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Monday's Daily Pulse
What you need to know about Florida today
Ian leaves scenes of recovery, despair on Florida coast
Just days after Hurricane Ian struck, a crowd of locals gathered under a huge banyan tree at a motel’s outdoor tiki bar for drink specials and live music. Less than 10 miles away, crews were finishing the search for bodies on a coastal barrier island. Even closer, entire families were trying to get comfortable for the night in a mass shelter housing more than 500 storm victims. On a coast where a few miles meant the difference between life and death, relief and ruin, the contrasting scenes of reality less than two weeks since the hurricane’s onslaught are jarring, and they point to the way disaster can mean so many different things to different people. [Source: AP]
Down again: COVID numbers continue to decline in Florida
COVID-19 cases continue to drop across Florida as the latest wave of infections, driven by omicron subvariants, continues to recede, according to fresh data from the state and federal governments. The Florida Department of Health’s biweekly COVID report, published Friday, lists 11,296 new COVID cases weekly, on average, since Sept. 23. That’s the lowest since April 8. The number of deaths from the respiratory disease followed the downward trend, with 261 new deaths weekly on average since Sept. 23. That's the lowest total since June 17. [Source: Sarasota Herald-Tribune]
Love it or hate it, Publix is the latest to join the self-checkout trend
Notice something familiar on your latest grocery run to Publix? Familiar, as in you are seeing self-checkout lanes at more and more retailers like Target, Whole Foods, Winn-Dixie, Walmart and others, but not quite so much at the “shopping is a pleasure” Florida chain? Yep, self checkout has come to Publix and more are on the way. [Source: Miami Herald]
On docks in Fort Myers, tough choices ahead for houseboat dwellers
Southwest Florida’s houseboat culture is distinct in its charm, but the increasing volatility of storms is putting this lifestyle – and its role in the local economy and community – at new risk. Houseboat owners here are reeling emotionally and financially. Many intend to stay; some may not. Under Florida law, fully insuring houseboats isn’t mandatory. Many houseboat occupants across the region decline to obtain full coverage. But even for those who already have full coverage of their homes, a catastrophic event like Ian gives pause. [Source: Christian Science Monitor]
Florida’s migrant flights may have violated law, new documents show
Documents obtained from the state agency charged with managing the controversial migrant relocation program explicitly say that its mission was “to relocate out of the State of Florida foreign nationals who are not lawfully present in the United States,’’ according to records obtained Friday by the Times/Herald. That may pose a problem for Gov. Ron DeSantis, whose administration paid a Destin-based aviation company, Vertol Systems Company, more than $1.56 million to transport migrants — including two Sept. 14 flights from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, even though the 48 Venezuelan passengers never set foot in Florida. [Source: Tampa Bay Times]
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ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:
› ‘Just heartbreaking’: Southwest Florida small family farmers struggle after Hurricane Ian
Watching from an elevated window at home as Hurricane Ian struck their farm in Fort Myers, the McMahon family saw the storm blow the market roof into the pond. Torrential wind and rain whipped across two acres of hydroponic vegetables. By last week, the fourth-generation farm family had lost every crop. The lettuce they would have harvested a week later and the prized sunflowers – all shredded. The fall festival, planned for this week, is now off. No more waving marigolds, hayrides or pumpkins. Profits will take a hit for their business, Southern Fresh Farms Inc.
› Norwegian Cruises loses challenge to Florida ban on vaccine mandates
A divided U.S. appeals court has rejected a challenge by Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd to a Florida law barring businesses from requiring customers to show documentation proving they received a COVID-19 vaccine. The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in a 2-1 ruling on Thursday said the ban on "vaccine passports" adopted by Florida last year regulates economic conduct and not speech, so it does not violate Norwegian's free speech rights under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
› Nonprofit that trains offenders graduates first class in new Orlando office
A full circle moment couldn’t better describe Chaunet Hampton’s Friday afternoon when she gripped a graduation certificate in hand while staring outside a downtown Orlando office window. “I used to sleep right out there,” she said while pointing to a slab of concrete behind the building. “Now I have a job interview in about an hour.” Hampton, who was awaiting a call from Sears, was one of 12 inaugural graduates of the Ready4Work three-week program offered in Orlando by Operation New Hope, a Jacksonville-based nonprofit.
› World's largest in-water boat show returns to Fort Lauderdale Oct. 26-30
The Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show will kick off its 63rd annual gathering of thousands of marine enthusiasts and professionals Oct. 26-30. Owned by Fort Lauderdale-based Marine Industries Association of South Florida and produced by London-based Informa Markets, the five-day event will showcase over 1,500 yachts and boats across seven locations, include the Broward County Convention Center. Last year's show had a $1.79 billion economic impact on Florida'a economy and attracted more than 100,000 visitors.
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