Florida part of antitrust suit against Google

Florida was one of 11 states that joined the U.S. Department of Justice in filing a major antitrust lawsuit Tuesday against internet search giant Google. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, alleges that Google has engaged in anticompetitive practices. “Absent a court order, Google will continue executing its anticompetitive strategy, crippling the competitive process, reducing consumer choice, and stifling innovation,” the lawsuit said. “Google is now the unchallenged gateway to the internet for billions of users worldwide. [Source: News Service of Florida]

Will there be a stimulus deal before Election Day? Florida families left waiting, struggling

While the Democrats are pushing for a package with a price tag of $2.2 trillion, the White House is sticking to $1.8 trillion. The two sides remain at odds over a national COVID testing strategy, tax credits for low-income workers, and aid to state and local governments. The last coronavirus relief package, the $1.8 trillion bipartisan CARES Act, passed in March by an overwhelming margin just as the economy went into lockdown amid fear and uncertainty about the virus. [Source: WTSP]

Florida coronavirus: State tallies 3,662 cases, percent positivity climbs above 6%

Florida reported 3,662 new COVID-19 cases Tuesday, pushing the state's total to 760,389 Over the last week, Florida has added an average of more than 3,000 new coronavirus cases a day, the highest number since Labor Day The 6.17% new case positivity in Tuesday's report is the highest in nearly two months More from NBC Miami and WFLA.

Florida Trend Exclusive
Private insurers are flooding the market

Tampa Bay has become a jumping-off point for analytics-driven flood insurance companies looking to go national. Founded in 2016, Tampa-based TypTap Insurance, a subsidiary of the HCI Group, recently announced plans to expand beyond Florida. “Our expansion plans will increase our total addressable market from approximately $11 billion within Florida to over $105 billion,” says Kevin Mitchell, TypTap’s president. In 2018, the company had $2.5 million in premiums. That’s up to $75 million now, and the company projects to have $100 million by the end of this year. [Source: Florida Trend]

Jacksonville-based Southeastern Grocers files for IPO

Southeastern Grocers Inc. is going public with 420 supermarkets under the Winn-Dixie, Harveys and Fresco y Mas banners that produced $6.7 billion in sales last year. But with a surge in business during the COVID-19 pandemic, comparable-store sales jumped 18.4% in the first half of this year and the Jacksonville-based company became profitable, according to its registration statement for an initial public offering. [Source: Jacksonville Daily Record]

ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› Port Tampa Bay, city still at odds over Channelside Drive changes [Tampa Bay Times]
Tensions between the city of Tampa and Port Tampa Bay aren’t exactly easing over the future of Channelside Drive. Both sides decided at the last moment to pull a presentation on Channelside Drive renovations from Tuesday’s Port Tampa Bay board meeting, after port president and CEO Paul Anderson and Mayor Jane Castor decided they needed another month to try to work through their differences.

› Orlando airport to leave the fate of its top legal job up in the air [Orlando Sentinel]
Faced with investigations and a pandemic-caused financial crisis, the agency that runs Orlando International Airport is expected to again delay a decision over the fate of its top legal job — an important position that was at the center of a political tug-of-war last year.

› JEA announces three CEO finalists [Jacksonville Daily Record]
JEA announced three finalists Oct. 20 in the search for its next chief executive officer and plans to hold public interviews at next week’s board meeting. Gerri Boyce McKenzie, special assistant to interim CEO Paul McElroy, said in an interview Oct. 20 the board’s goal is to select and announce a hire Nov. 2 but not until the utility and CEO candidate have completed employment contract negotiations.

› Deceptive land grab or needed investment? Marina Park referendums divide Miami Beach [Miami Herald]
A developer’s plan to sell voters on the redevelopment of the Miami Beach Marina has all the elements of a made-in-Miami political drama: robotexts from the mayor, paid consulting from a state representative and zoning changes that favor a bigger, taller project.

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› Florida company that trains disabled adults owes more than $14,000 in back pay [Miami Herald]
A Jacksonville company that trains and employs intellectually and developmentally disabled adults admits it owes $14,487.87 in back pay after requirements allowing sub-minimum wage pay weren’t met. Pine Castle owes that money to 48 employees, or $301.83 per worker. The U.S. Department of Labor announced the violation in September.

› Disney World: Specialty license plate in works for Florida drivers [Orlando Sentinel]
Walt Disney World will join the fray of specialty license plates on the back of Florida cars. The plate’s design will salute the resort’s 50th anniversary, and proceeds will benefit Make-A-Wish of Central and Northern Florida, Disney says. Its look, timeframe and price have not been revealed.

› Developer walks, giving Pinellas second chance at 100-acre preserve [Tampa Bay Times]
Activists and local officials on Tuesday cleared their first major hurdle to preserving 44 wooded acres in unincorporated Pinellas County. Pulte Homes, the developer under contract to buy the property, backed out at the end of its due diligence period, according to Nathan Hightower, an attorney representing the estate of the late Gladys Douglas selling the land.

› More West Nile Virus cases reported by the Florida Department of Health in Miami-Dade [Miami Herald]
Three more cases of West Nile Virus in Miami-Dade have been reported Monday by the Florida Department of Health, bringing this year’s total to 59. If symptoms such as fever, headache and fatigue occur — and they occur in only about 20% of the people who get West Nile — they tend to happen two to 14 days after the mosquito bite.