Prison town economies suffer due to Florida corrections crisis

Of 18,000 security positions in Florida’s Department of Corrections, 5,500 are currently vacant. That’s led the state to close prisons, work camps, and work release programs. Inmates and staff have also been consolidated at other facilities. “If you close down the prison system in some of these rural communities, you’re gonna find it’s gonna reshape those communities,” said Florida Senator Jeff Brandes (R-St. Petersburg).  [Source: WFTS]

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Florida Icon: Robert Metzger

The co-founder of the transplant program at Florida Hospital Orlando (now AdventHealth Orlando Transplant Institute) talks about growing up in Galena, Ill., organ donations and COVID vaccinations: “We have about 58% of the population in Florida signed on to be organ donors, so getting people knowledgeable about organ donation has been, I think, fairly successful, but there is still a fair amount of resistance out there. We need more donors. The problem we have in organ transplantation is we don’t have enough organs.” [Source: Florida Trehd]

Florida draws 22% of foreign real estate investors, with Miami, Orlando leading pack

With most international travelers again cleared to visit Florida, a lot of eyes have been on the rebounding tourist market. But some Florida visitors are looking for more than a vacation. They’re looking to buy. Florida accounts for more than 22% of all foreign real estate investments in the U.S., the strongest market in the country, according to a National Association of Realtors report that came out last month. [Source: Orlando Sentinel]

State poised to move forward on Black farmer marijuana license

Black farmers with ties to doing business in Florida will be able to apply for one of the state’s highly sought-after medical marijuana licenses in March, according to an emergency rule published this week by state health officials. The Department of Health will accept applications for the single Black farmer license from March 21 through March 25, the notice said. The application period will be the first opportunity for prospective medical-marijuana operators to vie for a Florida license since 2015, after lawmakers in 2014 legalized marijuana that is low in euphoria-inducing THC for patients with a handful of medical conditions. [Source: News Service of Florida]

The Cuban government weighs allowing foreign companies to invest in the private sector 

In a first in the communist island, the Cuban government is considering allowing foreign investment into private small and medium-sized businesses as the country hits a deep recession and discontent grows. Following criticism and a cold response from Cubans abroad and potential investors to the current law, the Cuban National Assembly will discuss a proposal to modify a private-sector law passed in August to allow direct foreign investment in recently approved small and medium private enterprises. [Source: Miami Herald]

ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› In a move to become a research powerhouse, Florida Polytechnic boosts its research in autonomous vehicles [Tampa Bay Busiess Journal]
Lakeland-based Florida Polytechnic University is deepening its commitment to high-tech vehicle research. The university's Advanced Mobility Institute has entered its second phase of studying autonomous vehicles, with the addition of a "tricked out" Ford Fusion sedan. The hybrid vehicle was modified, but university researchers are adding their own software to allow the vehicle to, for example, hit the brakes with a remote computer.

› New rocket company to begin launches from Space Coast in January [Orlando Sentinel]
The lineup of rocket companies looking to launch from the Space Coast in Florida will get a new player in January. Astra Space Inc., founded in 2016 with hardware designed to put small satellites into orbit, has lined up its first business from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station beginning in January.

› Where do you go now that Miami Art Week is over? Try these photo-friendly spots [Miami Herald]
Miami Art Week is over — and not a moment too soon. We can only sit in traffic for so many hours before we curl into a fetal position, shaking and moaning and vowing to never leave our homes again, even if they are underwater.. Yet the desire to get out and see something cool has been ignited. Don’t fret. There’s plenty of art left to see at museums in and around Miami, and you can do it without spending half the day in your car (we think).  

› Spread holiday cheer with new Florida Lottery scratch-off games [CBS Miami]
Just in time for the holidays, the Florida Lottery is launching four new Scratch-Off games offering more than $190 million in cash prizes. The four new games, PERFECT 10S, LOTERIA, 2022 TAXES PAID, and WIN IT ALL, range in price from $1 to $5 and feature top prizes of $5,000 to $500,000.

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› Cigar company to develop hotel, restaurant at historic property [Business Observer]
J.C. Newman Cigar Co. has announced plans to restore the Sanchez y Haya hotel in Ybor City, which it acquired in August 2020 for $650,000. The historic property, located at 1601 E. Columbus Drive, will again operate as a hotel when it reopens in late 2023, according to a press release. It will also feature a restaurant and cigar lounge.

› A gated community will replace a vacant Delray Beach golf course. Some question whether that’s the best use of the land. [South Florida Sun-Sentinel]
As Delray Beach continues to face a housing crunch, developers plan on transforming a vacant golf course on Atlantic Avenue into a 79-home gated community. But the project has sparked some concerns about whether upscale townhomes are the best use of the city’s scarce available land.

› Big Storm Brewing buys Bradenton’s Darwin Brewing [Tampa Bay Times]
One of Tampa Bay’s biggest craft breweries is expanding its reach south of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge. Big Storm Brewing, based in Clearwater, has purchased Darwin Brewing, an award-winning brewery and taproom in Bradenton. In a statement announcing the move, Big Storm’s owners said they hope to expand the “hyper-local brand throughout Florida,” but especially as it relates to Darwin’s kitchen.

› ‘The city will help us.’ Miami Beach took cash, fast-tracked tower on Champlain’s edge   [Miami Herald]
When Miami Beach city officials rushed to greenlight construction of an 18-story ultra-luxury condo tower just across the city line from Champlain Towers South, no one knew the 40-year-old building in the neighboring town of Surfside was teetering on the edge of collapse. But the leaps Miami Beach officials took to bring the Eighty Seven Park tower from concept to reality are now under scrutiny amid litigation and investigations into what caused a once-in-a-generation building failure at Champlain South that killed 98 people in June.