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Monday's Daily Pulse
What you need to know about Florida today
Overlapping, highly contagious COVID subvariants are spreading fast in Florida
There are plenty of warning signs that Florida may be in the grip of another COVID-19 surge. The number of COVID-19 hospitalizations is up, too, by nearly 20%. The state’s positivity rate is nearly 20%, the highest rate in four months. Florida recorded 71,797 infections in the past week — an average of 10,257 cases per day. That’s up 7.5% from the week before. More from the Tampa Bay Times and the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
Rating agency says pressures continue for Florida insurers
The financial-rating agency AM Best said Friday that changes passed during a special legislative session last month “are unlikely to alleviate immediate financial pressures” on Florida property insurers. A three-page commentary pointed, in part, to insurers facing difficulties purchasing reinsurance, which is crucial backup coverage for such things as hurricane claims. [Source: News Service of Florida]
Report: 1 in 5 Florida corporations paid no income tax on 2020 revenue
One in five of the wealthiest corporations in Florida paid zero corporate income tax in 2020, according to a report published Thursday by the Florida Policy Institute. The institute reported that 475 corporations — that earned over $50 million in 2020 — paid no corporate income tax, according to data acquired via a public record request from the state Department of Revenue. What's more, roughly 20% of corporations generating more than $250 million in revenue paid no corporate income tax either. [Source: Sarasota Herald-Tribune]
Florida's red-flag law is eyed in the debate over gun access
As a national debate rages over gun laws after last month’s mass shooting at a Texas elementary school, proponents of “red-flag” policies point to a Florida law as a model for states seeking to strip deadly weapons from people who could cause harm. The Florida law, which allows authorities to take guns from people found to pose a “significant danger” to themselves or others, has drawn pushback from Second Amendment advocates and some law-enforcement officials. But supporters say the law --- used thousands of times since the Republican-controlled Legislature approved it in 2018 --- has saved an untold number of lives. [Source: WFSU]
A new Latino media group is buying up — and shaking up — Spanish-language radio
Two Latina entrepreneurs — backed by a slew of investors — have negotiated a $60 million deal with TelevisaUnivision to buy 18 Spanish-language radio stations across 10 U.S. cities, including Miami’s Radio Mambi, a fixture of South Florida’s conservative Cuban community. The massive buy is the first for the newly created Latino Media Network, a Latina-owned and operated media company that has raised close to $80 million, a figure the group says amounts to the largest capital raised by a Latina-led startup in U.S. history More from the Miami Herald and WLRN.
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ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:
› Investors say Miami crypto whiz kid took them to the cleaners
Alberto Rivera’s cryptocurrency nightmare began in the most unlikely of settings: a Cub Scout camping trip. He says another scouting dad, Ryan “Brody” Crawford, was cooking breakfast for the pack at Camp Elmore in Davie. Rivera says Crawford began regaling him with tales of his crypto riches, how he and his family had made a fortune. He was building a new investment platform that harnessed artificial intelligence to give him and his clients an edge. He was also creating his own crypto coin. Did Rivera want in?
› UCF researchers tapped again for NASA moon mission, set to explore mysterious domes
A team of researchers from the University of Central Florida will be exploring an unknown and mysterious region of the moon. Two UCF planetary scientists, Kerri Donaldson Hanna and Adrienne Dove, have been asked to lead a $35 million mission which would land a spacecraft over the Gruithuisen Domes — an unexplored part of the moon that has left NASA scientists scratching their heads, according to a NASA press release.
› Tourism experts expect busy summer in Orlando
Local experts are expecting a busy summer for tourism in Central Florida. A recent report from the Tourist Development Tax Collections showed Orange County received a 103.1% increase this April compared to last year. Those numbers are promising, with the Special Olympics kicking off this weekend, and businesses on I-Drive say they’re ready for the next few months.
› Pinellas County returns to spotlight in streaming series
If you enjoyed “Life’s Rewards,” the 2021 Visit St. Pete/Clearwater marketing vehicle disguised as a scripted TV “dramedy,” get ready to tune in for a second season. Streaming on the Amazon Prime Video platform, the show’s first-season episodes were viewed more than 341,000 times, resulting in nearly 30 million advertising impressions, according to a news release. That exceeded goals set by Visit St. Pete/Clearwater and its partners on the project, the St. Pete/Clearwater Film Commission and Visit Florida.
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