SHARE:
Tuesday's Afternoon Update
What you need to know about Florida today
Florida small businesses feel the pain of a quiet summer
Small business owners in Florida typically expect slow summers. Yet 2023 has come as a shock for some businesses, from dance studios to grocery stores and boutiques. After “shop local” fervor during the pandemic and a burst of consumer shopping activity last year, small business owners say they’ve met a perfect storm this summer. July heat set records this year, crushing foot traffic. Revived international travel draws residents and tourists away from Florida. And while the inflation rate has waned, prices certainly aren’t decreasing, owners said. More from the Tampa Bay Times.
Feds back blocking parts of Florida tech law
Arguing that parts of the law violate the First Amendment, the Biden administration Monday urged the U.S. Supreme Court to take up a challenge to a 2021 Florida law that placed restrictions on major social-media companies. U.S. Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar and other Department of Justice attorneys filed a 25-page brief that said the Supreme Court should hear arguments about the Florida law and a similar Texas law. The brief also said justices should uphold an 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that blocked parts of the Florida law. More from the News Service of Florida.
Hillsborough County solar project tries to lower startup costs for residents
Solar United Neighbors is a nonprofit partnering with Hillsborough County and the city of Tampa, among others. The program brings together residents looking to convert to solar and gets them a good deal, according to Ben Delman, the nonprofit’s spokesperson. More from the Tampa Bay Times.
Pensacola's largest women and children's shelter is on the brink of closing
Vinnie Whibbs, executive director for Re Entry Alliance Pensacola, Inc’s sent a letter to “all residents and employees of the Lodges” stating that the operation “has been unable to secure sufficient local funding” to keep it going and will close its doors in two weeks, on Sept. 1. More from the Pensacola News Journal.
Celebrity to join Port Canaveral lineup in December 2024, making it seventh cruise brand
A Celebrity Cruises ship will begin sailing out of Port Canaveral late next year, as Celebrity will become the seventh cruise brand at the port. The Celebrity Equinox will begin Caribbean sailings from Port Canaveral on Dec. 3, 2024, the cruise line announced Tuesday. It said it will have 20 cruises from Port Canaveral, running through April 19, 2025. Celebrity is considered among the more upscale cruise lines sailing from U.S. ports. More from Florida Today and the Orlando Sentinel.
Out of the Box
Space oddities: NASA and space collectors descend on museum for rare, vintage memorabilia
Nestled inside attics and dusty boxes and binders, a veritable mini-eBay's worth of NASA and space collectibles is dispersed among thousands of households across the Space Coast, accumulated by generations of Cape Canaveral workers. The U.S. Space Force Historical Foundation hosted the collectibles showcase for the eighth straight year, drawing more than 400 attendees and filling the small museum floor with vendors' tables packed with a colorful cornucopia of mission patches, autographed astronaut photos, challenge coins, books, clothing, vintage toys and more.
» More from Florida Today.
Florida Dining
Tampa steakhouse gets plant-based cuts
Charley's Steak House in Tampa, part of the Talk of the Town Restaurant Group, has added whole-cut, plant-based steaks to the menu, according to Chunk Foods, a non-meat producer founded in 2020. A Talk of the Town executive says the search for a non-meat menu item for vegetarian and vegan guests has taken more than a decade.
» Read more from the Business Observer.
In case you missed it:
