Florida jobless claims continue to slow

Florida continues to see its lowest totals of first-time unemployment claims since the start of the coronavirus pandemic more than a year ago. On Thursday, the U.S. Department of Labor estimated 11,891 new claims were filed during the week that ended April 3. That was down from a revised total of 15,716 new claims during the week that ended March 27. The labor department initially estimated that 11,700 claims were filed during the week that ended March 27. More from the News Service of Florida and the Miami Herald.

Business Beat - Week of April 9th

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DeSantis says Florida suing CDC, Biden administration over cruise shutdown

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said the state of Florida is suing the federal government and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to force them to let the cruise industry get back to business. “Today, Florida’s fighting back,” DeSantis said as the CDC keeps the cruise industry under a conditional sail order from U.S. ports. “I think we have a good chance for success.” The cruise industry shut down last March during the coronavirus pandemic. [Source: Orlando Sentinel]

Wildfires have scorched 8,000 acres in Florida in 2021

Over 650 wildfires have burned in the Sunshine State since Jan. 1, 2021, according to the latest statistics from the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services’ website. Last year, the Florida Forest Service reported a total of 1,969 wildfires, which means one third of the total number of last year’s fires have already happened in the first quarter of the year. [Source: Click Orlando]

Florida tops nation in Obamacare enrollment

Florida continues to lead the nation in the number of people taking advantage of a special enrollment period for coverage under the Affordable Care Act, with 146,250 people obtaining health insurance between Feb. 15 and March 31. Nationwide, more than 500,000 people obtained so-called Obamacare coverage during that period, according to data released by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. [Source: News Service of Florida]

ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› George Romero, son of ‘Living Dead’ creator, wants to build a Tampa film studio [Tampa Bay Times]
The late George A. Romero’s Night of the Living Dead zombie series is credited with mainstreaming the horror movie genre. His son, George C. Romero, now wants to popularize the Tampa Bay area as a production hub for such films. “We want to be at the ground level of helping to create an industry that creates jobs,” said Romero, a Kentucky resident with 19 producer and 14 director credits on his IMDB resume.

› Duval hotels and hospitality: Rallying back from the COVID crash [Jacksonville Daily Record]
If Jacksonville’s hospitality industry was a person, the coronavirus would have put the patient in intensive care on life support just days after the pandemic began in March 2020. According to data provided by Visit Jacksonville, the convention and visitors bureau for Jacksonville and the Beaches, hotel occupancy dropped from nearly 80% of rooms booked in February 2020 to barely more than 30% in April, the first full month of the pandemic shutdown.

› Inter Miami, AutoNation expected to announce “DRV PNK” stadium naming deal on Friday [Miami Herald]
Inter Miami is expected to announce a stadium naming rights deal with AutoNation on Friday, and pink signage that read: “DRV PNK STADIUM” was already going up on Wednesday night. The team sent out an advisory Wednesday afternoon saying a “special announcement” is scheduled for Friday morning at the stadium involving team co-owner Jorge Mas and AutoNation executive vice president Marc Cannon.

› Florida Senate OKs making restaurant booze-to-go a permanent thing [Orlando Sentinel]
The Florida Senate on Wednesday approved a bill that would make permanent a move that has allowed restaurants to sell alcoholic drinks with take-home meals during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Senate voted 38-2 to approve the measure (SB 148), sponsored by Sen. Jennifer Bradley, R-Fleming Island. The dissenting votes were cast by Sen. Lauren Book D-Plantation, and Sen. Audrey Gibson, D-Jacksonville.

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› Here’s what you need to know about Patrizia’s in Fort Lauderdale, their first restaurant outside of New York [South Florida Sun-Sentinel]
Patrizia’s is coming to Galt Ocean Mile. The family-owned Italian restaurant will open April 7 in the space that formerly housed Jackson’s Prime steakhouse, according to the chain’s website. This will be the first location outside of New York, where there are 11 restaurants spread across all five boroughs as well as one in Red Bank, N.J.

› Miami-Dade seeks federal funding for Northeast commuter rail line [Miami Today]
Background work for a planned commuter rail linking Miami to Aventura is underway, as Miami-Dade applied last month for federal funding for the project and is in talks with operator Brightline to run the route. If all goes according to schedule, construction of what is known as the Northeast Corridor will be done in 2024, according to Luis Espinoza, spokesman for the county Department of Transportation and Public Works (DTPW).

› Phosphogypsum stacks in Florida: What are they and where are they located? [Sarasota Herald-Tribune]
The events at Piney Point made national news as officials continue to explore options to address concerns about the release of polluted water and its effects on the marine environment and the possibility it could foster red tide. The leak has brought more public awareness to phosphate mining in Florida. Phosphate deposits cover much of Florida, according to the Florida Industrial and Phosphate Research Institute. The Central Florida phosphate mining region covers approximately 1.3 million acres known as the “Bone Valley.”

› Jazz in the Gardens is returning. But first, another major music fest comes to Miami [Miamii Herald]
Like every other major music festival that canceled in 2020 at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Jazz in the Gardens, the popular two-day R&B event, expected a return in March 2021. We all know how that played out. Now, Miami Gardens has announced that Jazz in the Gardens will return to the Hard Rock Stadium in March 2022 on two as-yet unspecified dates.