warehouses stand at 75 NW 72nd St., alongside train tracks. In less than two years, a 26,850-square-foot enclave of artist studios, exhibition space and a community garden will take its place. Architects call it a “village.” Oolite Arts calls it home. Oolite Arts, a nonprofit organization that supports the arts and artists, revealed renderings of its new $30 million headquarters on Tuesday.
› Public company moves U.S. headquarters out of South Florida
Nano Dimension, a 3D printer of circuit boards and other electronic products, has moved its U.S. corporate headquarters out of Broward County and into the Boston area. Nano Dimension (Nasdaq: NNDM) now lists its corporate address at 350 5th Ave. in Waltham, Massachusetts.
› Bradenton officials consider lucrative offers for city hall
Bradenton’s City Council could consider a proposal within the next few weeks to sell its waterfront city hall building that houses the municipality’s administrative offices and police headquarters. City leaders have been in discussions about the possibility for some time and what city council members will consider is how the bidding process would go about and what a potential sale could look like.
› Orlando’s Amway Center and Camping World Stadium saw a record-breaking month in March
Concerts are back in a big way as proven by a bevy of records broken by Orlando’s Amway Center and Camping World Stadium in March. Last month, these two venues combined to host eight major shows in the City Beautiful. In particular, country superstar Garth Brooks and reggaeton icon Bad Bunny garnered five new records between their three shows.
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› Miami-Dade studying racial gaps in contracts with local firms. Could lead to court fight
A study on racial gaps in Miami-Dade County’s $3 billion contracting budget will be completed next year, Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said Monday, setting up a possible court fight over programs to help minority firms win bids for county business. At an event on small businesses, Levine Cava announced a “disparity” study was underway by her administration, after a similar effort led to no changes under the previous mayor, Carlos Gimenez.
› Sarasota County ends economic development grant program, so Rumble won't get county money
Sarasota County will stop awarding economic development incentive grants to businesses considering creating new jobs in the area, which means that the video platform Rumble won’t receive such money. County commissioners voted to end the incentive grant program on Tuesday, as they they said they see flaws in the program and concluded it's no longer needed in the current economic environment.
› VyStar agrees to merge with First Coast Federal Credit Union
VyStar Credit Union announced April 11 it agreed to merge with First Coast Federal Credit Union, a small Jacksonville credit union that serves workers in select employee groups and their families. Jacksonville-based VyStar is the 14th-largest credit union in the country with $12 billion in assets and more than 800,000 members.
› Mainsail Art Festival returns to St. Petersburg
Mainsail Art Festival, one of St. Petersburg’s longest traditions, is back after a two-year hiatus caused by the pandemic. It returns to Vinoy Park on April 16-17. “We are returning bigger and stronger than ever,” said Jane Ferguson, co-chairperson of the Mainsail Art Festival committee. Now in its 47th year, the festival showcases fine art, entertainment and children’s activities, live music and food vendors.