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Friday's Afternoon Update
What you need to know about Florida today
Florida tax collections beat forecast in January
Recovery efforts from Hurricane Ian helped Florida tax collections as 2023 got underway. But state economists continue to express concerns about inflation and Floridians people spending personal savings. The Legislature’s Office of Economic & Demographic Research issued a report Wednesday that said general-revenue collections in January were 21.8 percent above a forecast for the month. The report said collections totaled $4.178 billion in January, about $748.4 million over a projection issued in August. More from the News Service of Florida.
Drafted bill would take control of GRU away from Gainesville City Commission
A drafted bill given to the Alachua County legislative delegation could soon remove the Gainesville City Commission's authority to make any decision related to its municipal utility. The move is the latest step in which lawmakers are entrenching themselves into the city government for its handling of Gainesville Regional Utilities over the years and is also being done in a similar fashion to how a controversial board overseeing Walt Disney World's Reedy Creek was created. More from the Gainesville Sun.
Disney World's massive Star Wars attraction has a big problem
Star Wars has generally been a goldmine since Disney paid $7 billion to acquire the property from George Lucas. While the most-recent trilogy of films met a mixed critical reactions, they were huge box office hits. At the theme parks, "Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge" drove record attendance at Hollywood Studios and has been a major draw at Disneyland. Disney, however, may have misjudged demand for two-day immersive Star Wars experience that starts at $5,000 for two people. More from the Street.
Housing? A park? St. Petersburg to explore other uses of downtown airport’s land
Mayor Ken Welch is back to talking about Albert Whitted. Welch is once again calling for the city to look at whether an airport is the best way to use 120 acres on the downtown waterfront. He is getting ready to hire a company to do an economic analysis of Albert Whitted Airport and what its value is to the city compared to other things that could go there — an expansion of the city’s innovation district, for instance, more park space, or even workforce housing. More from the Tampa Bay Times.
Miami and loanDepot park will be the ‘Home of Béisbol’ for the World Baseball Classic
The World Baseball Classic, after a six-year hiatus, is finally back. And Miami is at the center of it all, with loanDepot park, home of the Miami Marlins, becoming the “Home of Béisbol’ for the two week tournament. It is first venue in tournament history to host games in every round — pool play, quarterfinals, semifinals and the championship — in the same year. The action in South Florida begins Saturday and runs through the championship game on March 21. More from the Miami Herald.
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Business Beat - Week of March 10th
Get top news-to-know with Florida Trend's headline-focused video news brief, hosted by digital content specialist Aimée Alexander.
Florida Dining
Busch Gardens Food and Wine Festival returns: Here’s a guide
Now in its eighth year, Busch Gardens Food and Wine Festival returns March 10 with appetizer-sized dishes, drinks and a concert series that includes Kansas, Flo Rida, Walk the Moon and Dustin Lynch. The festival runs on weekends through May 21. Though the food and drink options cost extra (from $6 to $12), the concerts are included with admission.
» Read more from the Tampa Bay Times.
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