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Wednesday's Daily Pulse
What you need to know about Florida today
Six months after Ian: Recovering Florida communities prepare for start of another hurricane season
Florida communities are still actively recovering from Hurricane Ian's wrath six months ago while preparing for the start of another hurricane season in just a few months. The deadly Category 4 storm reached Florida on Sept. 28 and wreaked havoc as it destroyed lives, businesses and homes, with many people still displaced today. Today, there's a lasting impact of all the lives that were lost from Ian. According to the state's medical examiner, 149 died in Florida because of the hurricane. More from Fox Weather and the Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
Another day, another SpaceX launch attempt from the Space Coast
It’s been five days since SpaceX sent up a batch of its internet satellites from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The company will go for it again this afternoon. A Falcon 9 is set to lift off from Canaveral’s Space Launch Complex 40 at 4:01 p.m. with 56 more of the Starlink satellites to add to its growing constellation. The launch window stretches into the evening with opportunities at 5:43 p.m. and 7:22 p.m. A backup launch attempt could occur Thursday. [Source: Orlando Sentinel]
Florida House looks to speed up land acquisitions by bypassing need for Governor, cabinet approval
A House panel Monday rolled out a proposal that could help speed up land acquisitions for a proposed statewide wildlife corridor by allowing some deals to bypass approval from the governor and Cabinet. A 2021 law, known as the Florida Wildlife Corridor Act, called for pumping $300 million a year into the corridor effort, with about 8 million acres needing to be secured. Lawmakers have a goal of acquiring 900,000 of the needed acres by the end of the decade. [Source: News Service of Florida]
Commentary: 22,435 Floridians with disabilities remain on years-long wait list for services
Florida lawmakers are spending money like never before. In fact, the governor and GOP legislators are so eager to dish out taxpayer dollars — their proposed budget has grown to nearly $115 billion — they can’t even figure out how much they’re giving away. The school-voucher plan alone is so big — the costliest in America — that estimates for just the first year are all over the map, ranging from $200 million to $4 billion. Yet the state's waiting list for Medicaid waivers has more than 22,000 families on it. Nearly half the families have been waiting for more than a decade. Some children die before getting served.[Source: Orlando Sentinel]
Proposed legislation could be detrimental to the tourism industry
Local tourism and business leaders are upset over a proposal that would significantly change the way counties collect and spend bed tax money. A lot of it has to do with funding the state’s Visit Florida tourism agency. Bay County Tourist Development Council Executive Director Dan Rowe said the proposed committee bill under consideration in Tallahassee would be devastating to Bay County’s tourism industry. [Source: WMBB]
ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:
› FWC seeks public input on anchoring in the Florida Keys
Florida's Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) is seeking input from the public as it formulates new rules about where boaters can anchor long-term in Monroe County. New rules could impact the workforce in the Florida Keys, where hundreds of people live permanently on their anchored boats, some because they cannot afford homes on land or the cost of staying docked at a marina.
› 'Full of hope': Mayo Clinic Jacksonville gets $41 million grant for major Alzheimer's study
The Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville has received a $41 million federal grant for a potentially groundbreaking study to better understand Alzheimer's disease and how the brain disorder affects people of different ethnic groups. The lessons learned could lead to treatment or even a cure. "I am full of hope," said Dr. Nilüfer Ertekin-Taner, a Mayo Clinic professor of neuroscience and neurology and physician-scientist who is a co-principal investigator of the study.
› Sarasota commercial real estate: $9 million in deals have closed since March
Despite some banking worries over the past few weeks after the failure of two U.S. banks, two Sarasota commercial transactions totaling more than $9 million closed in March, according to Sarasota County property records. A 10,378-sqauare-foot standalone retail building at 8546 S. Tamiami Trail currently leased to drug store chain operator CVS was purchased by a Long Island-based company for $4.5 million at the beginning of the month. SSA Sarasota LLC, managed by Rosario Cassata of Sayville, New York, bought the property from FFT Livingstone LTD.
› Southeastern Grocers partners with Relocalize for autonomous, hyperlocal ice microfactory
Jacksonville-based Southeastern Grocers announced March 27 a partnership with Relocalize for what it calls the world’s first autonomous, hyperlocal ice microfactory. Officials from both companies unveiled the microfactory at a March 27 ribbon-cutting at the grocer’s Baldwin Distribution Center at 15500 W. Beaver St. in West Jacksonville. Southeastern Grocers Inc. is the parent company of Fresco y Más, Harveys Supermarket and Winn-Dixie grocery stores.
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