As DeSantis tackles coronavirus, Supreme Court picks, 200 pending laws and the state budget have to wait

Gov. DeSantis has spent nearly all of the past two months responding to the coronavirus pandemic, saying he has little time to address other matters. But his to-do list has grown larger while attending to the crisis. He’s already past a self-imposed deadline of May 1 to fill two Florida Supreme Court vacancies. There’s also a $93 billion budget that lawmakers passed in March but haven’t formally sent to him, either. More from the Orlando Sentinel and the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

Lawsuit seeks to change Florida’s mail-in ballot requirements

Florida, which is again expected to be a key state in November’s presidential election, has faced numerous lawsuits over the years about its election procedures and laws. As Monday’s lawsuit was filed, for example, a federal judge heard testimony about the constitutionality of a 2019 state law dealing with restoring the voting rights of felons who have done their time behind bars. [Source: Orlando Sentinel]

Number of deadly crashes increased in Florida

New numbers about traffic deaths show, while they are down nationwide, the number of deadly crashes increased in several states, including Florida. News4Jax reporter Lena Pringle explains how the data shows deaths only rose in one region of the country. [Source: WJXT]

After nearly a decade, humans will finally launch from U.S. once again later this month

Two NASA astronauts are ready to launch to the International Space Station later this month from Kennedy Space Center. It will be the first human launch from the U.S. since 2011. NASA’s Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley are making final preparations to launch to the space station on a SpaceX Dragon capsule May 27, marking the first trip on a commercial spacecraft. SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket will launch the duo from Kennedy Space Center. Since the end of the space shuttle program in 2011, NASA has relied on Russia for rides to the station. [Source: WGCU]

Hertz gets lenders’ forbearance in bid to avert bankruptcy

Lenders granted Hertz Global Holdings Inc. an eleventh-hour reprieve from a potential bankruptcy, giving the struggling rental-car company more time to work out a rescue plan after it missed debt payments. The forbearances and waivers give Hertz until May 22 to “develop a financing strategy and structure that better reflects the economic impact of the Covid-19 global pandemic,” the company said in a regulatory filing. More from Bloomberg News and the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› South Florida farmer launches online marketplace to make picking up orders easier [WPLG]
A South Florida farmer is turning to technology to keep his company alive during the coronavirus pandemic. This innovation coming as the Federal Government’s Small Business Administration announced a new loan program to help agriculture businesses. In crisis, Sam Accursio found opportunity, swiftly pivoting to a direct-to-consumer model when COVID-19 business closures collapsed traditional markets during south Miami-Dade’s peak growing season.

› Sarasota appears to favor turning Main Street into dining avenue [Sarasota Herald-Tribune]
City commissioners appear to have an appetite for a proposed plan to turn Main Street, or at least part of it, into an avenue of restaurants. Under the plan, the city would close all or parts of Main Street so it would available for walking and seating. That vote of confidence came late Monday, after restaurants earlier that day welcomed patrons again under Gov. Ron DeSantis’ plan to reopen Florida.

› JEA board names Paul McElroy as interim CEO [Florida Times-Union]
The new JEA board voted Tuesday to bring back retired top executive Paul McElory as interim CEO, hoping to bring stability to an authority rocked by scandal and controversies in the last two years. He will work under a six-month contract through Nov. 8 as a full-time employee. He would receive $280,183 for a six-month period from next Monday through Nov. 8. If he continues after that point on a part-time basis, he would be paid at a rate of $323 per hour.

› David Siegel’s Westgate timeshare company wanted to use government aid to promote its resorts [Orlando Sentinel]
An executive at Westgate Resorts, the timeshare company run by Orlando businessman David Siegel, offered to use coronavirus relief money from the federal government to give short-term jobs to travel bloggers to write stories promoting the company’s resorts, according to an email obtained by the Orlando Sentinel.

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› Florida zoo needs donations to keep its residents healthy and fed [Sarasota Herald-Tribune]
We’re not the only creatures sheltering at home and avoiding human contact this spring. The residents at the Brevard Zoo have been living in isolation since mid-March. The zoo, which has about 900 animals representing 195 species, had averaged about 1,200 guests a day. That number swells to 1,700 during March and April. Now, because of COVID-19 safety precautions, visits are limited to zookeepers.

› Vortex Cos. expands in Florida and Georgia [Houston Chronicle]
Vortex Cos. plans to open two new facilities to support growth in the southeastern U.S. The Houston-based company provides trenchless technologies and services for rehabilitating water, sewer and industrial infrastructure. Its 14,000-square-foot building in Tampa will support the Florida Vortex Services group. The location will have training and conference rooms, a storage yard for vehicles and equipment and a separate maintenance and repair shop.

› SeaWorld Orlando passholders get free upgrades when parks reopen [Orlando Sentinel]
Yes, SeaWorld Orlando is still closed without an official opening date on the calendar as the state slowly starts to reopen from the coronavirus pandemic. But the theme park operator gave passholders something to look forward to as the company announced Monday it is automatically upgrading annual passes by one tier for the rest of the year.

› St. Pete-Clearwater airport to switch runways during repaving [Tampa Bay Times]
St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport is about to start a $24.1 million job to rebuild and rehabilitate its main runway, which means that this summer the airport will use its secondary runway during construction. And that means residents in Feather Sound, Pinellas Park, Largo, Seminole, Redington Shores, Redington Beach, and North Redington Beach likely will see — and hear — more flyover traffic.