March 29, 2024

Wednesday's Daily Pulse

What you need to know about Florida today

| 5/17/2023

Jobs, tourism in Florida at risk if debt limit deal falters

As negotiations in Washington continue over the debt ceiling, Moody's Analytics is issuing a warning, saying states reliant on tourism, like Florida, could lose many jobs if the impasse continues. Moody's Analytics notes in their most recent debt limit scenario update Florida will likely be disproportionately affected due to being "more sensitive to the ups and downs in the business cycle." [Source: Spectrum News]

Florida environment groups, businesses urge DeSantis to veto ‘attack’ on fertilizer bans

Dozens of Florida businesses and environmental organizations are calling on Gov. Ron DeSantis to veto a budget item that could curtail local fertilizer ordinances and stymie future water quality efforts. A coalition of 55 groups from across the Sunshine State, including Alachua County commissioners, wrote a letter to DeSantis late last week urging he use a line-item veto to slash a proposed $250,000 appropriation for University of Florida researchers to study the impact of preempting local fertilizer regulations for the next year. [Source: Tampa Bay Times]

Florida recreational marijuana drive to get Supreme Court review

Attorney General Ashley Moody on Monday formally submitted a proposed recreational-marijuana ballot initiative to the Florida Supreme Court, and she signaled she will argue that the proposal doesn’t meet legal requirements to go before voters in 2024. The political committee Smart & Safe Florida is sponsoring the proposed constitutional amendment and has far exceeded the 222,881 petition signatures needed to trigger a crucial Supreme Court review. [Source: News Service of Florida]

Climate change will impact strawberry production in Florida

Florida farmers play a critical role in food production for the U.S., generating over $7 billion in crops, especially during the winter months. Florida’s specialty crops, like strawberries, play a significant role in the state’s economy: strawberry production generates $400 million annually. In recent years, extreme weather has hit Florida agriculture hard, sustaining over $1 billion in losses from Hurricane Ian in 2022 alone. [Source: Fresh Plaza]

Feds move to curb trade in timber used by some Florida boat suppliers

The Justice Department has announced the creation of an inter-agency task force to combat transnational and domestic trade in illicit wood, including some used by Florida suppliers of the yacht industry. The task force, a joint effort with the Agriculture, Interior, Homeland Security and State departments as well as the U.S. Council on Transnational Organized Crime, will investigate complex timber trafficking cases, develop new techniques to enforce U.S. laws surrounding the timber trade and build global partnerships to curb wood smuggling. [Source: Miami Herald]

ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› As Florida targets ESG, here’s how plans look at 4 Tampa Bay companies
Thanks to a new law signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis, the state of Florida is barred from considering public companies’ environmental, social and governance, or ESG, platforms when making investment decisions on behalf of state funds. But other investors probably are. Most of Tampa Bay’s large public corporations have adopted ESG programs over the last three to five years. Some have specific goals for this decade.

› Gov. Ron DeSantis awards Pensacola $3.9 million for American Magic headquarters
Pensacola and New York Yacht Club American Magic got another win Monday when Gov. Ron DeSantis announced the city had been awarded a $3.9 million grant for the Port of Pensacola's Maritime Center of Excellence. DeSantis announced the $3.9 million grant from the Florida Job Growth Grant Fund in a press release Monday afternoon.

› In JEA investigation, feds interviewed former FPL CEO and sent subpoena to company
A federal prosecutor on Monday told a U.S. magistrate judge that during the course of a criminal investigation into the former head of Jacksonville's city-owned utility, JEA, he and FBI agents interviewed former Florida Power & Light CEO Eric Silagy and sent FPL's parent company, NextEra, a subpoena.

› Sarasota named one of Top 10 best places to live in the U.S., No. 1 in Florida
Sarasota once again made a national publication's list of the best places to live in America, moving up in the rankings this year. U.S. News & World Report has published its 2023-2024 Best Places to Live list, ranking the country's 150 most populous metropolitan areas based on value, desirability, job market and quality of life, with Sarasota coming in at No. 5. It rose four spaces this year, after landing at No. 9 in 2022 and 2021.

Go to page 2 for more stories ...

Tags: Daily Pulse

In case you missed it:

Florida Trend Video Pick

Bitter-to-swallow cocoa costs force chocolate shops to raise prices
Bitter-to-swallow cocoa costs force chocolate shops to raise prices

Central Floirda chocolate shops are left with a bitter taste as cocoa prices hit an all-time high earlier this week.

Video Picks | Viewpoints@FloridaTrend

Ballot Box

Should Congress ban the popular social media app TikTok in the U.S.?

  • Yes
  • No
  • Need more details
  • What is TikTok?
  • Other (Comment below)

See Results

Florida Trend Media Company
490 1st Ave S
St Petersburg, FL 33701
727.821.5800

© Copyright 2024 Trend Magazines Inc. All rights reserved.