Florida’s first coronavirus cases found in Hillsborough and Manatee counties

Two people from Hillsborough and Manatee counties are the first to test positive for coronavirus in Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Sunday night. The first confirmed cases of the flu-like virus prompted DeSantis to direct the state surgeon general, Scott Rivkees, to declare a public health emergency. Despite the confirmations, "the overall immediate threat to the public remains low,” the Florida Department of Health said in a statement. More from the Tampa Bay Times, the Miami Herald, and the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

DeSantis wanted ‘bold,’ but lawmakers may give him less

Kicking off the Legislature in January, Gov. Ron DeSantis delivered a 34-minute State of the State address in which he kept returning to a favorite word to summon lawmakers to action. “Bold.” But as the Legislature enters its final two weeks, the bold spirit DeSantis demanded — and mentioned five times — may not translate into muscular policy. Not only are most of the second-year governor’s priorities still up in the air as the session nears its end, many are being sharply scaled back. [Source: Florida Times-Union]

Florida bank profits hit 25-year high

Chalk up two straight years for Florida’s banking sector hitting the $2 billion profit mark. The state’s 104 banks and thrifts earned a combined $2.075 billion in 2019, a modest 2.8% increase over the $2.018 billion earned the year before, according to data released last week by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. But that’s the best performance since the Florida banking industry earned $2.23 billion in 1994, when there were 436 lenders based in the state. [Source: Sarasota Herald-Tribune]

Florida’s freshwater turtles falling prey to the international black market

Florida freshwater turtles are being illegally caught and exported live in increasingly large numbers to keep up with demand for their meat, their supposed medicinal purposes and their value as pets, state wildlife officials said this month. The black market trade is putting a strain on the state’s already vulnerable fresh water and terrestrial turtle populations, and officials say they expect demand to grow along with the dollar amount poachers in Florida can fetch. [Source: Herald-Mail]

Floridians begin voting in-person Monday

The presidential primary in Florida will kick up in intensity Monday as Republicans and Democrats in some of Florida’s largest metropolitan areas, including Miami-Dade County, begin voting in person for their favored candidate. Duval, Hillsborough, Orange, Monroe and Miami-Dade counties are among the jurisdictions choosing to open early voting centers Monday, the earliest date the state allows on-location voting ahead of its March 17 primary. Broward and Palm Beach counties open their early voting centers on March 7. The last day of early voting across the state is March 15. [Source: Miami Herald]

ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› Removal of late fines brings surge in patrons at Sarasota libraries [Sarasota Herald-Tribune]
Since Sarasota County removed late fines last September, almost 300 people who previously owed fines returned to the library. Libraries in the county have also added 7,796 new cardholders and loaned almost 18,000 more electronic books and audiobooks from October 2019 to February 2020 than were loaned the previous year, county records show.

› Sea turtle nesting season starts in South Florida [WPEC]
March 1st is the first official day of sea turtle nesting season in South Florida. Loggerhead Marinelife staff were out the door at sunrise to go look for turtle nests Sunday morning. "We go out every single morning and document all those crawls out there," said Researcher Sarah Hirsch.

› Investors sue Tampa firm accused of $170 million Ponzi scheme [Tampa Bay Times]
A Tampa real estate investment firm recently accused by federal officials of running a $170 million Ponzi scheme is now the focus of a second lawsuit filed by investors. A half-dozen individual investors this week sued EquiAlt, company owner and chief executive officer Brian Davison, managing director Barry Rybicki and Tony James Michael Kelly, EquiAlt’s chief investment officer, in U.S. District Court in Tampa.

› JAX Chamber ‘opening up opportunities’ for people with intellectual or developmental differences [Florida Times-Union]
Megan Bell, who has Down syndrome, is such a rock star at JAX Chamber that the business organization wants to help its members hire their own inspiring employees. Bell, 29, was the inspiration for “20 in 20,” a year-long campaign launched Thursday that will encourage at least 20 of the chamber’s members to pledge to hire an employee with intellectual or developmental differences. The initiative will unite area nonprofit job-placement agencies through Connectable, a Northeast Florida movement working to focus public attention on the abilities of people who have such differences rather than their limitations.

Go to page 2 for more stories ...

› Local author brings Florida’s 20’s land boom to life with glamour and grace [Delray News]
It was standing room only at Patricia Yost’s recent lecture at The Delray Beach Historical Society. Dozens of people packed into the 1926 bungalow to witness the former Vogue editor’s lecture on the famous Florida real estate boom on the 1920s. Patricia Yost delivered a dynamic presentation on Florida during the jazz age and the innovative people who paved the way to turn the Sunshine State into the booming tourism destination it is today.

› Key West cosmetic cream shop sues 15 locals for calling it a ‘rip off’ [Miami Herald]
The owners of a cosmetic cream shop on Key West’s famous Duval Street have sued 15 Key West residents for regularly picketing the store’s entrance with signs and T-shirts that call it a “rip off shop.” Nir Chen and Zohar Alon, who own Orogold, 518 Duval St., say the protesters have cost them more than $250,000 in profits and have also ruined their reputations through libel, defamation and slander.

› Princess Cruises ship headed back to Florida after second stomach bug outbreak [Orlando Sentinel]
The Princess Cruises ship that sails out of Port Everglades was already forced to cut a two-week sailing short earlier this month after an outbreak of what the captain referred to as norovirus broke out on the ship. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has not yet declared that the bug on that sailing is norovirus. Whatever it was it affected 371 of 3,035 passengers as well as 32 crew.

› JEA sale could have meant higher electric rates during ‘stabilization period’ [Florida Times-Union]
JEA told companies competing to purchase the utility they would be able to charge higher electric rates during a three-year “rate stability period” compared to what JEA currently charges customers, according to newly released transcripts of negotiating sessions. The discussions in the December sessions show that while JEA told its customers that they would have stable rates if a private buyer purchased the utility, that requirement didn’t mean the rates would be frozen where they are now.