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Friday's Afternoon Update
What you need to know about Florida today
Halfway through hurricane season, Floridians have another chance to save on disaster prep supplies
In addition to looming storm threats, this weekend brings a two-week sales tax holiday to stock up on hurricane supplies. From Saturday through Sept. 8, you can buy batteries, flashlights, power banks and generators under $3,000 with no sales tax. A list of exempt items can be found below. August, September and October are typically the busiest months of the Atlantic hurricane season, with the peak arriving Sept. 10. More from the Tampa Bay Times and News 4 Jax.
In Manatee County, tiny home communities could play a role in affordable housing
Manatee County is implementing new state policies aimed at encouraging industrial employers to build affordable housing on their property. Commissioners are considering their best options to allow for the construction of tiny homes as a more affordable housing option in the community. They directed county staff to prepare an amendment to the county's land development code clarifying that developers are allowed to build tiny homes on properties zoned for multifamily housing. More from the Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
Tourism down in Northast Florida after two exceptional years
The number of tourists visiting Duval County fell nearly 10% in the second quarter this year, but the news might not be as bad as it appears. Visit Jacksonville, the city’s tourism agency, says the last two years brought abnormally high tourism after the lockdowns of the pandemic. This year’s numbers are returning to the solid years before the pandemic, tourism leaders say. More from Jax Today.
Miami group of Black technologists teams with national training academy for tech bootcamps
Miami’s influential BITE-CON Foundation and national technology bootcamp 4Geeks Academy are teaming to provide Black and brown area residents with necessary training to land promising tech jobs. The two organization’s share a common goal of educating 1 million men and women of color in South Florida and nationwide to become technologists over the next five years. Although Miami’s tech sector has expanded significantly during the pandemic, a big challenge has been giving minority residents access to the sector’s lucrative career and financial opportunities. More from the Miami Herald.
The Aldi deal: Why Winn-Dixie was destined to sell
At the end of the last century, Winn-Dixie Stores Inc. stood as arguably Jacksonville’s most important company, the city’s only Fortune 500 firm and one of the largest grocers in the country with 1,188 stores in 12 states and $14 billion in annual sales. Winn-Dixie was the biggest supermarket operator based in Florida, as Lakeland-based Publix Super Markets Inc. had 614 stores and $13 billion in sales in 1999. However, a sales decline began in 2000 as Walmart Inc. and other new competitors took away Winn-Dixie customers, leading to a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing in 2005. More from the Jacksonville Daily Record.
'Pro-education' Florida broadens school choices
When Florida’s roughly 2.8 million grade school children head back to class this fall, some will be in all new schools. A new law signed in the spring expands upon the state’s Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Program (FTC) and Family Empowerment Scholarship Program (FES). FTC provides state tax credits for voluntary contributions by taxpayers to a non-profit scholarship funding organization. It also awards students scholarships for the cost of tuition and fees at an eligible private school or transportation expenses to a Florida public school in which a student is enrolled and that is different from the school to which the student was assigned. [Sponsored report]
Business Beat - Week of August 25th
Get top news-to-know with Florida Trend's headline-focused video news brief, hosted by digital content specialist Aimée Alexander.
Businss Profile
LactaLogics
Founders Glenn and Chelly Snow’s LactaLogics processes breast milk from donor moms for use in feeding premature babies. The company is locating its headquarters and a processing facility in Port St. Lucie in the former Liberty Medical building on U.S. 1. “The goal is to make more human milk available to hospital NICUs (neonatal intensive care units) and parents across the country,” Chelly Snow says.
» Read more from Florida Trend.
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