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Thursday's Afternoon Update

New outbreak of Red Tide shows up in Northwest Florida

Another part of Florida is dealing with an outbreak of the toxic algae bloom known as red tide. Southwest Florida has been already been reeling from a massive outbreak that has killed tons of marine life and driven away tourists. More from the AP, WUSF, and the Tallahassee Democrat.

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» One day, the red tide is not so bad, the next day it’s awful. Blame the weather

Lake Nona is adding more retail and entertainment. Will it be enough to bring people there?

Orlando’s rapidly growing master-planned community is hurtling toward a new phase of its evolution. It’s the vital next step when a neighborhood graduates from a place you go to work or sleep into a place you go to play. More from the Orlando Sentinel.

Pinellas County strikes bed tax deal with VRBO, HomeAway and other AirBnb competitors

The Pinellas County Tax Collector’s Office will start collecting bed tax dollars from a slew of home rental apps that operate similarly to AirBnb starting Oct. 1. Prior to the new partnerships with TripAdvisor and Expedia, only AirBnb had set up to pay Pinellas County directly on behalf its users. More from the Tampa Bay Times.

North Miami’s Chinatown works on incubator linkup

North Miami’s Chinatown is working on a collaboration among the city, Trinity Church and the business school at Johnson & Wales University. This project, which will manifest physically around the end of this year, is to be an entrepreneurial “incubator” in the Chinatown corridor, said North Miami City Manager Larry Spring. More from Miami Today.

Total Central Florida hotel rooms surpass 127,000 for first time

For the first time since records have been kept, Orlando’s hotel industry has exceeded 127,000 total rooms. Data provided by the industry observer STR showed that the greater Orlando area, which includes the areas around Sanford, Orlando and Kissimmee, is home to a record 127,070 hotel rooms in the region. More from the Orlando Sentinel.

Event
Free admission to more than 100 Florida museums this weekend

 Smithsonian magazine's Museum Day is Saturday, meaning nearly 1,500 participating US museums are offering free admission! This includes more than 100 museums in the state of Florida.

» More from WFTS.

 

Business Profile
Yay!

floridaThe tiny gift shop Yay! has opened on Orlando’s Ivanhoe Row, bringing a lot of unique products in a small space. The shop is in a tiny building behind the Backhaus German bakery on Ivanhoe Row, just over 200-square feet but filled with style.

» Read more from the Orlando Sentinel.