Florida Trend | Florida's Business Authority

Tuesday's Daily Pulse

Florida businesses feeling effects of ‘Great Resignation’ happening across U.S.

Millions of Americans are quitting their jobs in what’s being dubbed the “Great Resignation” by economists. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports more than 4 million people quit their jobs in August and Florida is feeling the impact, even with improving unemployment rates. “You are no longer going to get 100 applicants for your two job postings. It’s the other way around,” Christine Sikora, Vice President of Innovative Solutions for CareerSource Flagler and Volusia, said. [Source: Click Orlando]

An unexpected pandemic consequence frustrates Florida’s biggest city

The disruption to America’s economy created by the coronavirus pandemic has led to mass cancellations of school buses and ferries, to rental car shortages and a bottleneck of cargo ships waiting at seaports. And, in cities like Jacksonville, it has created a small but growing indignity: garbage left out to rot. In the grand scheme of suffering, there are bigger problems. But it has become yet one more example of a public service that most people take for granted but is no longer working right. [Source: New York Times]

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» Is recycling in Florida a waste?

Florida aims to pay $5,000 to out-of-state police who resist vaccine mandates

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said Sunday he hopes to sign legislation that awards $5,000 bonuses to out-of-state law enforcement who refuse to get vaccinated against COVID-19 in violation of local vaccine mandates and move to Florida to work there instead. DeSantis said in an interview with Fox News that the state is "actively working to recruit" officers from outside of Florida to fill needs in police and sheriff's departments, and he welcomes law enforcement personnel who risk losing their jobs for defying city and state COVID-19 vaccine requirements. More from CBS News and the Guardian.

Lawmakers pitch Addictive Gambling Prevention Program expansion

Florida may soon double down on a state-funded gambling prevention program under new legislation proposed Monday. The bill (HB 405) would expand the promotion of Florida’s (888)-ADMIT-IT Helpline to all 67 counties. Helpline advertising is presently limited to Broward and Miami-Dade counties. The measure would also cut a slice of revenue from Florida Lottery ticket sales and redirect those dollars toward the Compulsive and Addictive Gambling Prevention Program. [Source: Florida Politics]

Hertz will soon rent out Teslas, marking one of the largest electric vehicle purchases

Estero-based Hertz announced Monday that it will buy 100,000 electric vehicles from Tesla, one of the largest purchases of battery-powered cars in history and the latest evidence of the nation’s increasing commitment to EV technology. The purchase by one of the world’s leading rental car companies reflects its confidence that electric vehicles are gaining acceptance with environmentally minded consumers as an alternative to vehicles powered by petroleum-burning internal combustion engines. [Source: AP]

Baptist Health Cancer Care: South Florida's Cancer Experts

Estero-based Should a screening test lead to a cancer diagnosis, patients can seek treatment from Baptist Health Cancer Care. Miami Cancer Institute and Lynn Cancer Institute are partners in Baptist Health Cancer Care and are integrating their programs to become the largest provider of cancer services in South Florida. [Sponsored report]

ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› PortMiami goes fishing for more cargo business as ships back up off California coast
With dozens of cargo ships backed up as far as the eye can see off the coast of Southern California, Miami sees an opportunity. PortMiami, along with others in Florida, has been running smoothly during the supply chain crunch. PortMiami officials say there’s been record cargo offloading recently but only one ship that needed to drop anchor and wait in the past six weeks.

› ‘Dear Rays, Montreal won’t pay for your new stadium’ billboard up near Trop
Right next to the Interstate 275 exit for The Pier, between flashes of ads for light beer, is a message on a billboard from the Canadian Taxpayers Federation to the Tampa Bay Rays. Every minute or so, “Dear Rays, Montreal won’t pay for your new stadium. Sincerely, Taxpayers” lights up just west of Tropicana Field. It’s a stark message for the Rays, which has been exploring splitting future seasons between Tampa Bay and Montreal.

› Disney relocation to Orlando already influencing Lake Nona
The Walt Disney Co.’s relocation of 2,000 jobs from its California headquarters to Orlando won’t be fully realized until 2023, but some Disney employees already are in the market for their Florida forever home. That’s according to two Realtors prominent in the Lake Nona market, where Disney will move some of its corporate operations.

› PNC Bank now fourth-largest in Northeast Florida after BBVA acquisition
Driving around Northeast Florida in recent days, you may have noticed PNC Bank banners covering the former BBVA signs at some area bank branches. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. completed its conversion of former BBVA USA branches into its PNC Bank over Columbus Day weekend, after formally acquiring the offices June 1. Pittsburgh-based PNC touted the deal as turning the bank into a national franchise, as it brought the bank an additional 600 branches in seven states. It also made PNC a significant player in the Jacksonville market.

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› Calls for better safety measures came after the Surfside tragedy. Here are the changes so far.
Four months after the Surfside condo building collapse, Florida is just getting started on the long path toward shoring up its building laws to ensure people stay safe. Contractors have moved to improve old buildings across South Florida. Inspectors have evacuated residents from their deteriorating apartments for safety. New databases were created to keep the public better informed about the age of their condo buildings — and highlight the need for inspections. Some officials have called it progress, while noting that enough hasn’t been done yet.

› Biden Administration warns Florida over financial sanctions against school boards with mask mandates
The U.S. Department of Education sent a letter to Florida Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran Monday, warning that withholding federal funds from districts that enacted mask mandates would make the state out of compliance with federal law. The letter says that if the state "move forward with its planned reduction of state aid to Alachua and Broward (counties), the Department is prepared to initiate enforcement action to stop these impermissible state actions."

› Old St. Petersburg Police headquarters set to be demolished this week
The boxy old St. Petersburg Police headquarters in the Edge district will soon be no more. Making way for new apartments, condos, offices and shops, it’s scheduled to be demolished starting Tuesday, with workers beginning with its interior. Then comes the structural demolition, which will likely involve hydraulic equipment and excavators hacking away at the building and loading the debris onto dump trucks for it to be hauled away.

› Miami’s local elections draw ‘abysmally low’ turnout. Here’s why that matters
In less than two weeks, voters in a half-dozen Miami-Dade communities are set to decide on important issues like who should serve as mayor of Miami and whether the county should incorporate a 35th city. History suggests less than a quarter of eligible voters — perhaps as few as one in nine — will participate. According to one study, Miami proper is in the bottom eight of the country’s most populous cities for voter turnout.