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Friday's Afternoon Update

Will rejected mail-in ballots be Florida’s hanging chads of Election 2020?

If Florida faces another uncomfortably close presidential election on Nov. 3, rejected vote-by-mail ballots could spell trouble. The unprecedented spike in demand for mail-in ballots spawned by the coronavirus has led to a subsequent surge in the number of ballots that are poised to be rejected — either because they arrive past the election night deadline or are invalidated because they have a problem with the signature. More from the Miami Herald.

See also:
» Late guidance from Florida’s elections chief could limit use of mail ballot drop boxes

Florida Trend Exclusive
Commentary: Manufacturing answered the call

Many Floridians might not be aware of what the manufacturing sector contributes to our state’s economic landscape. According to the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity, manufacturing pays the third highest average wage among all key sectors in Florida at $63,883. As a sector, it employs 373,300 Floridians. Not only did the manufacturing sector continue to operate throughout the crisis, the sector pivoted to produce products and component parts necessary to overcome shortages in our national stockpiles. More from Florida Trend.

With Florida's first online bar exam over, results promised for next month

Florida's online bar examination, delayed several times to the consternation of hopeful attorneys around the state, went off largely hitch-free this week, the bar exam board said on Thursday. Over Tuesday and Wednesday, 3,137 examinees took the test remotely due to gathering restrictions linked to the coronavirus pandemic. More from the Tallahassee Democrat.

Judge rules fired JEA CEO Aaron Zahn can pursue arbitration but its records must be public

Former JEA chief executive Aaron Zahn can challenge his firing by taking his case before an arbitrator, but that hearing must comply with state public records law, a judge ruled Thursday in a lawsuit filed by JEA against Zahn. JEA's lawsuit called Zahn the “principal architect and ringleader of the perhaps the largest fraud in Jacksonville history" for the attempted sale of the city-owned utility. More from the Florida Times-Union.

Tri-Rail boosts service as more people return to work during pandemic

Tri-Rail, South Florida’s tri-county commuter rail system, is close to returning its train schedules to pre-COVID-19 levels as more workers are returning to their jobs. The South Florida Regional Transportation Authority said the line will increase service to 46 weekday and 28 weekend trains, starting Monday. It’s the fourth schedule change since the agency cut back service in mid-March. More from the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

Florida Lotters
Florida, the price of your hopes and dreams just doubled

 The cost of a daydream — quitting your job, sending the kids to the finest schools, buying that beachfront bungalow — just went up. For more than three decades, a Florida Lotto ticket — one of the first games offered when the state got the lottery back in 1988 — cost one dollar. Whether a customer gambled on the kids' birth dates or went with a quick-pick ticket to choose six hopefully lucky numbers, the price for what’s been called “Florida’s original jackpot game” has been a buck.

» More from the Tampa Bay Times.

 

Arts Business
Sarasota Opera hires singer Marco Nistico as artistic administrator

floridaMarco Nistico, who has become a familiar performer with Sarasota Opera since his local debut in 2008, is joining the company as the new artistic administrator. Nistico,an Italian-born baritone who appeared in more than a dozen principal roles in Sarasota, had already begun a transition from singing to staging and administrative work. He directed Donizetti’s “The Elixir of Love” for Sarasota Opera earlier this year, and he was hired in 2019 as the general director of Opera on the James in Lynchburg, Virginia, where he was responsible for both the business and artistic sides of the company.

» Read more from the Sarasota Herald-Tribune.