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Friday's Afternoon Update
What you need to know about Florida today
Florida's tourism industry continues post-COVID recovery
With the exception of a dip during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, Florida’s tourism industry has continued to grow since 2019 and predictions are that the good times will continue to roll for the Sunshine State. A report from Visit Florida, showed that the Sunshine State had approximately 33.2 million visitors in total during the fourth quarter of 2022. This is 6% higher than the same time period in 2021, and 7.8% higher than October 2019 through December 2019. More from the Center Sqaure.
The records requests sit here: DeSantis’ office slows public access to information
A practice of subjecting certain requests for public information to extra review by Gov. Ron DeSantis’ office has resulted in delayed citizen access to records showing how government policy is formulated and public money is being spent. Sometimes the information is delayed for months. Other times it is released shortly before major holidays, which means when it finally becomes public, the information doesn’t get much attention because people are busy with other things. More from the South Florida Sun-Sentinel and Click Orlando.
Florida’s love-hate relationship with phosphorus
The state has mined and abused "the Devil’s Element" for decades, and now it is increasingly fouling precious coastal waters. The element is precious and finite in the same way fossil fuels are. Yet we are blowing through Earth’s accessible deposits at such a pace that, just like oil production, some scientists now fear we could hit “peak phosphorus” in just a matter of decades, at which point we risk declining mining yields—and chronic food scarcity. More from the Smithsonian Magazine.
January toll credits total $37 million
An average of $34 in credits were distributed to more than 1.1 million motorists in January as part of a state program to give breaks to frequent toll-road users. Gov. Ron DeSantis’ office said the credits totaled $37 million in January, the first month of a year-long program approved during a December special legislative session. More from the News Service of Florida.
Drug coverage, telehealth, physician-assisted death. What’s at stake for Florida healthcare in next week’s legislative session?
Florida lawmakers are about to make big decisions about your healthcare. When the 2023 Legislative Session convenes on Tuesday, state legislators will tackle topics such as the type of healthcare you can get over the phone, how much power a physician’s assistant has to prescribe medication, and possibly even whether women in the state will be further restricted on how many weeks they legally can get an abortion. A lot is at stake during a year when most of the COVID public health emergency benefits will disappear. More from the Orlando Sentinel.
Business Beat - Week of March 3rd
Get top news-to-know with Florida Trend's headline-focused video news brief, hosted by digital content specialist Aimée Alexander.
End of an Era
After nearly a century of fixing Tampa’s flat tires, downtown Firestone closes
The earliest customers may have been Model Ts, a hot car early last century, right up to today’s Hondas, Subarus and SUVs. In they rolled from the streets of downtown Tampa to the Firestone shop, needing flats fixed and bad brakes made better. The marquee sign that can be seen from the highway says “Complete Auto Care Since 1926,” but no more. This week the downtown garage fixed its final flat and closed its doors to make way for future expansion of the courthouse buildings around it.
» Read more from the Tampa Bay Times.
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