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Thursday's Afternoon Update
What you need to know about Florida today
Lawmakers look to revive vetoed projects
Lawmakers continue to hope they can resurrect projects Gov. Ron DeSantis vetoed last month from the state budget. Tucked into the budget is a new $80 million pool of money that lawmakers can try to tap for local projects. As of Thursday morning, 124 requests had been filed for the “local support grants,” with 31 tied to nearly $32.9 million in line items that DeSantis vetoed. Most of those requests match the amounts vetoed. More from the News Service of Florida.
Tropics watch: NHC watching three tropical waves in Atlantic basin
The National Hurricane Center is keeping an eye on three tropical waves in the Atlantic basin, including one in the Caribbean. Elsewhere, Hurricane Bonnie continues to weaken in the eastern Pacific. Forecasters also are watching another system expected to become a tropical depression off the southwestern coast of Mexico over the weekend. More from the Naples Daily News.
British marketing firm picks Tampa for U.S. headquarters
A British sales and marketing company with clients including Oracle, Adobe and Xerox has picked Tampa to house its new U.S. headquarters. Clarify, which employs most of its global workforce of 170 across the Atlantic, will operate out of the WeWork offices at 501 E Kennedy Blvd. It plans to add 25 new sales, marketing, management and account services jobs in Tampa during its first year here, paying hires an average of $75,000 per year. More from the Tampa Bay Times.
Investment firms snap up homes in metro Orlando, driving up prices
The top 10 home-buying investors of 2021 in metro Orlando were tied to firms in the single-family rental house business, leading at least one expert to worry about the pressure such deals are putting on the real estate market. An Orlando Sentinel review of data from the property appraisers for Orange, Osceola and Seminole counties showed the growing trend of existing homes — as opposed to new construction — bought by single-family rental companies. More from the Orlando Sentinel.
A long time coming: Jacksonville Beach Pier reopens after 3 years of hurricane damage repairs
Hundreds gathered under the hot Wednesday morning sun for the Jacksonville Beach Pier reopening ceremony and ribbon cutting. Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry welcomed beachgoers back to the pier Wednesday, saying the structure had been “strengthened to better withstand future storms.” Curry said the process was slow, but one they “wanted to ensure was done right.” More from the Florida Times-Union.
Entertainment
Remember these Miami music venues? Some big names came out of small places
The DJ has been king for so many years in Miami clubs that it might be easy for a generation to forget, or not know, that live music once played it big here. Music filled hot spots and drifted into the streets, luring listeners in South Beach, downtown Miami, Overtown, Little Haiti, Coral Gables, Coconut Grove. Some of the performers weren’t well-known. Miami is where they got their start. Soon their names would be in lights.
» More from the Miami Herald.
Conservation Trends
New federal lawsuit seeks stronger protections for one of Florida's rarest bats
Conservation groups filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday seeking protections for Florida bonneted bats, which the groups say are threatened by rising seas and urban sprawl. The lawsuit, filed in the federal Southern District of Florida, contends the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has not complied with deadlines for designating critical habitat spelled out when the bat was listed as endangered in 2013.
» Read more from the News Service of Florida.
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