SHARE:
Wednesday's Afternoon Update
What you need to know about Florida today
Florida bee colonies in the path of Hurricane Ian are smashed, drowned and starving
Some 380,000 registered Florida bee colonies were in the path of Ian, according to the University of Florida. Researchers are still calculating how many were destroyed. The storm hit at a critical time in the farming cycle, just as many beekeepers from the East Coast had brought their honey bees to Florida to pollinate Brazilian pepper trees, make a honey popular with bakers, and build up their numbers for the winter crops out west. More from WUSF.
Federal transportation money flows to Florida
Florida is slated to get $2.65 billion this fiscal year for transportation projects as part of a major federal infrastructure law, the Biden administration announced Tuesday. The money is part of $59.9 billion that will be released from the Federal Highway Administration for 12 programs under the $1.2 trillion law signed in November by President Joe Biden. The agency estimates that under the current formula, Florida would receive $13.3 billion over five years for highways and bridges. More from the News Service of Florida.
As Miami targets lighted ad signs for parks, bigger signs sought elsewhere
Miami city commissioners are prepared to give final approval to a measure that will allow outdoor advertising signs in three of its premiere parks, while one of the commissioners has introduced a much more aggressive proposal that would allow digital advertising signs on city-owned properties. The first amendment was put together and sponsored by Commissioner Joe Carollo. The newest amendment up for first reading comes from Commissioner Alex Diaz de la Portilla. More from Miami Today.
Local relief campaign to raise $1 million for the homeless in Central Florida
The Coalition for the Homeless of Central Florida has partnered with Morgan & Morgan to raise $1 million to assist unhoused individuals and help families at risk of homelessness. The campaign, which officially launched on Sept. 7, will run through Veterans’s Day on Nov. 11 and National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week from Nov. 12 to Nov. 20. Matt Morgan, an attorney at the firm, donated $250,000 to the coalition. His parents, John Morgan and Ultima Morgan, matched his donation to further the cause. More from the Orlando Sentinel.
Pinellas County film commissioner to depart for job in Texas
Pinellas County Film Commissioner Tony Armer has announced his resignation, effective Jan. 1, 2023, from the role that he’s held since 2014. According to a news release, Armer has been named commissioner of the Dallas Film & Creative Industries Office, a department within Visit Dallas that serves as the city’s official film commission, music office and creative industries resource. In a statement that accompanies the announcement, Armer, a Pinellas County resident since 1995, says he didn’t seek out the Dallas job and intends to keep a home in the St. Petersburg-Clearwater region. More from the Businenss Observer.
Out of the Box
Duval-St. Johns county line to run through proposed Publix
Pick up the lettuce in Duval County and the milk in St. Johns. The checkout lanes could be in both. Same store, different counties. That’s because the county line runs through the center of the proposed new Nocatee West Publix. St. Johns County and Jacksonville, which is consolidated in Duval County, are reviewing plans for the Nocatee West retail shopping center.
» More from the Jacksonville Daily Record.
Arts Business
Shine Mural Festival returns to St. Petersburg
In what has become one of St. Petersburg’s most artistic traditions, the Shine Mural Festival returns for its eighth year on Oct. 14. Produced by the St. Petersburg Arts Alliance, the roster boasts international artists — James Bullough, Mad C and Caratoes hail from Germany, with Canada’s Ben Johnston and Marina Capdevila from Spain — as well as national artists including 123Klan (Los Angeles), Imagine (Nepal/Boston) and Reginald O’Neal and Baghead (Miami).
» Read more from the Tampa Bay Times.
In case you missed it:
