Many Canadian snowbirds are delaying Florida visits until COVID-19 eases

As if COVID-19 hasn’t done enough damage to Florida’s tourism industry, many Canadians who for years have wintered in the Sunshine State are having second thoughts about migrating south unless the pandemic shows signs of abating. “There are hundreds of thousands of Canadians who are on the sidelines planning not to visit Florida this year due to COVID,” said Alain Forget, who heads sales and business development at RBC Bank, a subsidiary of Royal Bank of Canada. Their decision, he said, is contingent on how much longer the U.S.-Canadian border remains shut or if Florida’s COVID-19 cases rise in the next few months. [Source: South Florida Sun-Sentinel]

Florida Trend Exclusive
Florida restaurant openings during the COVID-19 pandemic

To open a business and invite the public in by the hundreds in the middle of a pandemic and a recession, you have to be brave or crazy. Or a restaurateur — which may amount to the same thing. Amid the spread of COVID-19, fears and regulations and shortages of staff, meat and sanitizer drove many restaurateurs to despair and hobbled Florida’s restaurants. But not all. A few veteran chefs and restaurant pros punched through the gloom to launch new restaurants or reopen doors of those closed in their infancy by state order in March. [Source: Florida Trend]

Sorry, that’s not covered: Insurers fight businesses over COVID-19 shutdowns

Across the U.S., courts so far have sided mostly with insurers after businesses claimed the pandemic interrupted their business and insurance should cover it. But thousands of cases are still pending, including dozens in South Florida, and a single judge’s ruling in a case in Missouri have given businesses confidence that there might be a way to force insurers to pay up. [Source: South Florida Sun-Sentinel]

Column: Working remotely in the pandemic may generate a tax surprise

If the pandemic caused you to relocate across state lines, even temporarily, the next surprise could be having to file an extra tax return and potentially pay more taxes. Multistate taxation has long been a headache for entertainers, athletes, professional speakers and others who earn money in more than one state. Snowbirds, retirees who move south for the winter, can face it as well. Now it could be a problem for many people who relocated, however temporarily, because of the pandemic. [Source: Tampa Bay Times]

Tropical Storm Teddy forms in Atlantic

Tropical Storm Teddy has formed in the Atlantic, making it the earliest "T" storm on record for the Atlantic hurricane season. The storm that had been Tropical Depression 20 became better organized overnight, with sustained winds of 35 mph, and is expected to become a major hurricane this week, according to the National Hurricane Center’s 5 a.m. Monday advisory. Located about midway between the African coast and the Leeward Islands, Teddy was moving west-northwest about 14 mph. [Source: Tampa Bay Times]

ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› Tampa gets millions from Feds to spread Riverwalk love [Tampa Bay Times]
For years, Tampa’s Riverwalk has been seen as the key to spreading downtown’s renaissance across the Hillsborough River. Now, local elected officials are touting a $24 million federal transportation grant they say will forge closer economic and mobility links between the Riverwalk and West Tampa, paving the way for more affordable housing, green space and sustainable living in a rapidly changing part of the city.

› FPL offers aid as disconnections loom [News Service of Florida]
Florida Power & Light said Friday it will offer aid to customers who are behind on their electric bills, as the company prepares to begin disconnections that have been put on hold during the coronavirus pandemic. FPL said, in part, it will provide bill credits of up to $200 to some residential and small-business customers. To qualify, customers would have to pay outstanding balance amounts minus the bill credits. For example, a customer who owed $600 would have to pay $400, with a $200 bill credit making up the remainder, according to FPL.

› Amid looming fee increases, Miami Citizenship Week strives to boost naturalization [Miami Herald]
Although interest in naturalization typically spikes in the months leading up to presidential elections, the COVID-19 outbreak ground the citizenship process to a halt in March. The pandemic shuttered the offices of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the federal agency that administers the country’s lawful immigration system.

› Fanatics seeking 2,000 seasonal employees for Jacksonville sportswear warehouse operations [Florida Times-Union]
Sportswear titan Fanatics said Friday it’s trying to hire 2,000 people in Jacksonville for jobs that are planned to last through the end of the year. Some jobs might continue into next year, but those would be “need-based” and can’t be predicted yet, said company spokesman Seth Schlechter.

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› Appeals court upholds felons voting law [News Service of Florida]
Delivering a victory to Gov. Ron DeSantis, a divided federal appeals court on Friday upheld the constitutionality of a Florida law requiring felons to complete all financial terms of their sentences --- including paying fines, fees, costs and restitution --- to be eligible to vote.

› Ken Davis, Islamorada’s vice mayor and former DEA agent in charge of the Keys, dies [Miami Herald]
Ken Davis, vice mayor of Islamorada and former resident agent in charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Florida Keys operations, died Saturday. Davis began his law enforcement career in the U.S. Coast Guard, where he became a member of the service’s intelligence operations. He then went on to the DEA, where he did undercover work in the 1980s and ‘90s and eventually became a supervisor.

› 4Roots Cafe: Orlando Science Center’s remodeled dining area will mix in new food exhibits [Orlando Sentinel]
Orlando Science Center is revamping its restaurant area so it can double as an exhibit that examines food and health issues. The project is a collaboration with 4Roots, a nonprofit alliance founded by restaurateur John Rivers. The 4Roots Café is expected to open on the ground floor of the science center in late October

› Reality TV star reveals name of planned restaurant she's opening in historic former downtown Jacksonville firehouse [Florida Times-Union]
The reality TV star who's planning to transform a historic downtown Jacksonville building into a restaurant and bar has decided on a name for the eatery. Sandy Yawn, a luxury yacht captain on Bravo TV's "Below Deck Mediterranean" purchased the 106-year-old firehouse located at 618 W. Adams St. and told First Coast News she plans to open in November 2021.