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Friday's Afternoon Update
What you need to know about Florida today
How deadly is Florida heat? There’s a big gap between official numbers and likely impact
Calculating the damage from a hurricane or wildfire is straightforward: simply add up the cost of destroyed buildings, disrupted business and livelihoods lost. For extreme heat — the kind that has gripped South Florida and much of the nation for months now — the toll is harder to tally, because the real danger of heat isn’t to homes and power lines, it’s to human health. And, experts say, the official numbers likely don’t capture the whole picture. More from the Miami Herald and Yahoo News.
DeSantis supports offshore drilling and fracking, just not in Florida
Gov. Ron DeSantis would allow offshore drilling and fracking in the U.S. as president, as long as it’s not in Florida. The position is part of DeSantis’ plan to “unleash American energy independence,” while maintaining Florida as the only Gulf state without rigs, refineries and pipelines dotting its coast. “We have a constitutional amendment that does not allow offshore drilling. And so that’s something that we honor,” DeSantis said about Florida while revealing his economic plan in New Hampshire last week. More from the Tampa Bay Times.
Florida officials predict state aid to poor counties will increase by $16.5M
State officials say property tax offsets for Florida’s poorer counties will be $16.5 million greater than was appropriated in the state’s budget because of increased claims. According to preliminary information of the 2023 tax roll from the Florida Department of Revenue’s Lisette Morales, the estimated claims for fiscally-constrained county reimbursements will reach around $74 million. More from the Center Square.
Ukraine slaps Bacardi with ‘international war sponsor’ label over exports to Russia
Bacardi, the world’s largest private liquor company whose U.S. headquarters are in Coral Gables, has been sanctioned by Ukraine for expanding its operations in Russia, a move that the Ukrainian government says has provided economic support to the war unleashed by Russian President Vladimir Putin against the country. More from the Miami Herald.
Study ranks Florida in the top 10 best states for repaying student loan debt
Florida has one of the highest total federal student loan debt balances in the U.S. as of December 2022 and Floridians owe federal student lenders around $105 billion, according to the U.S. Department of Education's Federal Student Aid site. This figure includes Direct Loans, Federal Family Education Loans (FFEL) and Perkins Loans but not private loan debt. More from the Palm Beach Post.
Business Beat - Week of August 11th
Get top news-to-know with Florida Trend's headline-focused video news brief, hosted by digital content specialist Aimée Alexander.
Profile
Sarasota attorney, entrepreneur dives headfirst into next big career challenge
As Christina Unkel discusses her new job as club president of Super League Tampa Bay, one question comes up. When does she sleep? Unkel's days seem full, as the Sarasota resident is a mother of one, an attorney, a businesswoman, a wife and now leader of the only top-tier women's professional soccer team in the region.
» Read more from the Business Observer.
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