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Thursday's Daily Pulse
What you need to know about Florida today
Feds in Florida and two other states to lead crackdown on COVID-19 relief fraud
After losing billions of dollars in COVID-19 relief funds due to phony claims, the U.S. government has started deploying investigative teams in South Florida, California and Maryland to zero in on criminal organizations that are suspected of stealing from public programs offering small business loans and unemployment insurance. The federal strike-force teams were picked in these states not only because they have experienced significant relief fraud during the pandemic, but they also boast the resources to help combat the escalating problem across the country, federal authorities said in an announcement Wednesday. [Source: Miami Herald]
Feds boost Florida vehicle charging stations
The White House on Wednesday approved plans that will free up roughly $71.5 million for electric-vehicle charging stations in Florida. Florida’s Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Deployment Plan was among 35 plans that the Biden administration approved under a federal program. “Making electric vehicle charging accessible to all Americans is critical to achieving a transportation sector that improves our environment and lessens our dependence on oil and gas,” U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm said in a prepared statement. [Source: News Service of Florida]
Tropical Storm Fiona forms in Atlantic
Tropical Storm Fiona formed late Wednesday, becoming the year’s sixth named storm of the season. Fiona was about 580 miles east of Leeward Islands, moving 13 mph west, according to a Thursday morning update from the National Hurricane Center. The storm has maximum sustained winds near 50 mph with higher gusts. A tropical storm watch was in effect for Saba and St. Eustatius, St. Maarten, Antingua, Barbuda, St. Kitts, Nevis Montserrat and Anguilla. [Source: Tampa Bay Times]
Museum Day: How to get free admission to Florida museums
People can get free admission to 70 Florida museums on Saturday, Sept. 17. Museum Day, sponsored by Smithsonian magazine, is an annual event where museums and other institutions across the country accept free admission tickets from the Smithsonian magazine website. It began in 2005 in conjunction with the magazine’s 35th anniversary. [Source: WKMG]
FDOT: Nationwide railway strike could impact SunRail
Central Florida’s SunRail commuter train in Volusia, Seminole, Orange and Osceola could be caught up in a rail worker strike, its operator, the Florida Department of Transportation, said late Tuesday. Federal authorities are in talks with labor leaders and face a Friday deadline for a strike that could cripple freight hauling and further aggravate supply chain woes. Also vulnerable is Amtrak service. It took a day for FDOT to respond to a question about whether SunRail could be affected. The system is owned by the state but has long been operated by a private company, Bombardier. More from the Orlando Sentinel and Click Orlando.
ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:
› Regulators eye workers' comp rate cut
The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation will hold a hearing Sept. 23 on a proposal that would lead to an average 8.4 percent decrease in workers’ compensation insurance rates next year. The National Council on Compensation Insurance, which makes annual rate filings for workers’ compensation insurers, submitted the proposal Aug. 24.
› Kissimmee looks to lure tourists to Central Florida during Jags London game
Central Florida marketing agency Experience Kissimmee will showcase its branding at prominent National Football League games this season. The agency has entered a sponsorship agreement with NFL UK for the NFL London games in October. The agreement will market Kissimmee to millions of sports fans and potential future travelers — detailing what the region has to offer — at three games: Minnesota Vikings vs. New Orleans Saints (Oct. 2), New York Giants vs. Green Bay Packers (Oct. 9) and Denver Broncos vs. Jacksonville Jaguars (Oct. 30).
› Alachua County risks losing $15 million grant over desire to relocate affordable housing project
Gainesville residents have once again protested an affordable housing development that now is in limbo — and the effects could be costly. Roughly a dozen east Gainesville residents showed up Tuesday to an Alachua County commission meeting to urge officials to move the proposed Dogwood Village development initially set for the corner of Southeast Eighth Avenue and Southeast 15th Street, across from Lincoln Park.
› Chicago fintech company puts its stamp on Tampa with new office and hiring
A Chicago fintech company has opened an innovation center in Tampa as part of its expansion and as way to demystify what is for many the often-unintelligible world of cryptocurrency. The company is CoinFlip and the center is part of an 8,000-square-foot space it has taken in Sparkman Wharf in the city’s Water Street Tampa district.
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