FHSAA considers compensation for student athletes
The governing body that oversees high-school athletics in Florida could soon approve a proposal that would lead to high-school athletes getting paid through business agreements such as endorsement deals. The Florida High School Athletic Association held a discussion Tuesday about a potential change to the organization’s bylaws that would allow student-athletes to profit from their name, image and likeness under what is commonly known as an NIL policy. [Source: News Service of Florida]
Florida Trend Exclusive
Trade: Transatlantic ties
Florida and the United Kingdom have a close relationship — and it’s not just because the state is a magnet for British tourists. The U.K. is Florida’s top foreign investor. The state supplies the U.K. with a wide range of goods and commodities, including aviation and aerospace products. British affiliates have total holdings of more than $18 billion in Florida, with more than 350 British companies employing 70,000 Floridians, according to the Florida Department of Commerce. [Source: Florida Trend]
Florida avocado industry copes with devastating disease
Florida avocado growers are continuing their nearly two-decade-long battle with the destructive laurel wilt disease. The disease has shown up in each of Florida’s 67 counties, said Jeff Wasielewski, commercial tropical fruit extension agent for the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Extension, Miami-Dade County, in Homestead. [Source: The Packer]
Florida ranks second in U.S. for elderly fraud losses with over $180M reported in 2023: FBI
Florida ranked second in the United States for elderly fraud losses, with over $180 million reported in 2023, FBI Miami officials said. Seniors over 60 in the Sunshine State reported losses of more than $90 million to investment schemes, $51,496,415 to tech support scams, and over $40 million to romance scams last year, the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center reported. [Source: NBC Miami]
Advocacy groups are urging Florida leaders to enroll in a federal food benefits program
Nearly 200 nonprofit organizations are urging Florida leaders to enroll in a summer food assistance program in 2025. The deadline for states to opt in is Aug. 15. The federal program, called the Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer Program for Children (Summer EBT), is designed to help working parents afford groceries for their kids during the summer months, when free and reduced meals are usually no longer available at schools. [Source: WUSF]
ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:
› Where St. Petersburg City Council members stand on the Rays deal
Two vocally critical St. Petersburg City Council members seized the microphone early at a meeting last week to discuss the proposed redevelopment around Tropicana Field known as the Historic Gas Plant District. But what started off as a heated interrogation settled into a measured back and forth as council members took turns peppering the Tampa Bay Rays, development partner Hines and the Mayor Ken Welch’s administration with questions and observations. It was the first time council members had gotten to sound off as a group after months of closed-door negotiations.
› Closed Red Lobsters: What could happen next to all that real estate
As dozens of Red Lobster restaurant locations shutter in Central Florida and around the country, the question becomes: What happens to all that real estate? “The real estate is spectacular,” said David Gabbai, executive vice president of retail services at Colliers International in Orlando, who is not involved with Red Lobster.
› 'I get to work where I love:' Historic Cedar Key fuels clam industry in Florida
Historic Cedar Key is where you go to get away from it all. It's known for its quaint hotels and great views, but there's one little thing that's synonymous with this area of Florida's Nature Coast. "There's about 180 million clams leaving Cedar Key every year. And those clams go everywhere," says local clam farmer, Heath Davis.
› Construction of new Jacksonville fairgrounds knocked off schedule
The relocation of the Jacksonville Fair to the Westside from its longtime home in downtown is facing delays that are making it a tight squeeze for the new fairgrounds to be ready for the November 2025 edition of the fair, which could force a tough decision on whether or not the fair will go on that year.
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› SRQ airport pushes back against FAA, says land sale to New College of Florida is justified
Airport officials claim the FAA erred last month when the administration rejected a $11.5 million sale of 30.94 acres of land to New College with claims that the authority was unaware that airport land was leased by the college, that the land could be necessary for future airport use, that the land valuation was subpar, that zoning for the property does not allow for college dormitories, and that the college's current lease does not meet FAA requirements.
› ‘Dump the dump’: Southeast Gainesville residents continue fight to shut down landfill
Southeast Gainesville residents and local environmental groups are continuing their fight to shut down the Florence Landfill, a dump which many say threatens public health and safety. The landfill, owned by Southeast Landholdings Inc., is over 48 acres and lies across the street from historic Boulware Springs City Park and the Alachua County Sweetwater Preserve.
› Another Orlando Ballet leader change: New school director hired in expanded role
In the latest in a string of leadership changes at Orlando Ballet, Christopher Alloways-Ramsey will be the new director of the dance company’s school. Orlando Ballet announced the hire Monday. In recent weeks, director of community enrichment Charmaine Hunter departed the organization after seven years to join the Sarasota Ballet. And in March the company announced it would not renew the contract of executive director Cheryl Collins.
› Publix has now donated 100 million pounds of produce to families in need
Publix has now donated 100 million pounds of produce to Feeding America partner food banks, including nearly 52 million pounds to food banks in Florida. It marks a milestone for the Lakeland-based grocer, which began purchasing produce from struggling farmers at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 to both help farmers make ends meet and to help provide fresh fruit and vegetables to families in need through food bank partners.