Florida gets another boost in tax collections

With Gov. Ron DeSantis ready to release a 2022-2023 budget proposal next week, Florida continues raking in more tax dollars than expected. A new report said the state brought in $435.5 million more in general revenue in October than had been projected in an August forecast. General revenue plays a critical role for DeSantis and lawmakers, as they rely on it to help fund schools, health-care programs and prisons. The report indicated Florida consumers continued opening their wallets after saving heavily earlier in the COVID-19 pandemic. Of the $435.5 million in higher-than-expected revenue, $304.2 million --- or about 70 percent --- came from sales-tax collections. [Source: News Service of Florida]

Last stand for Florida wildlands: Decades of conservation work arrive within reach of crowning environmental success

Vast wilderness linking Central and South Florida was spared when the Destiny development became DeLuca Preserve. What’s next may be great environmental success. The coming decades are expected to bring a crush of development that decides once and for all which of Florida’s natural lands will be paved and which will be saved. [Source: Orlando Sentinel]

Wrangling continues in COVID-19 records fight

A Leon County circuit judge Wednesday rejected an attempt to shield a Florida Department of Health official from testifying in a public-records case that seeks to force the state to provide COVID-19 data. But Judge John Cooper immediately placed a stay on his ruling, as the department will challenge it at the 1st District Court of Appeal. [Source: News Service of Florida]

Florida built the 9th-least amount of housing relative to job growth nationwide since 2010

A new report shows that Florida added a total of 1,337,800 jobs between 2010-2020 compared with only 1,128,362 new housing units authorized by building permits, giving the Sunshine State the 9th-least amount of housing relative to job growth in the nation. The data comes as price increases in the housing market became one of the major stories of the economy since the start of the pandemic, due, in part, to insufficient inventory. [Source: Orlando Business Journal]

Florida prisons are changing inmates' snail mail to a digital format

Florida prisons are in the process of converting incoming snail mail to a digital-only format. The Department of Corrections says the change will reduce the amount of contraband coming into prisons. Denise Rock is executive director of Florida Cares, a nonprofit that advocates for the incarcerated. She told The Florida Channel inmates and their families are speaking out against the change. [Source: WLRN]

ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› UPS approved for $100 million conveyor system in Jacksonville [Jacksonville Daily Record]
United Parcel Service is heading toward completing its at least $334 million package delivery hub renovation at Westside Industrial Park with approval Nov. 30 for a $100 million conveyor system installation. The city issued a permit for MHS Company Inc. of Kentucky to install the conveyor system at the package company’s parcel shipping ground hub at 4420 Imeson Road.

› DOD grants UCF $1.5 million for hypersonic propulsion research to compete with China and Russia [Orlando Sentinel]
The University of Central Florida is working on propulsion technology that can travel at least five times the speed of sound or greater as the U.S. chases China and Russia in developing the latest air defense technology. The Department of Defense awarded UCF researchers $1.5 million to advance its hypersonic propulsion technology in the hopes of surpassing China, which successfully tested new hypersonic missiles last August, a feat the U.S. has yet to accomplish.

› Prominent Tampa cybersecurity firm expands with new office in Utah [Business Observer]
ReliaQuest, a Tampa-based company that provides cybersecurity services for hundreds of Fortune 1000 firms, has opened an office in Sandy, Utah, near Salt Lake City. The 64,000-square-foot facility, according to a press release, can house more than 400 employees. It marks the eighth satellite office for fast-growing ReliaQuest, which has locations around the world and last year secured $300 million in growth financing from global investment firm KKR, Ten Eleven Ventures and CEO Brian Murphy.

› International travel jump lifts Miami International Airport [Miami Today]
Miami International Airport has averaged 5,000 more international passenger arrivals daily since travel restrictions were lifted, and totals now surpass 2019. Passenger traffic rose 6% from Nov. 8 – the day the US welcomed back vaccinated international fliers – to Nov. 23, compared to that period in 2019.

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› Miami board denies Wynwood Station mixed-use project [Miami Today]
A mixed-use residential project planned for the east side of the Wynwood Arts District, near Midtown and Edgewater, was denied by the City of Miami’s Urban Development Review Board. Developer-owner Newcomb Properties #2 LLC plans to build Wynwood Station at 45 NE 27th St. But the board voted unanimously Nov. 17 to deny the project, after voicing numerous concerns.

› Fast-growing Fort Myers developer appoints new CFO [Business Observer]
Seagate Development Group has named Fortune 500 real estate industry executive Iain McGill CFO. McGill will oversee all financials for Fort Myers-based Seagate’s expanding enterprises, including commercial and residential development and construction, residential remodeling and tenant improvements, property management and leasing and interior design, according to a statement.

› RV One and Airstream of Jacksonville plan Arlington superstore [Jacksonville Daily Record]
RV One and Airstream of Jacksonville are converting a car dealership in Arlington into a superstore. The city approved a permit Nov. 23 for Welday Services Group, of Columbus, Ohio, to renovate the existing building at 8281 Merrill Road at a cost of $1 million. RV One and Airstream of Jacksonville filed plans with the city for a dealership at the address, which is next to Interstate 295.

› Frontier Airlines restarting service at Fort Lauderdale airport in February [Miami Herald]
Discount carrier Frontier Airlines said Tuesday it will return to Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport with 12 nonstop flights to East Coast cities and Wisconsin starting in February 2022. The Denver-based airline last flew out of Fort Lauderdale in April 2020, shortly after coronavirus pandemic lockdowns brought the nation’s air travel nearly to a halt.