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Thursday's Afternoon Update

Floridians won’t get home insurance relief soon, experts say

Florida homeowners shouldn’t get their hopes up that the Legislature will enact meaningful reforms that will immediately reduce their rates or stop policies from being canceled, industry experts said Wednesday. Instead, they predict lawmakers will fall back on industry-friendly fixes such as making it harder to sue insurance companies and cutting back on rooftop coverage during the one-week special session that begins Monday. More from the Orlando Sentinel.

Florida traffic fatalities jump as US roads see nearly 43,000 deaths last year

Florida accounted for nearly 1 in 12 road deaths in the U.S. in 2021 according to estimates from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Nearly 43,000 people were killed on U.S. roads last year, the highest number in 16 years as Americans returned to the roads after the coronavirus pandemic forced many to stay at home. Florida saw an estimated jump of 3,331 deaths in 2020 to 3,753 in 2021, a 12.7% increase. More from the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

Spirit rejects JetBlue’s $3.3 billion hostile takeover bid

Spirit Airlines Inc. rebuffed a hostile $3.3 billion takeover offer from JetBlue Airways Corp., setting the stage for a potentially contentious vote by shareholders on whether to back a JetBlue bid or stand by a pending combination with rival deep discounter Frontier Group Holdings Inc. More from Fortune.

Study reveals fish on drugs in South Florida waters

A new study out of South Florida has found the fish in our waters are on drugs. Dozens of pharmaceuticals have been discovered in fish’s blood and tissue. From valium, blood pressure medicine, to antidepressants all sorts of drugs found in the fish in this study. The numbers are so alarming scientists say our fisheries could disappear. More from WPEC.

Crypto firm CoinFlip opening Tampa ‘experience center’ at Sparkman Wharf

While it hasn’t exactly been a bull month in the cryptocurrency company, at least one company is betting on crypto’s future in Tampa. Chicago firm CoinFlip announced Thursday that it plans to open its second nationwide office in Tampa, as well as a “crypto experience center” geared toward public education and financial services in cryptocurrency. The expansion will bring 40 technology job openings and a cryptocurrency ATM to an 8,000-square-foot space at Sparkman Wharf starting this summer. More from the Tampa Bay Times.

Entertainment
This rooftop movie theater is opening its first Florida venue in Miami Beach

The first rooftop movie theater in the Miami area is just about ready to offer you a seat under the stars. The open-air Rooftop Cinema Club is opening its first Florida venue on Lincoln Road in Miami Beach in June, just across busy Alton Road from the Regal South Beach multiplex.

» More from the Miami Herald.

 

Tech Trends
Kiwibot aims to expand its fleet of robots by 1,200

Kiwibot, a robotic delivery service startup founded in Colombia and now headquartered in Miami, closed a $20-million contract with Sodexo, a Fortune 500 food services company. The deal will expand Kiwibot’s fleet of robots by 1,200 to serve 50 college campuses nationwide by the end of this year. Kiwibot also raised $7.5 million in VC funding.

» Read more from Florida Trend.