‘Paradise lost’: Florida rescue crews, aid groups rush to jump-start recovery from Hurricane Ian

State and federal first responders including local government and nonprofit groups rushed to Florida’s Gulf Coast on Thursday to help with the recovery of a region that one city official said had been reduced by Hurricane Ian to “Paradise Lost.” As if on cue, volunteers, urban rescue teams and pre-positioned utility workers swarmed Southwest Florida cities inundated by floodwaters and battered by high winds from the catastrophic storm. [Source: South Florida Sun-Sentinel]

See also:
» Hurricane Ian’s catastrophic toll includes at least 17 dead
» Ian insured losses could total $40 billion
» DeSantis eyes Ian damage

Business Beat - Week of September 30th

Get top news-to-know with Florida Trend's headline-focused video newsbrief, hosted by digital content specialist Aimée Alexander.

Florida jobless claims dip

Initial unemployment claims in Florida dipped last week, according to a report released Thursday by the U.S. Department of Labor. The report estimated that 5,277 initial claims were filed in Florida during the week that ended Sept. 24, down from a revised count of 5,833 during the week that ended Sept. 17. The numbers came amid continued concerns about a looming recession. [Source: News Service of Florida]

Florida’s minimum wage workers get a raise this week. Here’s how much

Florida’s minimum wage will increase to $11 an hour on Friday, the second boost in a series of annual raises that will eventually bring it to $15 an hour. The pay raise is a result of an amendment to the Florida Constitution that 61% of voters approved in a 2020 ballot measure. Florida’s previous $8.56 an hour minimum wage was brought up to $10 in 2021 and will increase by $1 every year on Sept. 30 until it reaches $15 in 2026. [Source: Miami Herald]

World Central Kitchen starts delivering meals to communities impacted by Hurricane Ian

The organization, spearheaded by celebrated chef José Andres, has become one of the world’s most recognized first-response efforts, delivering hot meals to the frontlines in response to humanitarian, climate or community crisis situations. With the help of volunteers and partner organizations — including local chefs, food truck operators and catering companies — the group can deliver thousands of meals in a day to those in need. [Source: Tampa Bay Times]

ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› Legal battle over Miami bank allegedly controlled by Venezuela intensifies [Miami Herald]
The legal battle over the control of a Miami bank alleged to have been secretly run by the Venezuelan government is heating up, following the efforts of its original owner to take back the reins of the bank’s Curaçao-based parent company. The original owner, Venezuelan-American businessman Juan Santaella, had previously sued members of Eastern National Bank’s board of directors, including Gabina Rodríguez, who chaired the board between 2015 and 2021.

› Clearwater CEO apologizes after asking staff to work through Hurricane Ian [Tampa Bay Times]
Days before a dangerous Category 4 storm barreled toward Florida’s Gulf Coast, the chief executive of a Clearwater-based marketing agency sent texts downplaying the storm’s impact and encouraging staff to bring their pets and kids in the office so they wouldn’t miss work. Only after outrage spread on social media on Tuesday did Joy Gendusa, the head of PostcardMania, announce it would close its headquarters for Wednesday and Thursday to turn it into a hurricane shelter for employees instead.

› Hurricane Ian claims the Dali Museum’s Wish Tree in St. Petersburg [Orlando Sentinel]
After nearly 11 years and over 20,000 wishes, the Dalí Museum’s beloved Wish Tree is no more. The museum has power and both the staff and the artwork are safe, said marketing director Beth Bell. The Florida ficus, however, was ripped from the Dalí's Avant-garden before the worst of Hurricane Ian’s winds and rains reached St. Petersburg on Wednesday.

› Crypto exchange FTX is moving its US headquarters to Miami [South Florida Business Journal]
Cryptocurrency exchange FTX is trading Chicago for South Florida. CEO Sam Bankman-Fried announced the company will move its U.S. headquarters to Miami in a tweet posted Tuesday afternoon. The change comes only months after FTX.US officially opened a 9,000 square-foot office in the Windy City to house its U.S. base. In the same tweet, Bankman-Friend said FTX.US President Brett Harrison was stepping down from the business.

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› Colombian bell peppers arrived in the US for the first time [Fresh Plaza]
Colombia just exported nine thousand kilos of bell peppers to the United States for the first time ever. This shipment, which arrived at the Miami Port Wednesday afternoon, despite the strong winds and surges from Hurricane Ian, goes to Central Florida where it will reach out to customers around the southeastern USA.

› Florida business settles landmark FCA whistleblower case involving PPP loan [Compliance Week]
A Florida-based investment fund will pay approximately $22,000 as part of a settlement resolving the first False Claims Act (FCA) whistleblower case involving a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan in which the United States intervened. Pan African Interchange and its owner, Stanley Damas, applied for two PPP loans on consecutive days in May 2020 and received the two loans in June 2020, according to a Thursday press release from U.S. Attorney Juan Antonio Gonzalez of the Southern District of Florida. The business had falsely certified it would not receive more than one PPP loan, the Justice Department stated.

› UF Health North is growing again in North Jacksonville. Here's what's planned. [Florida Times-Union]
Construction is moving forward on the new six-story UF Health North inpatient hospital tower intended to improve access to state-of-the-art healthcare in Northeast Florida and Southeast Georgia. The tower's frame of steel beams is rising skyward on the medical campus at 15225 Max Leggett Parkway — off Interstate 95 near Jacksonville International Airport.

› ‘Spooky Soiree’ helps kick off Halloween in The Milk District [Orlando Sentinel]
Orlando’s Milk District is helping Central Floridians get into the spirit of Halloween this weekend, kicking off October with a “Spooky Soiree.” An estimated 170 vendors will pop up in the parking lots behind The Nook and other permanent businesses on Robinson Street on Oct. 2. Makers will travel from near and as far as St. Petersburg and Jacksonville to display and sell paintings, plants, ceramics, baked goods, apparel, bags and more.