Florida jobless claims hold steady as hotels push for federal aid

As the hotel industry pushes for more federal assistance to cover the costs of workers, Florida continues to see little change in the number of new unemployment claims being filed. The U.S. Department of Labor on Thursday estimated 6,509 first-time unemployment claims were filed in Florida during the week that ended Oct. 2, down from a revised count of 7,713 for the week ending Sept. 25. The agency initially had estimated Florida’s count for the week ending Sept. 25 at 6,502 claims. [Source: News Service of Florida]

Business Beat - Week of October 8th

Get top news-to-know with Florida Trend's headline-focused video newsbrief, hosted by digital content specialist Aimée Alexander.

No apparent COVID outbreaks arise despite packed college football stadiums in Florida

College football stadiums across Florida filled with tens of thousands of non-masked, screaming students and boosters packed closely together have so far resulted in no recognizable community outbreaks amid the pandemic, according to infection figures on the state’s biggest campuses. The season began amid fears that big games could become super-spreader events. Now, nearly halfway through the season, which kicked off as the highly infectious Delta variant was still spreading across the U.S., the days and weeks after home games showed no significant surges on college campuses. [Source: Orlando Sentinel]

'An insane amount of money': Florida's demand for travel nurses raises concerns of price gouging

Florida hospitals are facing skyrocketing costs for temporary contract nurses as the COVID-19 pandemic burns out longtime staff members and workforce shortages continue to worsen. As staffing agencies for travel nurses double and triple their fees to hospitals, the Florida Hospital Association is tracking complaints of price gouging in other states. California's hospital association last month asked the state Department of Justice to conduct a probe on behalf of its 400 hospitals. [Source: Florida Times-Union]

FWC resurrects support for osprey as state bird

Add the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to the supporters of doing away with the mockingbird as the state bird during the 2022 legislative session. Commissioners agreed Thursday to offer the osprey as a potential replacement for the mockingbird --- Florida’s avian symbol since 1927. Sen. Jeff Brandes, R-St. Petersburg, has filed a proposal (SCR 324) to rescind the designation of the mockingbird as the state bird. [Source: News Service of Florida]

ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› State seeks to recoup $3 million in sawmill incentives [News Service of Florida]
The Florida Department of Economic Opportunity has filed a lawsuit seeking to recoup $3 million in incentives that the state provided to help attract a sawmill to Suwannee County. The department filed the lawsuit Tuesday in Leon County circuit court against Klausner Holding USA, Inc. Then-Gov. Rick Scott in 2011 approved providing $3 million to the project from an incentive program known as the Quick Action Closing Fund.

› Gainesville For All wins national grant from Gannett Foundation [Gainesville Sun]
Well before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Gainesville For All was working with local government agencies and nonprofits to coordinate services for families in neighborhoods where a range of barriers create generational poverty. But the need for services has only grown as the health consequences of COVID-19 hit disproportionately harder on people of color.

› Elon Musk’s traffic tunnels to the beach now on the horizon for Fort Lauderdale [South Florida Sun-Sentinel]
The city known for its notorious gridlock may be tunneling its way to the beach one day in the near future. After months of talks, Fort Lauderdale is now one step closer to hiring Elon Musk’s Boring Co. to build twin tunnels to the beach to help cut down on all that maddening traffic.

› Concertgoers around Tampa Bay race to find COVID tests in time for shows [Tampa Bay Times]
In August, two of the country’s largest live music promoters, AEG Presents and Live Nation Entertainment, announced they would begin requiring vaccination cards or negative COVID-19 tests starting in October. Other event producers have followed. The David A. Straz Jr. Center for the Performing Arts in Tampa enacted a similar policy in September, as did the Gasparilla Music Festival last weekend.

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› Pride Factory moving to Wilton Manors to be closer to its customers [South Florida Sun-Sentinel]
Pride Factory, which describes itself as a “staple of the South Florida gay scene” since the 1990s, is leaving Fort Lauderdale for a central spot in burgeoning Wilton Manors. It’s a move to get closer to the community the business serves, despite a big upgrade of its current neighborhood on Northeast 13th Street in Fort Lauderdale, said Lori Deak, vice president of operations.

› St. Petersburg foodies rejoice: Food hall gets new lease on life  [Busiess Observer]
After being shuttered and facing an uncertain future, 22 South, a highly anticipated food hall intended to help revitalize South St. Petersburg’s Deuces neighborhood, has reopened thanks to a new group of investors in the project. Callaloo Group, a team of investors that included former Tampa Bay Buccaneers standout wide receiver Vincent Jackson, opened 22 South in April despite Jackson’s death in February. The food hall occupies the historic Manhattan Casino building, constructed in 1925 and owned by the city.

› Miami Beach theater restoration shows flickers of hope [Miami Today]
Still unclear on what to do with the shuttered Byron Carlyle theater, the City of Miami Beach agreed to put a placeholder of $400,000 from the city’s budget reserve to possibly be used for a conceptual design, but not until the city commission gets community feedback, structural assessments and a solid plan. Its conceptual design, if approved, would cost the city up to $400,000 of its resort tax revenue.

› Universal closing Shrek 4-D attraction, planning down time for Mummy coaster [Orlando Sentinel]
Universal Studios will be permanently closing its Shrek 4-D attraction as of Jan. 10, Universal Orlando confirmed Wednesday. The company also said that its Revenge of the Mummy roller coaster will be shut down for maintenance from Jan. 7 through sometime in late summer 2022.