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Thursday's Daily Pulse
What you need to know about Florida today
Orange juice shortage looming in U.S. as Florida's citrus crop suffers
Citrus lovers may have to spend more to get oranges and orange juice this summer after Florida's weather resulted in ruined crops. Predicted crop production numbers have been dropping since December 2022, when the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Agricultural Statistics Service estimated that 20 million boxes of oranges would be produced. 20 million boxes would have been a 51 percent decrease from 2021's season. [Source: USA Today]
Florida Trend Exclusive
Recovery: Net gains
Eight months after Hurricane Ian’s storm surge pushed 34 commercial shrimping boats aground along the Lee County shore — and in doing so put more than 300 shrimp industry workers out of a job — the shrimpers are slowly getting back out on the Gulf of Mexico. The Florida Division of Emergency Management has completed a $9.6-million project that recovered and refloated 34 shrimp trawlers, but only 10 of the boats are back in operation. In all, about 50 trawlers were based out of the Fort Myers Beach area before the hurricane. [Source: Florida Trend]
Commentary: Retrofitting flood-prone buildings would help Florida economy
Sea-level rise and more intense rainfall are increasing the risk of flooding, resulting in crushing insurance rates. Millions of properties are at risk – including about 600,000 in Florida alone – unless new funding is dedicated to retrofitting these buildings. New buildings are not the major concern. The highest insurance rates are being charged on older buildings that are vulnerable to flooding, called pre-Flood Insurance Rate Map (pre-FIRM) buildings. [Source: Orlando Sentinel]
‘The Atlantic is definitely on fire’: Unusually hot ocean sparks up early hurricane season
The Atlantic Ocean is hot right now. Hotter than it’s supposed to be for this time of year, and hot enough to worry scientists — particularly ones who monitor hurricanes. Those higher-than-normal temperatures help explain why the National Hurricane Center’s tracking map on Tuesday looked a lot more like a snapshot from August than June. [Source: Miami Herald]
Tomato termination: Florida Tomato Exchange wants end to 2019 Tomato Suspension Agreement with Mexico
The Florida Tomato Exchange is asking the Department of Commerce to end a 2019 tomato suspension agreement with Mexico. Since 1996, five different agreements tried to stop unfair trade practices used by Mexican tomato exporters, but the Exchange says each agreement has proved to be unforceable. They are asking the Commerce Department to terminate the 2019 Agreement and impose anti-dumping duties on Mexican tomatoes required by law. More from RFD TV and HortiDaily.
ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:
› Brightline hails completion of Orlando link, but St. Lucie bridge issue lingers
Brightline, which has yet to set a firm date for the start of its Central Florida service, staged another coming-out party Wednesday for its $6.4 billion extension from West Palm Beach to Orlando International Airport, saying the construction phase of the 170-mile segment is now complete. But as the fanfare unfolded with South and Central Florida politicians celebrating at the airport, there was the not-so-subtle matter of a controversial drawbridge over the St. Lucie River, where the U.S. Coast Guard started the day with a new temporary operating schedule for the span so that marine traffic will have fewer railroad-induced interruptions.
› After scrub, ULA will try again for 1st liftoff of 2023 on historic Delta IV Heavy mission
With 30 Space Coast launches in the book mostly from SpaceX, United Launch Alliance was finally set to send up its first of the year, but the penultimate liftoff of its Delta IV Heavy rocket, the last of the Delta family of rockets, was scrubbed early Wednesday. The team, though, will give it another shot early Thursday. ULA said an issue with a ground systems pneumatic valve forced the delay of the mission for the National Reconnaissance Office.
› Tampa CRE boutique firm says time was right to sell itself
About 10 years after John Fahey and Tyler McRae launched their boutique commercial real estate firm Meridian Retail Group in Tampa, the partners decided to sell it to one of their competitors — a national company with deep ties and pockets. Before you start thinking of this is as a "if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em" kind of deal, stop. This was nothing like that.
› Fin-tech declines cut into financial sector jobs in Miami
Employment in financial activities in Miami-Dade County is growing more slowly than last year, with jobs in fin-tech companies declining due to the volatility of the financial sector. Jobs in financial activities in South Florida grew by 3.3% from March 2022 to March 2023, from 206,100 employees to 213,000, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. In the Miami-Miami Beach-Kendall area, the growth rate is 3%, from 88,000 to 90,600.
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