It could be years before Florida’s jobs recover from COVID-19

South Florida’s tourism-heavy economy is paying a price in jobs lost to COVID-19 — a toll so heavy that some executives don’t see a recovery until two years from now. With the coronavirus pandemic raging more than ever, many tourism-dependent businesses say they won’t be able to recall workers as quickly as they had hoped, and the economic damage is spotlighting South Florida’s need to develop other types of industries. More from the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. 

See also:
» Behind the Florida spike: What testing tells us about recent coronavirus cases
» Coronavirus: How did Florida get so badly hit by Covid-19?
» Florida has more Covid-19 than most countries in the world. These stats show how serious the problem is
» Too little too late: The story of how Florida shattered the country's single-day COVID record
» Florida coronavirus: More than 8,000 hospitalized with COVID-19

Five Florida Supreme Court cases to watch

The Florida Supreme Court on Thursday released its last regular batch of opinions before taking an annual summer break. Justices, who will resume regular opinion releases on Aug. 27, left pending several high-profile cases. Here are five issues to watch in the coming months. [Source: News Service of Florida]

eMerge Americas, Miami’s premier tech conference, postponed to 2021

eMerge Americas, South Florida’s marquee annual tech conference, has been postponed to April 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2020 conference had originally been slated for November. In an announcement late Friday, organizers said uncertainty around the coronavirus made canceling the 2020 event unavoidable. [Source: Miami Herald]

Florida Trend Exclusive
Providing aid for lawyers with mental health issues

The Florida Bar’s new president is focused on providing aid for lawyers struggling with mental health issues. Dori Foster-Morales started focusing on mental health in the legal profession several years ago, after a friend, a well-known lawyer, killed himself. “It didn’t make sense to me. He was a happy guy, or so I thought. Obviously, he had a lot of demons,” she says. A marital and family lawyer in Miami, Foster-Morales succeeds John Stewart as the Florida Bar’s president. [Source: Florida Trend]

Bars to remain shut down in Florida

Buying alcohol will remain a to-go-only option at Florida bars for the foreseeable future as coronavirus cases continue to spike. Gov. Ron DeSantis said Saturday the state isn’t changing a decision last month to reimpose a ban on bars selling alcohol for on-site consumption because of widespread non-compliance with coronavirus safety measures. [Source: News Service of Florida]

ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› Raymond James Stadium to receive $10.4 million for pandemic-related upgrades [Tampa Bay Times]
Fans and event staff may feel safer attending USF and Bucs games at Raymond James Stadium this fall. Approximately $10.4 million in federal funding has been approved for upgrades to protect against the spread of the coronavirus. More than 40 modifications — everything from touch-free toilets and sinks, hand-sanitizing stations and removable seat bottoms to assure social distancing — or use by the Tampa Sports Authority are awaiting a vote by the Hillsborough County Commission on Wednesday.

› Foodservice firm grows online services, profits take a hit [Business Observer]
Innovative Food Holdings, a specialty food company that provides chefs and consumers direct access to specialty food products as well as gift boxes and other curated products, saw a big boost in online traffic in the first quarter, which led to revenue growth.

› Miami’s flexible office spaces are set to thrive, says Pipeline CEO [Miami Herald]
Industry watchers have questioned the viability of shared workspaces in the COVID age. It’s a marketwide concern; in 2019, co-working space was one of South Florida’s strongest commercial sectors, accounting for more than 20% of the Miami-Dade leasing activity. But if any one thing is certain, it’s change.

› Finalists named for Sarasota Chamber’s Berlin Small Business awards [Sarasota Herald-Tribune]
The Greater Sarasota Chamber of Commerce has named the finalists for the 2020 Frank G. Berlin Sr. Small Business Awards. Three finalists have been selected in each of the seven new categories that will be awarded at a luncheon Aug. 28 at the Hyatt Regency Sarasota. The Herald-Tribune is the presenting sponsor.

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› Miami Herald to close travel and tourism custom publishing operation [Miami Herald]
HCP Media, a subsidiary of the Miami Herald Media Company, will be closing its doors on July 31. For 20 years, the custom publishing enterprise carved a niche in the travel and tourism market, producing award-winning publications for its clients. But like so many other companies that serve the travel and tourism industry, the coronavirus outbreak and subsequent shutdowns have had an outsized impact on HCP, said Aminda Marqués González, president and publisher of Miami Herald Media Company.

› Fort Lauderdale tells homeless they don’t have to leave hotel [South Florida Sun-Sentinel]
The free hotel rooms for the homeless, paid for on the city dime, aren’t going away after all. A memo delivered Sunday with breakfast told dozens of homeless people they’d need to pack up and leave the hotel that had become a safe refuge in the middle of a pandemic. Checkout time would come Monday at 11 a.m.

› Financial institution to open ‘net zero’ branch [Business Observer]
Achieva Credit Union is building its first-ever “net-zero” branch in Trinity, with completion expected in September. Net-zero buildings are structures that generate enough energy to cover their power consumption for the entire year.

› Sarasota-Bradenton passenger traffic increases in June [Sarasota Herald-Tribune]
June was Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport’s busiest full month since COVID-19 started, but passenger traffic was still down 64% compared to the same month in 2019. In June, 52,845 passengers traveled through the airport, up 32% from May, when 39,988 passengers came through. Even though the number of positive coronavirus cases in Florida has increased significantly in recent weeks, traffic seems to be rebounding at the airport, President and CEO Rick Piccolo said.