Government shutdown delayed capital for over 100 small businesses in Florida
The recent federal government shutdown delayed access to federally guaranteed loans for small businesses in Florida, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration. During the shutdown, Florida small businesses lost $461 million in federal loans, while nationwide, the SBA reported that $5.3 billion in lending was blocked. These loans are typically used to hire employees, fund expansions, or cover operating costs. [Source: WFTV]
After ‘alarming’ Guana land swap idea, Florida lawmaker files bill for more transparency
When Florida’s government unveiled a proposal this summer to trade 600 acres of a beloved St. Johns County wilderness preserve, Floridians of all political backgrounds felt blindsided. Though the plan was scrapped after widespread protest, including from President Donald Trump’s chief of staff, questions remained about how an idea to give up land as precious as the Guana River Wildlife Management Area could be hatched outside the public eye. Now, a Republican lawmaker is taking a first step to thwart the growing trend in state government that has shrouded recent land proposals in secrecy, including the Guana River ordeal. [Source: Tampa Bay Times]
After lawsuit pressure, Florida advances marijuana amendment toward 2026 ballot
Weeks after a pro-marijuana group sued the DeSantis administration in the Florida Supreme Court for allegedly slow-walking the process to put an amendment on the ballot, Florida election officials announced that they have taken that step. Attorney General James Uthmeier asked the court in a brief Tuesday to dismiss the case because, a day earlier, Division of Elections Director Maria Matthews completed the step that Smart & Safe Florida sued the state over in late October. [Source: Florida Phoenix]
Beachfront owners should be compensated for COVID-19 shutdown of property, court says
A federal appeals court Monday backed beachfront property owners who argued they should receive compensation because Walton County prevented them from using privately owned portions of the beach early in the COVID-19 pandemic. A three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a decision by U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle, who rejected arguments that a move by the Walton County Commission to close beaches in spring 2020 resulted in an unconstitutional “taking” of property. The lawsuit focused on people being unable to use areas of the beach that they own, rather than on beaches being closed to the general public. [Source: Orlando Sentinel]
Why it matters that longest-serving Florida Supreme Court Justice is stepping down
The longest-serving current member of the Florida Supreme Court, Justice Charles Canady, is leaving the bench to join the University of Florida as director of the Hamilton School for Classical and Civic Education. Canady — whose wife, state Rep. Jennifer Canady, is in line to become state House speaker in 2028 — announced his departure Monday, calling it a “great privilege to serve the people of Florida as a justice” for the past 17 years. [Source: Miami Herald]
ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:
› JEA could use eminent domain to acquire property for Jacksonville water treatment plant
JEA is seeking to acquire 2.02 acres Downtown in Commodores Point to build a water treatment facility – and it might use eminent domain to do so. The board of the city-owned utility voted 7-0 on Nov. 18 to negotiate an agreement to buy the property, and to use eminent domain to take over the land if negotiations are unsuccessful. The land JEA is seeking is part of a larger 15.25-acre property owned by Commodores Point Properties Ltd.
› Galleria redesign can move forward with plans for nine 30-story towers, state says
A controversial redesign of Fort Lauderdale’s Galleria mall that calls for nine 30-story towers can move forward as planned by the developer, according to the state. A recent opinion from the Office of the Attorney General says the developer can indeed build to a height of 300 feet and include plans for residential housing and a hotel. Critics have objected to the height and density of the Live Local project.
› Southwest Florida restaurant company introduces two new concepts, nears 2,000 employees
When Pinchers Crab Shack opened in Bonita Springs in 1997, it had 12 tables and six employees. “I cooked every day, and my dad worked on the floor each day,” says Grant Phelan. “A big day for us back then was $600 in sales. It’s a lot more than that on a big day now.” That’s because over the last almost 30 years, Phelan Family Brands has grown from one small restaurant to 12 different concepts and 26 locations in Florida.
› Fanatics closing facility near Tampa, laying off 286 employees
Sports apparel company Fanatics, which was founded in the Jacksonville area, is closing its Riverview distribution center near Tampa next year and will lay off 286 employees. The company announced the closure and job cuts in a letter sent to state and local officials Nov. 14 and posted to the state’s Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification database Nov. 17.
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› Kroger closing Central Florida fulfillment center after ’comprehensive review’
Kroger announced on Tuesday that is it closing three of its delivery fulfillment facilities – including the one located in Central Florida – as part of an effort to make its delivery operations faster and more profitable. In July 2019, Kroger announced the groundbreaking for the company’s $55 million, 375,000-square-foot customer fulfillment center. Officials said at the time the center would “generate up to 400 new jobs.” Initially, the companies planned 20 locations, but only eight have been built so far.
› Popular Sarasota restaurant buys local live music venue and taproom
After recently closing one taproom, a Sarasota brewery has handed over another of its locations — which also serves as a concert venue — to a popular local restaurant and bar operator. The Parrot Patio Bar & Grill, which has two locations in Sarasota and Bradenton, has bought Big Top Live at 975 Cattlemen Road and will operate it as The Parrot Live Tiki Bar & Grill Music Venue.
› Fort Lauderdale-based The LegalTech Fund launches $110M Fund II
Following waves of modernization in fintech, healthtech, and insurtech, the $1 trillion global legal services industry is next to undergo systemic transformation, the investors in The LegalTech Fund, believe. Over the next decade, law firms and in-house legal teams will see their business models tested and redefined, which will ultimately expand access to legal support, they say.
› After historic landing, Blue Origin's New Glenn booster sails into Port Canaveral
There’s a massive rocket booster that returned from space at Port Canaveral —and it’s not SpaceX. It was on Nov. 13 that space enthusiasts shouted from Brevard beaches as Blue Origin’s massive New Glenn rocket blasted off on its second flight — and eight minutes later they shouted again. History was made as Blue Origin became the second rocket company to land an orbital rocket booster on a seafaring barge. Until this day, SpaceX had remained the champion of this engineering feat, and of the space sights at Port Canaveral.