Higher room rates could put damper on tourism

Hotel room rates pushed up by demand during the past year might now be hindering tourism amid increasing inflation, state tourism officials said. As the Visit Florida tourism-marketing agency celebrated record first-quarter tourism numbers while meeting last week in Orlando, staff and board members also expressed concern that increasing cost of hotel rooms is slowly affecting occupancy rates. “I think we're starting to see, just over the last couple of weeks or so especially, inflation actually starting to catch up with us in most markets,” said Jacob Pewitt Yancey, Visit Florida director of consumer insight and analytics. [Source: News Service of Florida]

Florida Trend Exclusive

Florida Trend again earns five national 'Editorial Excellence' awards from the Alliance of Area Business Publishers

The Alliance of Area Business Publishers (AABP) presented its annual Editorial Excellence awards to newspaper and magazine business periodicals at the closing celebration of its three-day annual Summer Conference on June 11, 2022, in Columbus, Ohio. The annual AABP Editorial Excellence competition recognizes excellence in journalism, photography and design achieved by regional business publications. The awards were judged by faculty members from the University of Missouri School of Journalism. [Source: Florida Trend]

SpaceX pitches shift of human launches to Canaveral amid Starship explosion concerns at KSC

With the chance that SpaceX’s development of its new Starship rocket will pivot to Kennedy Space Center, NASA has reportedly been working with the company to consider contingencies for migrating astronaut launches to Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. In an interview with Reuters’ Joey Roulette, Kathy Lueders, NASA’s Associate Administrator of the Space Operations Mission Directorate, said the agency has concerns about the unproven Starship rocket suffering some sort of explosive incident that could damage the launch pad at KSC. [Source: Orlando Sentinel]

New statewide program offers millions to first-time Florida homeowners

The state of Florida is allocating $100 million to first-time Florida homeowners through the Hometown Heroes Housing Program. People who the state considers as frontline community workers are eligible to receive funds. Over 50 occupations are included in this list such as educators, first responders and healthcare workers. Homebuyers can receive up to five percent of their first mortgage loan amount up to $25,000. [Source: WEAR]

Average gas prices top $5 in parts of Florida

The average price of a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline has topped $5 in parts of South Florida, while statewide prices hit another record Monday at $4.89, according to the AAA auto club. The average price in the West Palm Beach and Boca Raton area was nearly $5.02. Statewide average prices were up 13 cents a gallon from last week and 42 cents from last month. “This is some unprecedented pain at the pump that we are seeing,” AAA spokesman Mark Jenkins said. “We are setting new records and not in a good way.” More from the  News Service of Florida and the Florida Times-Union.

ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› Tampa Bay History Center exhibit focuses on history of Cuba and Tampa connections [Tampa Bay Times]
The exhibition has been in development for two years and occupies 2,000 square feet of gallery space. It presents more than 100 objects such as the first map of the Caribbean basin published in 1511 and a homemade refugee boat that took the 90-mile trip to Key West with 12 people aboard. ‘Cuban pathways’ — which runs for a year-long showing — features documents, music and images of men and women who are part of Cuba’s history and diversity.

› Gainesville's Mosquito Control Division uses innovate measures to combat mosquitos [Gainesville Sun]
Tucked away behind Gainesville's public works building along Northwest 39th Avenue are a research lab and a host of creatures dedicated to combating flying, blood-sucking pests people prefer to avoid. Chickens, fish and plants are just some of the resources used to control Gainesville's mosquito problem. While many cities around the state do more to control mosquitos than most may realize, Gainesville offers a unique approach where spraying pesticides is seen as a dated tool.

› Fast-growing Northrop Grumman to hire 'hundreds' for Melbourne operations [Florida Today]
Northrop Grumman Corp. is looking to hire hundreds of people for its fast-growing Melbourne operations. The aerospace company and military contractor is holding a job fair from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday in Melbourne to fill a "couple of hundred" local positions, according to Chris Warner, manager of talent acquisition for Northrop's engineering organization. Location details will be provided when interested job candidates preregister for the event.

› Freedom House Mobile Crisis wants to offer a 911 alternative for Miami public safety [Miami Herald]
The origin of the Freedom House Mobile Crisis program can be traced back to 1967. Disappointed by the quality of emergency medical care, a group of Black Pittsburgh residents formed Freedom House Ambulance Service, which was the first time medical equipment and trained personnel were in the ambulance, setting the standard for modern emergency treatment.

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› Citizens policy count up 45 percent in year [News Service of Florida]
The state-backed Citizens Property Insurance Corp. ended May with 883,333 policies, a nearly 45 percent increase from a year earlier, according to newly posted data. The insurer had 609,805 policies as of May 31, 2021, but it has continued to add thousands of policies a week as private insurers drop customers and seek hefty rate increases amid financial losses. The new total was a nearly 91 percent increase from the 463,247 policies that Citizens had on May 31, 2020, data posted on the Citizens website show.

› Jaguars agree to naming deal for sports performance center with Miller Electric Company [Florida Times-Union]
Construction on the Jacksonville Jaguars' sports performance center is not expected to be completed until the start of the 2023 NFL season. But the franchise already has landed a naming rights deal for the facility. The Jaguars announced Monday a 10-year rights agreement with the Jacksonville-based Miller Electric Company. The team's new sports performance center will be called the "Miller Electric Center."

› Corporate flight to Miami: County rides another expansion wave. Who’s opening offices? [Miami Herald]
Companies that set up shop in Miami-Dade County last year inspired a movement. Another wave of businesses relocated or expanded here through May this year, creating ripple effects in the office and housing markets. Executives running e-commerce and law firms, among others, keep arriving during the ongoing pandemic in greater numbers than before the public health crisis began in early 2020.

› Disney Springs: Discount tickets set for Cirque du Soleil show [Orlando Sentinel]
Florida residents can now buy discounted tickets to “Drawn to Life,” the Cirque du Soleil show that debuted at its Disney Springs theater in November. With the offer, tickets in the Category 3 tier are $87, and Category 2 level seats go for $104. Normally, those tickets sell for $99 and $119, respectively. Walt Disney World annual passholders and Disney Vacation Club members are also eligible to make these purchases.