SHARE:
Monday's Afternoon Update
What you need to know about Florida today
Florida is now America’s inflation hotspot
In Florida, the state’s growing population has been pushing up inflation — particularly via housing costs. It’s a trend that accelerated during the pandemic, when remote work gave some Americans the freedom to relocate, economists say. Florida’s population grew the most of any state from July 2021 to July 2022 because of domestic migration, according to the Census Bureau’s latest estimates. During that same period, Florida also had the fastest population growth by percentage, the first time it has notched that top spot since 1957. More from CNN.
Gas prices in Florida have surged 20 cents a gallon. Here’s what to expect
Gas prices are up 20 cents a gallon in Florida this week, a reversal after 22 days of decreases, according to AAA. The surge comes after Fourth of July weekend, but as people are still taking to the roads for summer vacation. The average price for a gallon of gas in Florida on Monday, according to AAA, was $3.46 More from the Miami Herald.
National Hurricane Center tracking disturbance. Saharan dust helping keep tropics quiet
The National Hurricane Center is tracking a disturbance well off the U.S. coastline, along with three tropical waves. Two of the tropical waves are located in the Caribbean. The disturbance currently has a low chance for development but could acquire some subtropical or tropical characteristics later this week before it runs into conditions that would hinder further growth. More from the Florida Times-Union.
The huge blob of seaweed headed for Florida has shrunk by 75%
Florida vacations are back on, sans stinky seaweed. The record-breaking mass of stinky seaweed that began appearing on Florida’s iconic beaches this spring, known as the Great Atlantic Sargassum Seaweed Belt, shrunk in the Gulf of Mexico by 75% last month, according to scientists from the University of South Florida’s Optical Oceanography Lab. More from UPI and CNN.
Grants available for water quality, improvement projects in Florida
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection is now accepting requests for water-quality grants from local governments, academic institutions and nonprofits. More than $390 million is available to plan and implement projects that protect Florida’s water resources. The DEP is seeking project proposals to bolster existing efforts to protect and restore Florida’s water resources, new ideas and new programs that came out of Tallahassee during the most recent legislative session. More from WLRN.
Arts Business
See summer camp kids react to St. Petersburg art museum’s latest exhibit
Art inspires contemplation, especially when it addresses the natural world around us. “Un/Natural Selections: Wildlife in Contemporary Art,” a new exhibition at The James Museum of Western and Wildlife Art, recently inspired a group of students attending the museum’s summer camp program. The exhibit comes from the collection of the National Museum of Wildlife Art and features a wide variety of contemporary works depicting animals.
» More from the Tampa Bay Times.
Profile
Florida beekeeper feels the sting from dead bees, less honey money
Keith Seifert Jr. is calm surrounded by bees. While he wears protective gear over his head, the 34-year-old beekeeper leaves his arms exposed in a T-shirt as he opens up a hive under the sand pines on his Sorrento property in Lake County. It’s when he starts talking about the onslaught of trouble his Sweet Bee Company has faced over the last year that Seifert gets tense. It’s been one sting after another since Hurricane Ian flooded hundreds of his bee hives last year and damaged the trees, flowers and plants the bees need to make honey and keep him in business.
» Read more from the Orlando Sentinel.
In case you missed it:
