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Wednesday's Afternoon Update
What you need to know about Florida today
Florida lawmakers wade back into vacation rental market. City officials aren't happy
The Legislature banned cities and counties from adopting new vacation rental rules in 2011, while grandfathering in any rental rules adopted prior to the bill’s passage. Facing a public backlash, lawmakers revised the preemption statute in 2014 and allowed communities to regulate rentals, so long as they did not ban them outright or limit their frequency or duration. Those restrictions have led to careful consideration by local officials across the state when crafting new vacation rental rules. More from the Florida Times-Unionand the Daytona Beach News-Journal.
Nearly week-long gas crunch continues. Here’s a look at the pumps, long lines
South Florida’s gas crunch marched into its sixth day with many empty gas stations and others with long lines as drivers hope their turn comes before pumps goes dry. Historic 1-in-1,000 year flooding last week prevented petroleum companies from making deliveries from Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, which supplies about 40% of Florida’s gas. More from the Miami Herald.
Scores of Central Floridians remain flooded out, 6 months after Hurricane Ian
More than six months after Hurricane Ian drenched the state with historic flooding, an unknown number of Central Floridians that could reach into the hundreds remain unable to return to home, officials say. According to FEMA, 143 households in Seminole, Orange, Osceola and Lake counties are still in housing provided by the agency’s Transitional Shelter Assistance program. The program was set to end last month but was extended through June. More from the Orlando Sentinel.
Collier County experiences lower tourism impacts than last year
As Southwest Florida’s tourist season concluded in March, Collier County experienced a 20% year-over-year decline in visitors when compared to March 2022, Tourism Director Paul Beirnes said during Monday’s Tourism Development Council meeting. “I will tell you that we’re tracking and interpreting a lot of influences within the travel industry right now,” Beirnes said. “We’ve probably never seen so much fragmented, ever-changing elements.” More from Gulfshore Business.
Haiti-to-Miami flights are getting cut back and may now cost more than $3,000. Here’s why
If dealing with the constant threat of violent criminal gangs and kidnappings in Haiti wasn’t bad enough, try finding a reasonably priced fare to fly out of the country to Miami on American Airlines. The U.S.-based carrier, which had reduced its direct flights to Haiti even before the COVID-19 pandemic threw air travel into a tailspin, is planning to cut back its once-a-day flights to Port-au-Prince from seven days to six starting next month. More from the Miami Herald.
Resiliency for three rivers, 50 springs and 12 counties
The Ocklawaha River is the heart of The Great Florida Riverway, a vast 217-mile system beginning at Lake Apopka, flowing north along the Ocklawaha River, past Silver Springs, and ending where the St. Johns River meets the Atlantic Ocean. The river was dammed as part of the failed Cross Florida Barge Canal in 1968, severing a popular boat route and natural migratory route for fish, manatees and other wildlife. The dam, which does not provide flood protection, water supply or power, destroyed 7500 acres of forested wetlands, 16 miles of river, 20 springs and significantly impacted Silver Springs undermining the resiliency of this vital system. [Sponsored report]
Workplace Trends
This Tampa boss tried out a 4-day workweek. Guess what happened.
For 2023, Jake Kurtz decided to try something new with employees at his Tampa company called Brick Media. Why not get more work done Monday through Thursday, he thought, with a payoff of everyone having Fridays off? Now, the three-month pilot program at the 15-employee firm on Channelside Drive at the edge of downtown Tampa has ended, and the verdict on a four-day workweek is in: “I think they’re happier than they’ve ever been,” said Kurtz.
» More from the Tampa Bay Times.
Finance Trends
Rising interest
Two Northwest home builders and a real estate agent discuss the impact of higher interest rates. Blaine Flynn, owner of Flynn Built (custom homes) tells us: “Higher interest rates have definitely slowed down our incoming sales pipeline. However, we do think that buyers are coming to terms with the fact that this is the new norm for interest rates.”
» Read more from Florida Trend.
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