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Wednesday's Afternoon Update

DeSantis sets special session to fix Florida's deepening property insurance rate crisis

Florida lawmakers will return to the Capitol the week of May 23 to address problems in the property-insurance system that have led to homeowners losing coverage and facing soaring premiums. Gov. Ron DeSantis on Tuesday called a special session from May 23 to May 27 and listed general topics such as reinsurance, the Office of Insurance Regulation and changes to the Florida Building Code to improve the affordability of property insurance. More from the News Service of Florida and the Tallahassee Democrat.

Disney suggests Florida can’t dissolve special district without paying debt

As Florida legislators were rushing through passage of a bill to repeal the special district that governs Walt Disney World last week, they failed to notice an obscure provision in state law that says the state could not do what legislators were doing — unless the district’s bond debt was paid off. Disney, however, noticed and quietly sent a note to its investors to show that it was confident the Legislature’s attempt to dissolve the special taxing district operating the 39-square mile parcel it owned in two counties violated the “pledge” the state made when it enacted the district in 1967, and therefore was not legal. More from the Tampa Bay Times.

As unanswered 911 calls raise alarm, Broward struggles to find a way to fix the problem

Broward County's emergency call center is greatly understaffed and the sheriff told county commissioners his agency does not have the money to fill the empty positions. In addition, Sheriff Gregory Tony said Tuesday that he is also having a difficult time retaining other dispatchers who can make more money elsewhere. “We’re going to continue to lose these people,” he warned. “This will always be a problem here whether we want to admit it or not.” More from the AP and the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

Three firms paid grants for moving to downtown Miami

Miami’s Downtown Development Authority has approved funding three companies that would relocate to Miami and provide high-paying jobs. Two companies would receive grants from the authority of up to $50,000 yearly over three years under requirements of the Follow the Sun campaign, implemented in the fall of 2020, which incentivizes companies to relocate to Miami’s downtown area and provide at least 10 jobs with a minimum salary of $68,000 a year. More from Miami Today.

Record March for Jacksonville hotels

The hotel business in Duval County continues to set records, according to data from STR provided April 20 by Visit Jacksonville. Room revenue for the month was more than $59.6 million, the best March in history. More than 473,000 rooms were sold, equaling the highest number for a single month and 7.3% ahead of March 2021. More from the Jacksonville Daily Record.

Research Trends
AdventHealth’s research lab looks to unlock mysteries of diabetes, obesity, aging

 At AdventHealth’s Translational Research Institute for Metabolism & Diabetes, visitors can expect to encounter technology that sounds more like science fiction than something that would exist in Central Florida. Participants may be asked to spend over 24 hours in an air-sealed room while researchers monitor their every breath in order to determine exactly how much energy they burn. Down the hall, human tissue and blood samples are stacked in liquid nitrogen tanks that freeze and preserve them for future analysis at negative 321 degrees Fahrenheit.

» More from the Orlando Sentinel.

 

Infrastructure
Miami-Dade has millions of tons of trash and is running out of places to put it  

floridaFrom a Miami depot on a recent morning, tractor-trailers loaded with about 800 tons of trash headed out for a 130-mile trek north to a private landfill near Lake Okeechobee, a long-haul trash run for a local government running out of options. It is seen as a short-term solution for a long-term problem. Miami-Dade is running out of land to bury its refuse, failing to get residents to recycle enough to make a dent and unable to burn enough to make up the difference.

» Read more from the MiamiHerald.