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Monday's Daily Pulse

COVID in Florida: Wave appears to be flattening with new infections, hospitalizations holding steady

The latest coronavirus surge across Florida appears to be slowing, just as the school year starts. COVID-19 hospitalizations have been stable the past few weeks. Viral concentrations in sewage have dropped. Testing positivity rates statewide have declined. And Florida’s official caseload remains flat. Hospitals statewide tended to 4,281 COVID-positive patients, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services reported Friday. [Source: Palm Beach Post]

After weeks of quiet tropics, hurricane forecasters are watching a disturbance off Africa  

With the peak of hurricane season approaching the tropics may have woken up from their weeks-long slumber. On Saturday, the National Hurricane Center began projecting the formation a potential tropical system in the eastern Atlantic Ocean as a tropical wave is forecast to move off the west coast of Africa over this weekend. The NHC said on Sunday that the tropical wave has moved off the African west coast. More from the Orlando Sentinel and the Miami Herald.

Ticket sales for NASA's first Artemis moon launch crash website; some still available

The thousands of Visitor Complex guests join the at least 100,000 spectators expected to swarm the Space Coast for the rocket's debut. That figure could be significantly higher, according to the Tourist Development Council, and many hotels are already sold out. As it stands, the Artemis I mission has solid opportunities to fly on Aug. 29, Sept. 2, or Sept. 5. It will mark the first flight of the SLS rocket and Orion capsule, both of which have been c [Source: Florida Today]

Black farmers feel left out of medical marijuana system

Nearly six years ago, the Florida Legislature set aside a medical marijuana license for a Black farmer like John Allen to join the burgeoning industry. But the license still has not been issued by the Florida Department of Health, which regulates the industry. Twenty-two licenses have been issued but none so far to a Black farmer, despite the aim of the Legislature in 2016. [Source: AP]

Hunters are swarming the Florida Everglades for the annual python challenge. The state says it’s vital to save the ecosystem

Deer, raccoons, possums, and fox once flocked the area of the Everglades National Park in south Florida. Nowadays, you’re lucky if you spot one mammal in the area, according to wildlife experts. Who’s to blame for this decline in wildlife? The invasive species known as Burmese pythons. To help combat this problem against Florida’s ecosystem, snake hunters are congregating in the hundreds for the Florida Python Challenge. [Source: CNN]

ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› ‘Nightmare scenario’: How FPL secretly manipulated a Florida state Senate election
Florida Power & Light had a problem. A strong Democratic challenger was threatening to unseat a friendly Republican incumbent in a Gainesville-area state Senate race in 2018. FPL, one of the country’s largest utilities, needed to make sure the GOP held onto the seat. So FPL used a shadowy nonprofit group to secretly bankroll a spoiler candidate, a longtime Democrat named Charles Goston.

› Mayo Clinic starts work on $233 million oncology building
Site work has begun on the $233 million Mayo Clinic integrated oncology building in Jacksonville that will include proton beam and carbon ion therapy. Construction will follow on the building for completion in early 2025. The city is reviewing a construction permit for the almost $76.3 million foundation and shell of the building on the Mayo Clinic Florida campus at 4500 San Pablo Road.

› Textile designer’s work is inspired by growing up in Tampa Bay
As the pandemic dragged on, Brook Perdigon longed for her native Tampa from nearly 3,000 miles away. Her mother, sister and other relatives were still there. She reminisced about happy summer days at her grandparents’ house in Belleair Beach. Perdigon, a textile designer who lives in Los Angeles, turned her nostalgia into a new fabric collection called Impressions.

› Magical Dining kicks off in Orlando this month with overnight ‘staycation’ packages
Visit Orlando’s Magical Dining returns later this month with a wide swath of Central Florida restaurants offering top-tier meals at a discount. Diners can browse a selection of more than 100 restaurants ranging from seafood to steakhouses and everything between when the event returns Aug. 26. Each eatery offers a $40 (per person) prix fixe menu with three courses included.

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› New $75 million JEA headquarters slated for completion in mid-October
Construction of JEA's new headquarters in downtown Jacksonville is expected to be completed in mid-October, utility company officials said. The seven-story office tower and 640-space parking garage are at 225 Pearl St. N., a few blocks away from JEA's longtime headquarters at 21 W. Church St. The main building and garage are nearly complete, while work continues on the interior, Simone Garvey-Ewan, JEA spokeswoman, told the Times-Union.

› Gainesville commission gives first OK to elimination of exclusionary zoning
A split vote during the Gainesville City Commission meeting on Thursday has put the city on pace to become the first in the state to eliminate single-family zoning. It was the first of two needed votes that came in around midnight after a crowd of nearly 100 people showed up to oppose the zoning change, while only about a dozen supported it.

› Jamaica-born judge from South Florida placed on state high court
Not only is Renatha Francis the first Jamaican-American appointed to the Florida Supreme Court in the state’s history, she also gives Gov. DeSantis his first hand-picked majority on the seven-member tribunal. Francis, 44, a circuit judge in Palm Beach County, will on Sept. 1 assume the seat created by the retirement of Justice Alan Lawson, a 2016 nominee of Gov. Rick Scott. She’ll join fellow DeSantis appointees Carlos Muñiz, Jamie Grosshans and John Couriel.

› Health department warns of increased presence of West Nile Virus in Sarasota County
The Florida Department of Health in Sarasota County advised residents on Friday of an increase in West Nile Virus activity in the county, after sentinel chickens tested positive for the virus. The sentinel chickens that tested positive for West Nile Virus were in unincorporated areas of Sarasota County near North Port.