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Tuesday's Afternoon Update
What you need to know about Florida today
State, groups battle over elections ruling
After a federal judge blocked parts of a 2021 elections law that he said discriminated against Black voters, the state and opponents of the law are battling about whether the ruling should be put on hold while an appeals court considers the case. Attorneys for the state, county supervisors of elections and national Republican organizations asked the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals this month to place a stay on the March 31 ruling by Chief U.S. District Judge Mark Walker. More from the News Service of Florida.
After ‘perfect storm’ for 2 years, cruise industry titans gather again in Miami Beach
Seatrade, the cruise industry’s largest global conference, kicked off Monday for the first time since 2019 with the customary large crowd at the Miami Beach Convention Center. Leaders of the embattled industry are optimistic. Despite repeated coronavirus outbreaks on ships, being shut down for over a year in U.S. waters and taking on massive debts to remain afloat, they insist cruising is back and growing near the same pace it was pre-pandemic. More from the Miami Herald.
Brightline banking on millions of Central Florida residents ditching cars for train travel
Private investment in mass transit, outside of air travel, is not the American way. While mass transit has been well-incorporated into other major cities, cars have driven the Orlando landscape since the highway system took hold 70 years ago. But now, billions of private dollars are being laid out to put train travel on track to compete with cars here in Florida. More from WESH.
Southeast Toyota inks deal to keep Jacksonville's port as its shipping hub another 40 years
Southeast Toyota Distributor, the company that has been a driving force behind Jacksonville's status as one of the East Coast's busiest ports for automobile shipping, will stay another 40 years in a deal inked Monday that will move its operation to Blount Island from the Talleyrand terminal. More from the Florida Times-Union.
Tampa airport says passenger count may rise 83 percent by 2042
Over the next two decades, Tampa International Airport will gain an average of 880,000 new passengers each year. That would take the hub from 21.2 million passengers this year to 38.8 million in 2042 — a 20-year increase of 83 percent. And the airport is once again thinking about where to put them. More from the Tampa Bay Times.
Florida Dining
This new restaurant in Coral Gables has a lounge upstairs and its own duct-tape banana
A big blast of color and art is about to hit Coral Gables. MoonMat Hospitality’s Crudos Art House, which opens in early May, is the sister property of Crudos Fusion Art Wynwood and Crudos Fusion Art Hallandale in Broward. The new two-story, 5,000-square-foot space, in the former AdLib space south of the Barnes & Noble on Miracle Mile, will seat 85 guests and entertain them with art installations, live music, cocktails and Asian-American-Latin cuisine.
» More from the Miami Herald.
Event
Historic first Florida hemp beer will debut at Tallahassee 850 Hemp Summit
The inaugural summit was held in 2019 prior to the pandemic — also in Tallahassee — and then put on a pause before resuming this year. And while the goal of the Hemp Summit is to educate farmers, businesses and interested individuals across North Florida about the economic opportunities and overall value of industrial hemp, there's a local craft beer aspect — and a historic first — that's going to be of particular interest to those who enjoy the award-winning and rapidly growing Tallahassee-area craft beer scene.
» Read more from the Tallahassee Democrat.
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