March 28, 2024

Thursday's Daily Pulse

What you need to know about Florida today

| 4/27/2022

Florida is the least affordable place to live in the U.S.

Rents, which are rising by double-digits nationwide, are positively ballooning across Florida, fueled by a surge of people who relocated to the state during the pandemic. Florida's population is growing faster than any state but Texas: Between 2020 and 2021, 300,000 people moved to the Sunshine State. Florida's housing woes have been festering for years, with the state enjoying robust population growth while also courting new residents and businesses attracted by the low taxes and an anti-regulation agenda. More from  CBS News and WINK News.

Opponents ask court to block new Florida congressional districts

Focusing on a North Florida district that has become a legal and political battleground, voting-rights groups and other plaintiffs are asking a judge to block a congressional redistricting plan pushed by Gov. Ron DeSantis. Attorneys for the plaintiffs filed a motion late Tuesday requesting a temporary injunction, after filing a lawsuit Friday to challenge the plan. Republican lawmakers passed the plan written by the DeSantis administration during a special legislative session last week. [Source: News Service of Florida]

South Florida office market remains promising in a post-pandemic world

With offices reopening their doors and many employees returning to work, the South Florida office market remained promising given its performance in the first quarter of 2022. The office market is supported by robust job growth and low unemployment. The region saw the addition of 154,900 new jobs and a 3 percent unemployment rate in the first quarter of the year. [Source: Commercial Observer]

Florida has the two best large cities to start a business in the nation

This week, WalletHub released its report on 2022’s Best Large Cities to Start a Business and two cities from the Sunshine State lead the list. Five cities from the Sunshine State placed in the top 20. Orlando was ranked as the best large city to start a business in the nation with Miami right behind it in second place. Jacksonville placed seventh on the list while Tampa took tenth. Hialeah stood in 16th place and St. Petersburg was 17th. [Source: Florida Daily]

Florida-grown mango and dragon fruit program launches

One Florida shipper is hoping its new state-based program will offer new opportunities for Florida mango and dragon fruit growers. Seasons Farm Fresh based in Miami is launching a new program shipping tree-ripened mangoes and dragon fruit from Florida. “There are more than 200 varieties of mangoes grown in Florida and with this program, they would be picked, washed and packed in Florida. But we wouldn’t have to hot water treat them because they’re from the U.S.,” says Gabriel Bernal of Seasons Farm Fresh. [Source: Fresh Plaza]

Parental choice and education: The backbone of Florida's business success

When entrepreneurs, CEOs and site selection consultants come to Florida scouting relocation destinations for corporate headquarters or regional offices, the common component they often seek is a diverse and educated workforce. That starts with the K-12 student. Florida ranks high in educating tomorrow’s workforce today by giving parents the confidence that their children will receive a world-class education. [Sponsored Report]

ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› Czech data company Manta names Tampa U.S. headquarters
A Czech data company has picked Tampa for its new U.S. headquarters. Prague-based Manta, founded in 2016, has offices in Dublin, Ireland and Lisbon, Portugal, but picked Tampa due to the growth in recent years of the region’s technology talent pipeline. “The surge of Tampa’s tech scene is a major reason why we decided to build our team in this hub of top talent,” Manta founder and CEO Tomas Kratky said in a statement.

› Disney World’s firefighters could lose benefits if Reedy Creek district gets the ax, union chief says
Days after Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill to eliminate the Reedy Creek Improvement District, Disney World’s self-governing special district, its first responders remain uncertain about the full impact of the change. If the district disappears, so would benefits like lifelong health insurance paid by the district and complimentary lifetime Disney passes, both of which are provided to firefighters and paramedics who meet specific age and service requirements, Reedy Creek Firefighters Association President Jon Shirey said.

› Who wants a new $1 billion trash incinerator? Not Doral, where the old one stinks
They say it ruins barbecues and pool days. That it cuts short strolls through the park. That it sticks to their hair and clothes, even when they come inside. It’s that smell, that awful smell — maybe the most common complaint, right after traffic, in a booming city with good schools and low crime.

› Surging health care industry shows no signs of letting up in Jacksonville
Permits have been approved to toss the ceremonial gold shovels and bring on the heavy equipment and machinery to begin construction on a new 124-bed addition to a UF Health hospital facility. UF Health North already broke ground on the new hospital tower at the end of March at 15255 Max Leggett Parkway. With construction underway, the new facility is expected to open in 2024 directly behind the existing tower.

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