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Wednesday's Daily Pulse
What you need to know about Florida today
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?
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
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
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 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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