Florida citrus season ends on sour note

Florida’s beleaguered citrus growers ended the 2020-2021 growing season Monday with a yield below what had already been expected to be one of the lowest in decades. The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced Florida growers produced enough oranges --- mostly for orange juice --- to fill 52.8 million 90-pound boxes, the industry standard, during the season that began late last summer. The total is up slightly from a June forecast of 52.7 million boxes but below preseason expectations that growers would fill 57 million boxes. [Source: News Service of Florida]

High costs and low supply from post-pandemic surge to ease soon, economist predicts

Recent gasoline shortages and big jumps in the cost of living are only temporary, says national economist and Director of UCF’s Institute for Economic Forecasting Sean Snaith. Unleashed pent-up demand, coupled with insufficient supplies to meet the post-pandemic surge, has sent prices soaring. These disruptions are expected to ease over the next few months, along with the upward pressure on prices, Snaith says. [Source: UCF News]

Norwegian cruises asks judge to nix DeSantis’ ban on vaccine passports

The third-largest cruise company in the world asked a federal judge Tuesday to overturn a new Florida law that bars companies from requiring cruise passengers provide proof of COVID-19 vaccination, escalating the industry’s battle with Governor Ron DeSantis. Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings is suing Florida Surgeon General Scott Rivkees in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, arguing that the law prevents the company from operating safely by unnecessarily putting cruise passengers and crew members at risk of contracting the virus. [Source: Miami Herald]

Unvaccinated adults make up most new COVID-19 cases in Florida but breakthrough cases also exist

The number of newly confirmed cases of the coronavirus in the U.S. has reversed course, surging more than 60% over the past two weeks from an average of about 12,000 a day to around 19,500, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. Many of those cases are in the southeast, including Florida, where the COVID-19 positivity rate has jumped back up to nearly 8%, according to the Florida Department of Health. [Source: CBS Miami]

African dust plume shielding Florida from tropical storm formation this week

After last week’s stressful time with Hurricane Elsa, the tropics are taking a breather, according to meteorologists. At least for this week and some of the next. The reason, a massive dust plume blown off Africa is keeping the Atlantic dry and difficult for tropical storm formation, according Spectrum News 13 meteorologist, Maureen McCann “Dry, dusty air off the African plateau can travel great distances in upper level wind flow,” McCann said. “When it does it creates a less stable environment for tropical development.” [Source: Orlando Sentinel]

ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› Key West commissioners revisit cruise ship restrictions [News Service of Florida]
Key West commissioners on Monday directed their attorney to draft ordinances limiting local cruise ship operations, mirroring city voter-approved measures recently overturned by state lawmakers. During a special meeting Monday evening, commissioners said that, despite the threat of lawsuits and further preemptive legislation, they had to support the 2020 referendums. Amid the coronavirus pandemic, backers pushed the measures as a way to protect area waters and coral reefs surrounding the tourism-dependent community.

› South Florida companies aided $62 million student debt relief scam, FTC says [South Florida Sun-Sentinel]
Two Jupiter-based financial services companies and its CEO have agreed to settle charges that they participated in a student debt relief scam that bilked thousands of victims and their families out of $62 million, according to a Federal Trade Commission complaint. Moneta Management LLC, Moneta Management Inc. and CEO Michael Todd Greene helped to set up credit card and debit card payment processing accounts for a California-based operation that they were repeatedly warned was fraudulent, the FTC said in a July 12 news release.

› Sarasota named one of 10 best places to live in the U.S. [WWSB]
Sarasota has been named one of the 10 best places to live in the U.S. in 2021-22 by U.S. News & World Report. The list ranked metro areas based on quality of life, desirability, housing affordability, job market, and net migration ratings. Sarasota placed ninth. “Sarasota has a distinct vibe that’s different from Florida’s relative coastal cities, with its own vibrant arts scene, beachy atmosphere and burgeoning food culture,” the magazine said.

› Italian firm wins $3.5 billion bidding war for Pasco company Welbilt [Tampa Bay Times]
A late entry appears to have won the bidding war to acquire Welbilt. The New Port Richey restaurant and professional kitchen equipment supplier has decided that a $3.5 billion cash offer from Italian holding company the Ali Group is a better deal than Midwestern competitor Middleby Corp.’s proposal worth $4.8 billion in stock and debt.

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› Florida firm hacked to spread ransomware had previous security flaws [AP]
For 21 years, the software company Kaseya labored in relative obscurity — at least until cybercriminals exploited it in early July for a massive ransomware attack that snarled businesses around the world and escalated U.S.-Russia diplomatic tensions. But it turns out that the recent hack wasn’t the first major cybersecurity problem to hit the Miami-based company and its core product, which IT teams use to remotely monitor and administer workplace computer systems and other devices.

› PMG acquires Johnson & Wales 25-acre university campus in North Miami [Miami Herald]
The developer behind Miami’s tallest skyscraper project has purchased the Johnson & Wales campus in North Miami. The Brickell-based development firm PMG acquired the 25-acre university in July, according to a spokesperson for the company. The South Florida Business Journal first reported the news.

› Cra-Z-Art more than doubling in size in North Jacksonville [Jacksonville Daily Record]
Cra-Z-Art is expanding at Imeson Park in North Jacksonville, boosting its presence there to more than 615,000 square feet and adding more than 40 full-time jobs to total at least 125. “We are growing in the Jacksonville area due to the robust demand from our major retailers to manufacture more toys, art materials and school supplies in the United States,” said Randy Tarino, chief operating officer of Randolph, New Jersey-based LaRose Industries LLC, which does business as Cra-Z-Art.

› Madeira Beach to vote on Schooner Resort plan Wednesday [Tampa Bay Times]
The stage is set for a Wednesday vote that will help decide the fate of the long-delayed Schooner Resort redevelopment. An agreement between the building’s developers and the city unanimously passed Madeira Beach’s planning commission on Monday, solidifying that the agreement meets the city’s existing land development. The Wednesday vote will determine if the city gives its stamp of approval to what could become the city’s tallest hotel, passing it through to its permitting stage.