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Wednesday's Afternoon Update

A year after Hurricane Michael: ‘We still have a high spirit’

One year after Category 5 Hurricane Michael barreled over the Florida Panhandle and into Georgia, Mexico Beach is urgently working to bring in more visitors, thousands of Panama City families are still “couch surfing,” a prison with critically needed jobs remains shuttered in Marianna and tarps still cover hundreds of homes. More from the Orlando Sentinel.

See also:
» Recovering The History Lost From Hurricane Michael

Zoo Miami misses visitor target, hunts new strategies

Zoo Miami, celebrating its 40th anniversary next July, wrapped up fiscal 2019 shy of its long-held goal of a million annual visitors, but Director Carol Kruse reports success at meeting or exceeding other major benchmarks. Exact figures aren’t yet available, Ms. Kruse said, but the total number of admissions through Sept. 30 is around 910,000. More from Miami Today.

Convenience stores and Florida's economy

The list of names reads like a busy rest stop on the Turnpike. 7-11. Circle K. Thorntons. Sunshine Distributors. RaceTrac. Cumberland Farms. Wawa. Add Buc-ee's to the list of convenience store chains expanding in Florida. When the Texas company broke ground on its first store in Florida last month, it was deemed an important enough addition to the Florida economy that Gov. Ron DeSantis was there with shovel in hand, hard hat on his head and the Buc-ee beaver mascot next to him. More from WLRN.

New cruise ships about to call Florida home

The Sunshine State is about to welcome nearly half a million tons of new hardware, as in new cruise ships sailing from Florida’s big ports. That includes one of the largest ships in the world, MSC Meraviglia, brand new vessels Norwegian Encore and Sky Princess and a revamped Carnival Cruise Line ship that even got a new name. More from the Orlando Sentinel.

Former JEA chair nabs utility privatization gig

JEA has hired local attorney Alan Howard, a former board member who said in July that the city-owned utility needed to consider privatization to escape a “certain death spiral,” to provide assistance as it considers 16 offers from potential buyers. Howard signed a contract with JEA on Aug. 28 to provide “specialized legal counsel.” More from the Florida Times-Union.

Trend Mention

Mention ImageEvent: 2019 Florida ACG Capital Connection

Join ACG Florida for “Boca & Beyond”, our annual Florida ACG Capital Connection, Nov. 18-20, 2019 at Boca Raton Resort & Club. The conference is focused on driving middle market growth and attracts over 600 attendees from around the country including private equity firms, investment/commercial banks, middle market companies, and other transactional advisors. Learn from our speakers/education, build relationships at our networking events, and close deals. www.acgflorida.com.

Transportation
Florida to use VW emissions money for cleaner buses

 New public-transit and school buses that run on electricity and alternative fuels would get much of Florida’s share of a federal payout from a Volkswagen emissions scandal, under a plan rolled out Tuesday by the state. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection issued what is known as a request for information on a $116.4 million initiative intended to voluntarily remove older buses from the road.

» More from WUSF.

 

Florida Dining
Stone crab season is near. But Florida blue crab has a following, too.

floridaWhile Florida’s beloved stone crab is just a week away from making its annual debut on Oct. 15, the season for Florida’s other crab — blue crab — lasts all year. From roadside shacks to seafood markets, there are plenty of places to find it. And while crab boils might evoke visions of Baltimore and the Eastern Seaboard, blue crabs — steamed, boiled or deviled — have a devout following in Tampa Bay.

» Read more from the Tampa Bay Times.