Titanic clash pits DeSantis against potent cruise industry as it prepares to restart

The return of operations for one of South Florida’s most iconic industries has turned into a battle of the heavyweights. On the one side is Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. Emboldened by growing approval ratings, DeSantis refuses to budge from a state law he sought that bars the cruise industry from requiring passengers be vaccinated. On the other: The industry, a powerful pillar of Florida tourism. More from the  Miami Herald and U.S. News and World Report.

Hurricane center monitors two tropical disturbances

Meteorologists are tracking two tropical disturbances in the Gulf of Mexico and North Carolina coastlines, with the potential of becoming the next tropical depression or storm by next week. A trough of low pressure with tropical potential was identified west of the Yucatan Peninsula on Friday morning, and by Sunday afternoon the National Hurricane Center said the system “has become somewhat better organized” since Saturday, as it heads over the Bay of Campeche in the southwestern Gulf of Mexico early next week. [Source: Orlando Sentinel]

Tampa Bay Times wins 2021 Pulitzer Prize

The 2021 Pulitzer Prize for Local Reporting was awarded to reporters Kathleen McGrory and Neil Bedi for “Targeted,” a yearlong investigation into how the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office uses computer modeling to identify and track people believed to be future crime suspects. Published in 2020, the series exposed Pasco’s reliance on intelligence-led policing, a controversial practice that led deputies to closely monitor 1,000 people, including children. [Source: Florida Trend]

The rebirth of Hertz: vaccines, meme stocks and Wall Street’s crazy year

The remarkable turnround in Hertz’s fortunes mimics the dramatic rebound that large parts of the global economy are experiencing. When the Florida-based rental car group filed for bankruptcy in May 2020, after business and leisure travel had ground to a halt, the company was the most high-profile victim of the economic carnage being inflicted by the pandemic — and seemingly portended more corporate failures to come. [Source: The Financial Times]

Saharan dust cloud to make for some spectacular Florida sunrises, sunsets

Florida's sunrises and sunsets already are some of the best in the world. They'll be even better this week as a massive plume of Saharan dust settles across the region. It's an annual phenomenon: winds over Africa pick up millions of tons of dust and blow them across the Atlantic Ocean. That dust not only helps to fertilize the water and soils of the Americas, according to NASA, but there are also a couple of other atmospheric changes. [Source: WTSP]

ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› Divided Florida appeals court targets mask requirement [News Service of Florida]
Pointing to privacy rights, a divided state appeals court Friday overturned a circuit judge’s decision last year that allowed Alachua County to keep in place a mask requirement to try to prevent the spread of COVID-19. A panel of the 1st District Court of Appeal, in a 2-1 decision, said Alachua County Circuit Judge Donna Keim did not properly consider the privacy rights of plaintiff Justin Green before she rejected a request for a temporary injunction against the mask requirement.

› Could Tampa Bay’s Red Tide be connected to Piney Point disaster? [Tampa Bay Times]
Red Tide has come to Tampa Bay. A patchy bloom suspected to be the reason for fish kills on the Pinellas coast and around Port Manatee showed up two months after 215 million gallons of wastewater were pumped into the estuary from the site of an old fertilizer plant. People already have suspicions. But can anyone know for sure whether harmful algae are feasting upon pollution from Piney Point?

› New music reality series begins filming in Orlando [Orlando Sentinel]
A new music reality series has begun filming in Orlando. “Pop Star Studio” will showcase and groom singers ages 13-19 as they audition, are cast and progress through a variety of tasks, such as choreography, recording, media training and more. The show is looking to form a group of five, and some of the potential candidates hail from Florida, according to Wright. It will also feature celebrity mentors, guest stars and music industry executives.

› Jacksonville lawmakers 'encouraged' by Shipyards proposal   [Jacksonville Daily Record]
Before Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shad Khan’s Downtown development team brings his $441 million Shipyards and football performance center development to City Council this year, two key lawmakers say they are optimistic about the deal. Council members Randy DeFoor and Matt Carlucci voted against a $245.3 million public incentives package in January for Khan’s proposed Lot J mixed-use entertainment complex, but both said they are encouraged that the Shipyards deal appears more transparent and will be vetted by the Downtown Investment Authority and Downtown Development Review Board.

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› Sarasota-based bank appoints two executives to VP positions [Business Observer]
Gulfside Bank recently announced the appointment of two senior vice presidents. Elizabeth Green will be the bank's private banking director and David Newton will be director of government guaranteed lending. “We are thrilled to have these two senior level banking professionals join our team,” says Dennis Murphy, president and CEO of Gulfside Bank, in a press release.

› Amid soaring wing costs, Orlando restaurants play chicken with prices, others close doors [Orlando Sentinel]
Restaurant guests are used to seeing the term “market price” on menus, next to posh items — local grouper, boutique oysters, lobster. But in the wake of COVID- and weather-related shortages in both processors and product, they’re seeing that familiar “MP” next to something no one ever expected: chicken wings. It was a shock to guests at Durango’s Steakhouse in Titusville, where eight wings used to sell for $8.99 and 16 for $16.99.

› Meet Florida’s new license plate that helps conserve our oceans and saltwater fisheries [WPLG]
Now more than it ever, it’s critical that we do our part to help conserve our beautiful South Florida waters. In an area that requires so much driving, what better way to support the cause than by rocking Florida’s new speciality license plate? The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FLHSMV) has officially launched its new “Conserve Florida’s Fisheries” specialty license plate, available to all Floridians.

› Orange Crush festival coming next weekend to Jacksonville's beaches, area clubs [Florida Times-Union]
A "culturally historic" informal beach festival scheduled for Juneteenth weekend in Jacksonville's beaches will include beach days, vendor villages and afterparties at several Jacksonville clubs. The Orange Crush Festival, a loosely organized beach weekend that draws a largely Black college-age crowd, is planned for the beach on June 18-20.