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Friday's Afternoon Update

2023 Atlantic hurricane season begins June 1. The first subtropical system formed months ago.

The Atlantic hurricane season has not officially started but the National Hurricane Center has already identified the first subtropical cyclone of 2023 — and it formed months ago. The subtropical storm formed in mid-January off the northeastern U.S. Coast and will officially be designated as the first cyclone for the 2023 Atlantic hurricane season, the NHC said in a tweet on May 11. The Hurricane Center said key information about the system will be released in a tropical report in the next few months. More from the Miami Herald.

See also:
» 2023 hurricane season's first tropical wave nearly stationary in eastern Atlantic

Flood insurance costs are about to explode. ZIP codes closest to the coast will pay the most.

Events of the past year have convinced more Florida homeowners of the need to carry flood insurance. Flooding caused by hurricanes Ian and Nicole caught hundreds, if not thousands, of homeowners across the state by surprise, and without flood insurance. It’s not just flood victims who are experiencing hard lessons about flood insurance. More from the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

Osceola looking to fund $2 billion in transportation projects aimed at easing traffic

Osceola County plans on spending around $2 billion in transportation projects through 2045 to curb traffic and congestion, a problem residents have faced for years, on top of the hundreds of millions in projects already underway. Traffic in Osceola County is so bad that INRIX, a global traffic analytics and consulting company, ranked the three-mile stretch along U.S. Highway 17, or John Young Parkway from U.S. Highway 192, or Vine Street, through Kissimmee to Oaks Boulevard, as the seventh worst traffic in the U.S. in 2022. More from the Orlando Sentinel.

South Florida adds almost 30,000 new residents, census data shows

South Florida’s population grew by about 30,000 in the past year, according to new estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau. It was in the top 10 of the most populous metropolitan areas in the last year, as the region has seen a boom in domestic migration. The U.S. Census Bureau released its Vintage 2022 Population Estimates on Thursday, analyzing population growth and new housing units in various cities and metropolitan areas in the country. More from the South Florida Sun-Sentnel.

Tampa’s $742 million question: How do we pay for parks?

The city of Tampa has 191 parks and it is investing $46.3 million this year to upgrade them. It’s not enough, according to a new master plan for parks and recreation compiled over the past two years by consultant AECOM. The city’s park system, despite its popularity and high-profile successes, is showing its age, the study said, and the city should consider a 20-year strategy to complete 2,200 upgrades at existing parks; finish 15 additional parks that remain undeveloped even though the city owns the land; acquire property and build eight new parks and add 35 miles of trails and sidewalks. More from the Tampa Bay Times.

Business BeatBusiness Beat - Week of May 19th

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Out of the Box
Tampa Bay man enters White Castle Hall of Fame

Harry Blackledge, who says his White Castle cravings began before he was born (mom was a fan), has the distinction of having led a drive to bring White Castle to the previously Slider-deprived state of Florida. After he moved there from Indiana and no longer could visit the White Castle drive-thru whenever he felt like it, he started a “Bring White Castle to Florida” Facebook page. A few years and 11,000 followers later, his efforts paid off with the opening of the Orlando location.

» Read more from QSR Magazine and the Tampa Bay Times.