Florida minimum wage poised to go to $11

In the second increase under a 2020 constitutional amendment, Florida’s minimum wage will go to $11 an hour on Sept. 30. The voter-approved amendment, spearheaded by prominent Orlando attorney John Morgan, will gradually lead to a $15-an-hour minimum wage on Sept. 30, 2026, and inflation-linked increases after that. More from WTVT and Wink News.

Appeals court weighs COVID-19 data fight

More than a year after the lawsuit was filed, an appeals court Tuesday waded into a fight about whether the Florida Department of Health should be required to provide daily COVID-19 data. The lawsuit in Leon County circuit court has been on hold since January amid an appeal about testimony and information that could provide a window into the Department of Health’s refusal to release the data. [Source: News Service of Florida]

Publix tried delivering groceries to homes 20 years ago. How did it work back then?

Instacart. Amazon. Kroger. Walmart. Those are some of the places to shop online and get groceries delivered to your home, and maybe even put right into your fridge. The pandemic boosted supermarket delivery services as we stayed away from physical stores. But 20 years before COVID, Publix launched a home-delivery service, with refrigerated trucks going from warehouse to neighborhood, delivering grocery orders to homes across South Florida. [Source: Miami Herald]

NASA pushes back Artemis I launch date; no decision about rollback yet

NASA says more time is required to continue repair work on its Artemis I Space Launch System rocket at Kennedy Space Center. Teams are now working toward conducting a cryogenic fuel tanking test no earlier than Wednesday, Sept. 21. The agency had previously hoped to be able to conduct it this Saturday. The extra time will allow for crew rest and more time to prepare for the next launch attempt which was updated to no earlier than Tuesday, Sept. 27, pending approval from the Space Force. [Source: Florida Today]

Study: Florida among top 3 states receiving most robocalls

A new study by the RoboKiller app listed Florida as one of the top three states that have received the most robocalls so far in 2022. The app, which eliminates robocalls and robotexts, projects that Americans will receive 147 billion robotexts in 2022 with an estimated $59 million in losses to spam calls this year. RoboKiller also projects that robocalls will jump 19% by the end of the year. [Source: WFLX]

ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› Small businesses helped Tampa Bay grow. Can they afford to stay? [Tampa Bay Times]
Delma’s, The Flower Booth has operated out of the same 3,752-square-foot shop in St. Petersburg’s Kenwood neighborhood since 1953. Stephanie Anderson – who took over the florist business started by her aunt Delma Nichols Booth – said they’ve served some of the same families for generations. But Anderson fears she’ll soon be forced to leave Kenwood and the loyal customer base her family worked so hard to build.

› Orlando Sanford airport area to get new business park [Orlando Business Journal]
A five-building industrial park soon may rise on 58 acres in Sanford, just southwest of Orlando Sanford International Airport. The Mellonville Industrial Development went before the city’s planning and zoning commission Sept. 1, receiving a recommendation of approval for when it goes before the city commission, possibly later this month.

› A 44-story apartment tower in downtown Jacksonville could get $36 million in city incentives [Florida Times Union]
A skyline-defining 44-story, three-sided apartment tower on the former site of the Jacksonville Landing has moved through a round of negotiations on a multi-million incentive package hammered out by the Downtown Investment Authority staff. American Lions, based in New York, proposes to build the tower with about 300 apartments on a one-acre portion of Riverfront Plaza.

› Sarasota Memorial Hospital hiring foreign nurses as part of plan to alleviate shortage [Sarasota Herald-Tribune]
Sarasota Memorial Healthcare System will bring about 50 nurses and at least six medical technicians from the Philippines between now and early 2023, to help address a nationwide shortage of qualified nurses and healthcare workers that was exacerbated in 2020 by the COVID-19 pandemic. Sarasota Memorial – the county’s largest employer with more than 8,500 staff members – hired 2,349 new staff in the 2021 fiscal year.

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› Citrus company names new top financial officer [Business Observer]
Citrus producer Alico has hired a longtime Hertz executive as its new CFO. Fort Myers-based Alico appointed Perry Del Vecchio to the post, according to a statement. Del Vecchio will be responsible for all corporate finance, treasury and accounting functions of the company and will report directly to President and CEO John Kiernan. Del Vecchio was most recently a vice president and for Lexyl Travel Technologies in West Palm Beach.

› UNF, Johnson & Johnson Vision partner for research [Jacksonville Daily Record]
The University of North Florida Department of Chemistry unveiled an addition and renovation to improve teaching and research spaces Sept. 9 and announced a partnership with Johnson & Johnson Vision in the investment of new equipment and support for undergraduate chemistry and biochemistry students. The addition and renovations include about 20,000 square feet of space comprising six new research labs, three new teaching labs, a computer lab, a classroom, student study areas and a locker room.

› OUC to sell big piece of commercial-industrial land near airport for $45 million [Orlando Sentinel]
Orlando Utilities Commission is poised to sell a huge piece of real estate within a highly developed area of commercial and industrial activity just west of Orlando International Airport for $44.8 million. OUC calls its holding the “Jetport Property.” It was acquired as part of a financial settlement nearly 20 years ago from a high-profile but doomed effort to build an advanced, coal-fueled power plant in a partnership with Southern Co. The initiative failed as fears of climate change began to seriously alter the utility industry landscape.

› Tampa wastewater reuse project under fire again [Tampa Bay Times]
For years, environmentalists and Tampa city officials have sparred over what to do with about 50 million gallons per day of highly treated wastewater currently being dumped into Tampa Bay. The city wants to divert the wastewater to replenish the Hillsborough River, help lower salinity levels in Sulphur Springs and, possibly, augment the city’s drinking supply.