Florida job growth continues to outpace nation

Florida continues to outpace the nation in job growth. Its workforce has expanded for 22 consecutive months. Its over-the-year private sector job growth rate has exceeded the nation’s for 11 consecutive months, since April 2021. Florida's unemployment rate has also been lower than the national rate for 15 consecutive months, declining or holding steady for 19 consecutive months. Florida’s unemployment rate fell in February to 3.3%, below the national rate of 3.8%, according to a new jobs report released by the state Department of Economic Opportunity. [Source: The Center Square]

Biden seeks more money for Everglades restoration in 2023 budget

President Joe Biden on Monday proposed spending an additional $407 million for Everglades restoration next fiscal year on top of the more than $1 billion the federal government will spend on the crucial Florida ecosystem during the current year. “This iconic American landscape provides drinking water supply for more than 8 million Floridians, supports the State’s $90 billion tourism economy, and is home to dozens of endangered or threatened species,” Biden’s newly released budget document states regarding the importance of Everglades restoration. [Source: Miami Herald]

Floridians seeking compensation for negligence, wrongful imprisonment get no relief

Relief bills, as they are known, get lost in a bureaucratic maze overseen by a Legislature leadership reluctant to give money to people who win settlements in the millions of dollars against police departments, sheriffs offices, hospital districts and state agencies, critics say. [Source: Orlando Sentinel]

Three finalists vie for top transportation job

The Florida Transportation Commission has sent to Gov. Ron DeSantis the names of three finalists to become secretary of the state Department of Transportation. The commission last week recommended Department of Transportation District Five Secretary Jared Perdue, former Miami-Dade County Transit Director Alice Bravo and Marcus Lemon, a former chief counsel for the Federal Highway Administration in the George W. Bush administration. [Source: News Service of Florida]

With years of training, Winter Park couple set for 1st taste of space with Blue Origin flight

This is a moment they have trained for — a lot. Winter Park power couple Marc and Sharon Hagle are in West Texas now geared up for what they hope is their first flight to space as members of the NS-20 mission of Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket. It’s set for liftoff at 9:30 EDT Wednesday from the company’s Launch Site One. Marc Hagle is president and CEO of Maitland-based commercial property company Tricor International Corp., and Sharon Hagle is founder of local nonprofit SpaceKids Global. [Source: Orlando Sentinel]

ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› Australian fashion brand Zimmerman opening in Tampa [Tampa Bay Times]
Zimmerman, an Australian fashion label, is opening a store at Hyde Park Village in Tampa. This store will be Zimmerman’s first on Florida’s Gulf Coast and is set to open this summer at 1620 W. Snow Ave., according to WS Development, the firm which owns and manages the retail center. It’ll be located next to beach clothing store Sunni Spencer.

› Walmart to end cigarette sales in some stores [South Florida Sun-Sentinel]
Walmart will no longer sell cigarettes in some of its stores though tobacco sales can be a significant revenue generator. Wall Street Journal was the first to report the development Monday. It noted some stores in California, Florida, Arkansas and New Mexico were on the list, citing anonymous sources and store visits. Walmart is not the first national retail chain to cut off cigarette sales even on a trial basis, but it is the largest.

› Tallahassee techies are talking – and mobilizing – with Launch Tally initiative [Tallahassee Democrat]
The inaugural Launch Tally Conference attracted more than 200 tech-based industry leaders, entrepreneurs and others at the Florida State’s Turnbull Center; all gathered to better understand the new effort to spotlight Tallahassee’s tech sector. Other tech-based groups and efforts already exist. Launch Tally, according to Eddie Gonzalez Loumiet, isn’t meant to replace anything but rather to promote what’s here and serve as a launch pad to find companies and tech-based events.

› Debate rages over downtown Boca Raton’s traffic and other growth concerns [South Florida Sun-Sentinel]
A consensus in Boca Raton seems to exist: The ever-growing downtown needs improvements. But the fierce debate to resolve that has created an impasse. The downtown has seen a building boom, and many who live or work downtown want a more pedestrian-friendly atmosphere to come with it. Meanwhile, those who live east of the Intracoastal Waterway are concerned that narrowing a major road to widen the sidewalks will create a bottleneck of traffic, which could slow emergency-vehicle responses, hurricane evacuations and boost tie-ups to and from the beach.

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› Florida officials fight back against rowdy spring breakers [AP]
Rowdy spring break crowds have forced curfews and led some establishments to close their doors from Miami Beach to Florida’s Panhandle. Law enforcement officials in Bay County, Florida, said Sunday that they won’t tolerate the bad behavior from spring breakers after a 21-year-old from Alabama was shot in the foot Sunday during a shooting in Panama City Beach.

› Sarasota County named as best retirement spot in Florida [WFLA]
Buyers and sellers of real estate alike—when asked what are the three most essential considerations about a property—will nearly always reply “location, location, location.” While this answer is sometimes tongue-in-cheek, it is often quite accurate, and this reply perhaps applies to retirees more than any other demographic. Settling down after a lifetime of working and perhaps raising a family calls for the perfect location: a spot where you can enjoy life with as few concerns as possible.

› Mediterranean Shipping Co. adding JaxPort to Caribbean container service [Jacksonville Daily Record]
Mediterranean Shipping Co. will start weekly Caribbean container service at Blount Island Marine Terminal in April. JaxPort CEO Eric Green announced the new service March 28 at the port authority’s board meeting. The addition will connect Jacksonville to hubs in the Dominican Republic and the Bahamas, JaxPort said in a news release.

› Tourism agency expands leadership team with two executive hires [Business Observer]
Visit Tampa Bay, the destination marketing organization for Tampa and Hillsborough County, has welcomed Eric Davis and Aislinn Stone to its executive leadership team. Davis, according to a news release, has been named vice president of finance, while Stone will serve as director of partner development. Stone has more than a decade of experience in corporate giving and project management roles. She most recently served as the Hillsborough County Commission cultural affairs officer.