Judge to reconsider Florida's effort to halt federal COVID-19 vaccine mandates

Pointing to a new state law, a federal judge has decided to reconsider Florida’s request for an injunction against a Biden administration requirement that workers at hospitals, nursing homes and other health-care providers be vaccinated against COVID-19. The legal wrangling came as the vaccination requirement for health-care workers is poised to take effect Dec. 6 --- and after U.S. District Judge M. Casey Rodgers on Nov. 20 denied a motion by the state for a preliminary injunction or temporary restraining order against the requirement. More from the News Service of Florida.

Unprecedented: Suarez push to do Miami city business in cryptocurrency meets the law  

Miami is positioning itself as the vanguard for a brave and some say risky new and uncharted world where municipal business is conducted with cryptocurrency — a key tenet of reelected Mayor Francis Suarez’s second term. The city is now trying to turn Suarez’s proclamations — from pumping up the city budget, not to mention residents’ wallets, with money derived from the mining of a Miami-branded cryptocurrency to paying employees in Bitcoin — into a reality for which there is no precedent. More from the Miami Herald.

UCF study finds theme park fans are wary of ‘dynamic’ ticket pricing

This holiday season, tourists will pay even more of a premium to enter theme parks during peak times. The attractions are increasingly employing what’s known as dynamic pricing, a business strategy to manage revenue and crowds by charging more when demand is highest. But what do consumers think of pricing that could make vacations more expensive? More from the Orlando Sentinel.

South Florida gridlock is getting worse. How are local leaders grappling with it?

Now that COVID-19 has receded as paralyzing threat to transportation, Brightline is back, Tri-Rail is at full strength, yet so is gridlock. Regional planners are thus turning their attention back to a critical issue that has plagued the tri-county area for years: how to deal with the transportation needs of legions of new arrivals in one of the fastest growing regions in the country. More from the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

Hurricanes missed Tampa Bay again this season. But here comes climate change.

When the 2021 hurricane season ends Tuesday, it will do so with a whimper. The season produced an above-average 21 named storms and seven hurricanes, of which four were major storms. But not a single hurricane occupied the Atlantic or the Caribbean after Hurricane Sam dissipated Oct. 5. People across Tampa Bay should rejoice in this, since Florida’s Gulf Coast is most susceptible to late-season storms, said Bob Bunting, chief executive officer of the nonprofit Climate Adaptation Center in Sarasota. More from the Tampa Bay Times .