It's going to be a busy year for rocket launches on Florida's Space Coast

SpaceX is set to launch a communication satellite this week from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The Falcon 9 launch will mark the start of a busy year for launches on Florida’s Space Coast. Last year, Florida hosted 30 orbital launches breaking a previous record set in 1966. In 2021, the Space Coast is on track to break that record once again with at least two more astronauts launches, dozens of commercial satellites and two NASA science missions exploring our solar system. [Source: WLRN]

Researchers believe hospitality industry is starting to recover from COVID-19 pandemic

The Central Florida hospitality industry seems to be bouncing back from the havoc the pandemic caused in 2020, according to research by Rosen College of Hospitality. “What we have seen is basically what we expected based on our research back in early summer,” Robertico Croes, the associate dean of the college said. “Particularly the theme parks have been an important attraction to metro Orlando and Central Florida so that is what we’ve seen. We have seen a surge in traffic at MCO, we have seen a surge in demand at hotels.” [Source: WKMG]

Florida regulators approve Duke Energy's plan for 10 solar plants

State utility regulators on Tuesday backed plans by Duke Energy Florida to build 10 solar plants over the next four years, despite some concerns about size and costs. In a 4-1 vote, the Public Service Commission supported Duke Energy’s Clean Energy Connection Program that will allow customers to voluntarily pay more on their electric bills to help finance the solar projects. Customers will receive credits that will result in them getting payback in about seven years. [Source: News Service of Florida]

Watch out for fraud as stimulus payments deposited, mailed, Florida AG warns

Floridians aren’t the only ones excited about the stimulus payments from the federal government that have already started being deposited in bank accounts across the state. Scammers are ready and willing to take advantage, too. As the federal government begins delivering additional stimulus payments across the country in the new $166 billion stimulus package, Floridians should be wary of potential fraud related to the economic relief, Attorney General Ashley Moody warned in a video consumer alert. Floridians are already receiving payments both through direct deposit and mailed checks. [Source: WJXT]

Commissioner Nikki Fried & Office of Energy release Florida Electric Vehicle Roadmap

Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried and the Office of Energy in the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services released the Florida Electric Vehicle (EV) Roadmap. The Florida EV Roadmap is the first comprehensive investigation into the current status and future needs of EV charging infrastructure in Florida. [Source: Florida Trend]

ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› TIAA Bank says it's laying off 59 workers in Downtown Jacksonville [Jacksonville Daily Record]
TIAA Bank last week filed a notice with state officials saying it is laying off 59 workers at its Downtown offices as it discontinues its mortgage servicing business unit. The Jacksonville-based bank said in a letter filed under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act that it is outsourcing its mortgage servicing work to a third-party vendor.

› Survey: Miami among top us cities in most financial distress during COVID-19 [CBS Miami]
Personal finance website WalletHub.com recently surveyed 100 major US cities and found Miami amongst the most financially distressed due to COVID-19. The COVID economic squeeze has played on the minds of South Florida residents. From social distancing slowing down down the restaurant business service and industry workers impacted by the ravaged tourism economy.

› Sarasota City Commission OKs Marie Selby Botanical Gardens' renovation plans [Sarasota Herald-Tribuune]
Marie Selby Botanical Gardens, one of Sarasota’s most iconic and historic cultural attractions, won initial approval of its $92 million renovation plans late Monday, further solidifying the nonprofit’s stake in downtown Sarasota. Sarasota Mayor Hagen Brody announced a series of 4-1 City Commission votes on several requests by Selby.

› Two Florida panthers dead in first week of 2021 [Orlando Sentinel]
Less than a week into the new year, two endangered Florida panthers have been found dead, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. According to the FWC’s Panther Pulse site, the first panther death was reported on Jan. 2, a 3-year-old female hit by a vehicle in Lee County. The second was a 2-year-old female, also hit by a vehicle, in Collier County.

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› Pop-up no more: The Foreigner finds a home in Orlando’s Audubon Park [Orlando Sentinel]
The 954-square-foot space at 3124 Corrine Drive in Orlando’s trendy Audubon Park neighborhood will afford the Brazilian-born chef luxuries that The Foreigner — a concept rooted in his experience making his way through American kitchens — hasn’t had in its nearly two years, not the least of which will be the joy of abandoning his toaster oven.

› Miami-Dade’s hottest single-family neighborhood has millennial home buyers to thank [Miami Herald]
Millennial first-time home buyers with over $750,000 to spend made South Miami one of the hottest neighborhoods in late 2020. The number of single-family home sales rose 139% year-over-year when comparing August through December 2019 to the same period in 2020, according to sales data by Prestige Realty Group and RelatedISG International Realty.

› McCurdy's Comedy Theatre in downtown Sarasota temporarily closes again [Sarasota Herald-Tribuune]
McCurdy's Comedy Theatre in downtown Sarasota, which reopened in November after shutting its doors for eight months due to the pandemic, has announced it will close again until further notice. "After opening for several weeks with low attendance, we concluded that the majority of our community is not quite yet ready to return to live comedy," owners Les and Pam McCurdy said in a statement.

› Sun-Ray owners opening drive-in at Metro site [Florida Times-Union]
The owners of Jacksonville's Sun-Ray Cinemas are in talks to buy the former Metro Entertainment Complex and are opening a drive-in movie theater on part of the site. The first movies will show this weekend at Sun-Ray's Foremost Drive in. It will be the first time in more than a dozen years that Jacksonville has had a dedicated drive-in theater.