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Tuesday's Afternoon Update
What you need to know about Florida today
Thanksgiving travel in Florida to exceed pre-pandemic levels
Thanksgiving travel in Florida is forecast to be the busiest in nearly two decades, since 2005. AAA forecasts more than 2.9 million Floridians will travel 50 miles or more for Thanksgiving. That's 50,000 (2%) more Florida travelers than last year's holiday and nearly 22,000 (0.74%) more than in 2019. Nationally, 54.6 million Americans will travel 50 miles or more from home, slightly below pre-pandemic levels. More from CBS News.
After a decade of intense algal blooms, the Indian River Lagoon is making fragile gains
This year has seen a brief respite from the massive blooms that have come to characterize the Indian River Lagoon, a system of three lagoons that stretches along 156 miles of Florida’s Atlantic Coast. Drier conditions have tempered nutrient-carrying runoff, keeping blooms small, patchy, and short-lived. With improved water clarity, some seagrass has returned. It’s a hopeful sign, but these gains could easily disappear. More from WLRN.
South Florida economic forecast identifies climate resiliency as ‘biggest concern’
An economic forecast for south Florida was just released, as local leaders look ahead to the next five years. The findings were revealed by the South Florida Regional Planning Council’s Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy committee. The 135-page report combines data and analysis from local experts in areas like banking, environmental engineering, education, and business. Among the biggest challenges identified for all of south Florida moving forward were climate resiliency and the local workforce. More from WPLG.
Space Florida moves forward on jobs, landing facility projects
The board of Space Florida, the state’s agency dedicated to boosting the aerospace industry, has approved nearly $60 million for improvements to the Launch Landing Facility (LLF) and agreed to move forward with solicitations for vendors on two other mystery projects designed to bring dozens of jobs. The $58.8 million approved was an expansion of a previous agreement to put $41.4 million toward development of the LLF, which NASA awarded to Space Florida to manage and operate in 2013. More from Florida Politics.
Chamber says Jacksonville’s fintech growth, London trip secured Paysafe deal
JAX Chamber CEO Daniel Davis said the decision by global mobile and online payment provider Paysafe Ltd. to open its North American headquarters in Northeast Florida will “bridge the London/Jacksonville divide.” London-based Paysafe announced Nov. 14 at JAX Chamber that it intends to bring 600 jobs to Jacksonville over the next three years. Davis said the city’s growing footprint in financial technology and the chamber’s October trip to London were pivotal to the deal. More from the Jacksonville Daily Record.
Sports Business
Miami’s millionaire Cavinder twins are avatars for a new age of athletes
In three seasons of college basketball, the Cavinder twins have 3,040 points, 1,009 rebounds, 722 assists, five appearances on various all-league teams and one conference player of the year award between them. The Cavinders also have 4.1 million followers on TikTok. They have 990,000 followers across three Instagram accounts In July, Forbes reported the twins had, in sum, $1.7 million worth of NIL deals.
» More from the Athletic.
Entertainment
Jacksonville's Alhambra dinner theater still entertaining after 55 years
The Alhambra Dinner Theatre opened in 1967 in the heyday of dinner theaters in America. And though that heyday is long gone, the Alhambra, now known as Alhambra Theatre & Dining, carries on, still drawing people to its stage shows — and dinner. It's been going nonstop, but for a coronavirus break in 2020 and a three-month gap in 2009 after it closed before new investors, led by local Craig Smith, stepped in to buy it.
» Read more from the Florida Times-Union.
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