Gov. DeSantis announces $75m to bolster Florida's resilience to future storms

Governor Ron DeSantis announced Wednesday that $75 million has been awarded to 30 communities through the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity’s Rebuild Florida Critical Facility Hardening Program. The program allows local governments to increase the resiliency of critical facilities that serve a public safety purpose for local communities. “While we continue to help communities recover from the impacts of major storms in recent years, we also need to prepare for future storms,” said DeSantis. “This funding will be central to that preparation and make these communities more resilient.” [Source: WTXL]

Cruise industry recovery likely to be long haul

“Significant” passenger cruise operations might not return to Florida waters for another year or longer as fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic continues, according to a port-industry lobbying group. Michael Rubin, Florida Ports Council vice president of governmental affairs, told members of the Senate Transportation Committee on Tuesday that cruise lines are working to meet an “onerous” list of requirements from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and simply hope to have some vessels operating at half capacity this summer. [Source: News Service of Florida]

Publix, Winn-Dixie to give COVID-19 vaccines in Florida through federal program

Publix and the Jacksonville-based parent company of Winn-Dixie will both be administering the coronavirus vaccine in Florida through the Federal Retail Pharmacy Program, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The two companies, along with Walmart, were included in a CDC list of retailers distributing the vaccine in the state. Walmart had confirmed Tuesday it would be administering vaccines in the state through the program. Participating pharmacies will begin receiving the doses next week, the CDC said. [Source: Orlando Sentinel]

Space Coast engineering companies thrive, expect bright futures despite COVID-19

Data from the Space Coast Economic Development Commission shows aerospace jobs have steadily streamed into the Space Coast ever since 2014. The area has seen 60% job growth in aerospace from 2014 to 2019. Even with the COVID-19 pandemic causing other businesses to furlough employees, Aerion Supersonic is moving forward with its plans to break ground on its Melbourne facility this year. The headquarters will bring at least 675 new jobs to the area, he said. [Source: Orlando Sentinel]

Florida Forever funding could be cut in half

Some of the state's main environmental programs are on the chopping block, including Florida Forever, a key fund to acquire conservation land. Governor Ron DeSantis' proposed budget includes $50 million for the preservation program - half of what it received last year. Lindsay Cross is with the advocacy group Florida Conservation Voters. "Investing in our conservation is a way to kind to balance the impacts we see in the environment from new development and new homes and businesses being created," she said. Florida Forever is a trust fund paid for by real estate taxes. [Source: WJCT]

ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› This major Miami company just announced it will pay its employees to get vaccinated [Miami Herald]
One of the largest companies in South Florida announced this week it would pay its employees to get vaccinated against COVID-19. Ryder System Inc., a publicly traded trucking and logistics service worth $3.4 billion, said its 40,000 company-wide workforce would receive up to six hours of paid time off to get inoculated. That includes three hours of PTO for the first vaccine and an additional three hours of PTO for treatments that require a second dose.

› Jacksonville targets homeless camp for relocation to hotels, citing COVID health risk [Florida Times-Union]
A homeless camp’s growth in downtown Jacksonville has sparked a new effort to move people there to hotels while seeking permanent housing for them, Mayor Lenny Curry said Wednesday. The makeshift community’s spread during the COVID-19 pandemic poses a public health concern, Curry said as he and homelessness service providers outlined an initiative called Pathway to Home to handle it.

› Tampa’s Straz Center reschedules ‘Hamilton’ to 2022 [Tampa Bay Times]
Hamilfans will have to wait until November 2022 to see Hamilton in Tampa. The David. A Straz, Jr. Center for the Performing Arts announced that the hit Broadway musical has been postponed from its original engagement in June 2021. It has been rescheduled to Nov. 15-Dec. 11, 2022.

› Their scrunchie doubles as drink protection: Young South Florida inventors pitch to ‘Shark Tank’ on Friday [South Florida Sun-Sentinel]
Michael and Shirah Benarde, a brother-sister inventor team from West Palm Beach, are betting that wild parties, music festivals and bar crawls will resume when the pandemic fades out. And they say these social events will revive the need for their product, NightCap, a drink spiking prevention device.

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› Deerfield, Pompano, Hallandale among the most affordable beach towns in the U.S., survey says [South Florida Sun-Sentinel]
It seems Deerfield Beach is a place to look for an oceanside town with affordable costs of living, according to a recent survey. SmartAsset, an online financial advisory site, compared 2018 cities across the nation that were located on the ocean, and placed Deerfield at number 20. The company used home values, number of rooms per home, property taxes and monthly housing costs to calculate their rankings.

› Teamsters union that represents Disney World workers fights to gain local control [Orlando Sentinel]
A local Teamsters union that has faced accusations of bad management and dissatisfaction among members is fighting to reinstate officers, according to a new lawsuit. Local 385′s members include Disney World costumed character-performers, Disney truck drivers and others. Following the complaints two years ago, General President James Hoffa appointed two associates to take control of the local in June 2019.

› At PortMiami, cruise ships spew pollution instead of plugging into the grid. Why? [Miami Herald]
A single cruise ship docked at PortMiami — the busiest cruise port in the world — spews about 48 metric tons of greenhouse gases into the air during a 10-hour visit — equal to the emissions of about five houses in an entire year, according to EPA data. In a pre-pandemic year, cruise ships at the port emitted as much greenhouse gas as almost 7,000 houses annually — a bigger city than Pinecrest.

› Tim Tebow event at St. Pete Pier postponed due to coronavirus restrictions [Tampa Bay Times]
A Friday night gathering at the St. Pete Pier with former Florida quarterback Tim Tebow and local nonprofit organizations has been called off because of concerns about crowds gathering during a pandemic. “In response to Pinellas County’s emergency order with new restrictions on outdoor events, this event has been postponed. Organizers are looking to the fall for our new date,” said Michelle Lowther, director of Church Family Inc., one of the nonprofit organizations that had collaborated with the Heisman Trophy winner for the event at the Pier on Friday night.