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14th straight day with COVID positivity rates below 10%
Theme Parks should start to increase attendance capacity
Numbers continue moving in the right direction
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ABC 7
SARASOTA, Fla. (WWSB) - We are seeing a downward trend in COVID-19 cases across the state and on the Suncoast. Since this decrease in numbers has consistently stayed this way for about two weeks, health officials say it looks like we have gotten COVID-19 under control - for now.
“I would like to think it is driven primarily by people taking personally responsible to care for one another and practice social mitigation. It shows that we don’t have to have an extreme lockdown if everyone chips in and does the right things,” explained Dr. Jason Salemi, Epidemiologist and Professor at the University of South Florida.
Dr. Salemi says not only are the numbers of new cases important, but the positivity rate gives us an even better estimate –that has also dropped immensely. On the Suncoast, we are now at about 2% in Sarasota County and 3% in Manatee County. Public health experts say the virus is under control when that rate is 5% or below.
“And it’s not just about who is getting infected, but about how much severe illness is in our population. For that, we look at current people hospitalized with COVID-19, as well as deaths. When you look back at July, we were in the area of 9 to 10,000 people. Now, we are in the range of 4 to 6,000 people, so we have come down quite a bit in just the last couple of weeks,” Dr. Salemi said.
However, that doesn’t mean our fight against COVID-19 is over. Doctors say in order for us to continue on this path, we cannot let our guard down.
“Everybody wants to get back to normal. We are starting to see kids go back to school. We’re seeing reduced community transmission, fewer hospitalizations, fewer deaths, and we all have COVID fatigue. We’re learning about this on a daily basis. We’re exhausted from it. There is a big desire to exhale and try to go back to our normal lives, but now is the time for us to hunker down and continue doing what we have been doing,” expressed Dr. Salemi.
Doctors say masks and social distancing are obviously working in preventing the spread of COVID-19, so we must continue these practices until the curve is completely flattened.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Florida’s cases of coronavirus continue to grow, but at a slower pace than they had since early this summer.
The Department of Health reported 2,258 new cases of COVID-19 in the state on Monday and 72 deaths, including one each in Clay and St. Johns counties.
The number of total cases and deaths continues a downward trend that began five weeks ago.
Florida reported 2,258 new cases on Sunday, only the third time since June 15 that fewer than 2,500 new cases were n tallied in a day. The daily total peaked July 15 when more than 15,000 cases were reported, but has been declining since.
Hospitalizations due to COVID-19 have also been declining. Late Sunday morning, 4,578 patients were being treated for the disease in Florida hospitals compared to Saturday’s 4,773. It is a drop of almost 800 since Thursday. Hospitalizations peaked at above 9,500 on July 23. The state’s positivity rate on tests returned Sunday was 5.2% after averaging about 10% for the past week.
Overall, the state has now reported 602,829 confirmed cases. The state has reported 10,534 deaths since the pandemic began appearing in Florida at the beginning of March. Last week the state has reported an average death rate of 125 per day and an average of 151 deaths per day during August. Only Texas, at 203 deaths, has a higher daily average over the past week. It has about 50% more residents.
The two most recent deaths reported in Northeast Florida are a 86-year-old woman in St. Johns County and a 71-year-old man in Clay County. According to FDOH, neither had contact with a positive case or known exposure from travel.
TAMPA, Fla. - The state of Florida's COVID-19 numbers are trending downward, from new cases to hospitalizations. Florida's percent positivity, the rate of new positive tests, is half of what it was just six weeks ago.
It's encouraging news when just weeks ago, Florida was breaking national records and not for good reasons. But health experts urge everyone to not let their guard down.
Governor Ron DeSantis, encouraged by Florida's COVID-19 data, announced Monday that the Miami Dolphins can soon allow a limited number of fans inside Hard Rock Stadium to watch.
"I think it is something that will give people a little bit of hope," DeSantis said.
That hope, of course, is driven by the numbers. He said that COVID-positive hospitalizations are down 50% in Florida. Sunday's number of 128 COVID-19 admissions was the lowest since late June.
Fox News
Florida theme parks should be allowed to start allowing more visitors, according to Gov. Ron DeSantis.
DeSantis said Wednesday that Florida is getting more “comfortable” with the idea of expanding capacity at its theme parks, including Walt Disney World Resort and Universal Orlando Resort, and will support those parks in the easing up of COVID-19 capacity restrictions as cases in the state appear to be declining.
DeSantis made his remarks at a roundtable with theme-park executives in Orlando, applauding their health and safety measures and claiming that the parks have not been hot spots for spreading the coronavirus.
He also said he believed "a lot" more guests would be willing to visit the parks if capacity regulations were relaxed.
“We think that the capacity can be increased,” DeSantis said. “When you have the protocols that they have in place, you know, we’re very comfortable at the state level.”
Last week’s Democratic convention sought to make four points: Joe Biden is a decent man, Donald Trump is horrible, the president bungled the pandemic and Mr. Biden would have handled it better because he grasped the threat from the start.
Whatever you think of the first three, the last is a fabrication. But the former vice president likes to say it anyway. In June he claimed President Trump “did not listen to guys like me back in January saying we have a problem, a pandemic is on the way.”
The Daily Signal
“Every single American should be wearing a mask when they’re outside for the next three months at a minimum,” said former Vice President Joe Biden at a recent press briefing.
“Outside” encompasses a lot, including places where a mask would have exactly zero effect. Normally, this kind of rhetoric is a merely simplified admonition to wear masks generally, but in this press briefing, Biden also endorsed a nationwide mask-wearing mandate, adding this gloomy justification: “The estimates by the experts are it will save over 40,000 lives in the next three months.”
More on that estimate in a moment. But first: Would such a mandate even be a good idea?
In short, no. The primary purpose of the broad masking guidelines is to reduce the transmission of the virus among asymptomatic or pre-symptomatic persons who do not know they are infected but are already contagious.
Washington Examiner
New daily deaths due to the coronavirus had fallen below 1,000 for three straight days from Saturday to early Tuesday, the first stretch of lower daily deaths in over a week.
The seven-day average number of new coronavirus deaths in the United States had dropped precipitously since the week ending Aug. 16, when the average was 1,061, according to data compiled by the New York Times. The average number of deaths reported in the week ending Aug. 23 was 968.
The single-day death toll rose on Tuesday, with 1,212 new deaths reported.
Average daily death tolls had declined from highs of about 2,000 in April to lows below 1,000 at the end of June. Yet cases surged in the Sun Belt over the summer and led to jumps in deaths.
Several hot-spot states have also seen declines in daily death rates. Deaths in Texas in the past seven days have dropped 14%. In Florida, the death rate has fallen 32%, while the death rate in Arizona fell 19%, according to Washington Post tracking data.
Other hot-spot states, however, are seeing rising daily deaths. California saw its seven-day rolling average of daily new deaths increase by 5%. The average increased by 6% in Georgia, by 32% in Tennessee, and by 4% in Mississippi.
The total death toll in the U.S. surpassed 178,000, and more than 5.7 million cases have been confirmed.
American Airlines will furlough 19,000 employees in the fall when federal aid that has bolstered the travel industry runs out, according to the New York Times. When combined with the thousands of employees who have taken buyout packages or agreed to take long-term leave, the airline will have roughly 40,000 fewer workers on Oct. 1 than it did before the pandemic began, a decline of about 30%. American Airlines executives urged Congress to extend more support to the aviation industry to protect jobs.
Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Stephen Hahn admitted that he overstated the benefits of convalescent plasma as a coronavirus treatment during a White House press briefing Sunday. He and President Trump cited preliminary findings from Mayo Clinic research, saying the treatment has been shown to reduce mortality by 35%.
What the researchers actually said was that patients who received plasma with a high level of COVID-19 antibodies within three days of diagnosis were about 35% more likely to survive another 30 days, compared with patients who received plasma with a low level of antibodies.
“What I should have said better is that the data show a relative risk reduction, not an absolute risk reduction,” Hahn said, adding that criticism of his statements was “entirely justified.”
South Korea has ordered all schools in the greater Seoul area to close and switch to remote learning until Sept. 11 as health authorities have warned that the country is on the verge of a large-scale COVID-19 outbreak, the Associated Press reported. South Korea has reported 12 consecutive days of triple-digit increases in coronavirus cases, pushing the entire caseload to 17,945, according to South Korea’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Education Minister Yoo Eun-hae said Tuesday that at least 193 students and teachers have tested positive for COVID-19 over the past two weeks in the capital region, where a renewed outbreak is threatening to erase progress the country made in the spring to contain the virus.
The Spanish government has authorized the military to shore up the country’s case tracing program as new clusters of infections have cropped up just days before the school year is set to begin, the Associated Press reported.
“There are 2,000 soldiers who have specific training in early detection and epidemiological surveillance,” Spain’s President Pedro Sanchez said Tuesday.
The Cabinet meeting took place after Spain’s health ministry announced more than 40,000 new cases of COVID-19 in the past week, the largest weekly increase since the end of March.
Eight-time Olympic gold medalist Usain Bolt has tested positive for the coronavirus after attending his birthday party in Jamaica on Friday, according to the Washington Post. Several pro athletes and celebrities attended the party, where guests did not wear masks or social distance. Prime Minister Andrew Holness said in a press conference that the police are investigating the circumstances surrounding Bolt's party.
Two European patients, one in Belgium and one in the Netherlands, were found to have been reinfected with the coronavirus, just one day after scientists in Hong Kong confirmed the first case of COVID-19 reinfection.
Dutch virologist Marion Koopmans said the patient in the Netherlands was an older person with a weakened immune system, according to ABC News. Belgian virologist Marc Van Ranst said the Belgian case was a woman who had contracted COVID-19 for the first time in the second week of March and for a second time in June.
Northern Irish singer Van Morrison, 74, slammed the “pseudoscience” backing socially distanced concerts and launched a campaign to rally musicians and producers to resume live shows with full-capacity audiences, the Guardian reported.
Morrison will reluctantly perform socially distanced concerts in England next month: “This is not a sign of compliance or acceptance of the current state of affairs, this is to get my band up and running and out of the doldrums. This is also not the answer going forward. We need to be playing to full-capacity audiences going forward.”
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COViD-19 by the numbers | COVID -19 Fatalities
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ICUs and hospital beds by the numbers | Current as of 8/27/2020
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19.80%
% of ICU Beds Available Statewide
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40.32% % of Pediatric ICU Beds Available Statewide
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23.86% % of Available Hospital Beds Statewide
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Governor Advocates Getting an AntibodyTest - You Could Save a Life
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Department of Children and Families
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An Update on DCF’s Quality Office
Accountability – a phrase often used yet, in some cases, difficult to explain. At DCF, accountability is an action. When working to keep children safe, support families, and protect the vulnerable, accountability is critical to understanding effective practices and opportunities for improvement.
Last year, Secretary Chad Poppell developed DCF’s Quality Office, which was codified by Senate Bill 1326 during the 2020 Legislative Session. The team is leading the implementation of this bill in a transparent, collaborative, and action-focused manner, while keeping the Florida’s families top of mind.
The Quality Office’s three areas of focus will overlap and build on each other to support individual programs and operations:
Education and Training will establish training and education standards and develop standardized, statewide curricula that supports DCF’s diverse and talented workforce.
Enterprise Performance Analytics will analyze performance metrics, evaluate program effectiveness, and lead performance improvement teams.
Quality Review will design quality review tools, conduct quality reviews of department programs, special reviews, and provide actionable feedback.
Right now, the team is working to redirect over 125 current positions to the office. They are primarily focused on child welfare, but will expand into other programs within DCF in subsequent years to drive integration and improve overall performance.
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Department of Emergency Management
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TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – A Florida emergency management search-and-rescue team is heading to Louisiana in anticipation of the landfall of Hurricane Laura. The team is expected to spend about two weeks, or however long it is needed, working after the storm, Division of Emergency Management spokesman Jason Mahon said Wednesday. According to Florida Chief Financial Officer and State Fire Marshal Jimmy Patronis, the team consists of highly trained fire service personnel from the Orange County, Orlando and Seminole County fire departments. The National Hurricane Center called Laura a “formidable” system, with a Wednesday morning advisory saying, “Potentially catastrophic storm surge, extreme winds, and flash flooding expected along the northwest Gulf Coast tonight. … Steps to protect life and property should be rushed to completion in the next few hours.” Tropical Storm Marco made landfall about 6 p.m. Monday near the mouth of the Mississippi River. As of Wednesday morning, Laura remained on a path in the Gulf of Mexico to reach an area near the Texas-Louisiana border by early Thursday. The Florida Division of Emergency Management on Tuesday sent three staff members to help Mississippi set up shelters that comply with coronavirus health regulations. On Tuesday, Gov. Ron DeSantis in a phone call with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott expressed a willingness to assist if the storm makes landfall in Texas, DeSantis spokesman Fred Piccolo said in an email.
Florida utilities also have sent crews to help restore electricity in the region. For example, Florida Power & Light Co. on Tuesday announced more than 300 employees and contractors were set to assist Entergy Louisiana and Entergy Texas with restoration efforts from Marco and Laura. Also, the Florida Municipal Electric Association said Wednesday that crews from public utilities in various parts of the state will help with restoration in Louisiana.
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Agency for Persons with Disabilities
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Boca Raton mom provides healing touch for children, adults through visits with personal ponies WPTV
The power of a pony is not to be underestimated. They have jogged the memory of an Alzheimer’s patient far into their memory loss, encouraged a child on the autism spectrum with an aversion to the taste of something cold to lick a popsicle, and prompted Sandra Seiden’s 4-year-old non-verbal son to speak.
That’s where the story of Personal Ponies Florida begins.
Seiden, the mom of four children, was determined to do anything to help her youngest undiagnosed son develop. While up late one night, she discovered a group called Personal Ponies and reached out.
"I figured, well, I’ll apply because everything is on a wait list with kids with special needs, so it’ll probably be a good eight years before our name comes up. And low and behold, two weeks later, she called and she had our very first pair of personal ponies," said Seiden.
That was nearly 17 years ago. The trained therapy ponies, Cookie and Sugar, arrived in Boca Raton.
"The day that they arrived, Jacob was four years old and he grabbed his mouth and he started squealing, my ponies, my ponies!” Seiden said.
Those were Jacob’s first words.
"His language exploded. He was a child who was not very independent and all of the sudden, he wanted to take the ponies for a walk by himself. I even found him pushing my hand away. He wanted to walk them, feed them, fill their water buckets. You name it, even help muck the stalls," Seiden said.
Seiden's mission to help her own son, who is on the autism spectrum and diagnosed with Prader-Willi syndrome, is now helping countless others around the state.
On a farm in west Boca Raton is where six therapy ponies now live, they participate in visits at the farm and also frequently hit the road.
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Florida Department of Corrections
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Florida Secretary of State Laurel M. Lee Announces New Website Celebrating the 100th Anniversary of Women’s Suffrage
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Secretary of State Laurel M. Lee today announces the launch of a new website to commemorate and celebrate the 100th anniversary of women’s suffrage on August 26, the date that the 19th Amendment officially became part of the U.S. Constitution. The website CelebrateSuffrageFlorida.com includes history about the struggle for suffrage, profiles of some of the Floridians who engaged in the fight, information about upcoming related events and exhibits, and additional resources for further study.
“With the adoption of the 19th Amendment, women were finally afforded the right to vote after more than 70 years of struggle. The perseverance of the suffragists is inspiring and we must never take the right to vote for granted,” said Secretary Lee. “I invite everyone to explore the website to learn more about this important milestone in American history.” Included on the website is a video in which Secretary Lee provides an historical overview of the suffrage movement in Florida. The website will be updated periodically to include information about additional exhibits and events that relate to women’s suffrage and women’s history. The website content was generated and designed by staff from many areas of the Department, including the Division of Historical Resources, the Office of External Affairs, and the Division of Library and Information Services.
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Agency for Health Care Administration
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Task force for reopening long-term care facilities finalizes recommendations for Governor DeSantis ABC Action News
For families with loved ones in long-term care facilities, you’re now one step closer to being able to see each other in person again.
On Wednesday, the Florida Task Force for the Safe and Limited Reopening of Long-Term Care Facilities approved their set of recommendations that will now head to the governor.
“We’ve got a lot of people in our nursing homes and assisted living facilities who are suffering from significant depression. We’re talking about that generally, about the importance of mental health,” said Secretary Mary Mayhew, with the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration.
Those recommendations include two types of visitation: “Essential Caregivers” and “General Visitation.”
Essential caregivers would include up to two family members or caretakers, who are designated in the health plan for each person in the facility. These caregivers would help provide basic needs like bathing, dressing, eating or emotional support. Essential caregivers could also visit the facility regardless of whether the facility has new COVID-19 cases.
General visitation on the other hand would include up to 5 visits per week for each person in the facility, as long as there have not been any new COVID-19 cases over the previous 14 days. General visitors would have to maintain 6 feet of distance from the person they are visiting.
In both cases of Essential Caregivers and General Visitation, making appointments and wearing PPE would be requirements.
During the meeting, Florida State Surgeon General Scott Rivkees emphasized the risks people age 65 and older face if they develop COVID-19.
He said that while these recommendations do require masks to be worn, masks only prevent 70 percent to 80 percent of particles from spreading, which is why mask-wearing is recommended in conjunction with social distancing.
Rivkees recommends that even though essential caregivers can come within six feet of their loved ones, extra caution should be taken.
“All measures should be taken to minimize contact within a six-foot distance,” said Surgeon General Scott Rivkees.
These recommendations will now head to the Governor’s Office before receiving final approval. The task force did not give a timeline for this process but said they expect it to be soon.
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Department of The Lottery
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Florida Department of Veterans' Affairs
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Most Popular State Benefit for Veterans
Property Tax Exemptions - Eligible resident veterans with a VA certified service-connected disability of 10 percent or greater shall be entitled to a $5,000 deduction on the assessment of their home for tax exemption purposes. Real estate owned and used as a homestead by an honorably discharged veteran with a service-connected, permanent and total disability is exempt from taxation.
Any partially disabled veteran who is age 65 or older, any portion of whose disability was combat-related, and who was honorably discharged, may be eligible for a discount from the amount of ad valorem tax on the homestead commensurate with the percentage of the veteran’s permanent service-connected disability.
Connecting veterans with earned benefits, services and support is the top priority of Florida's teleworking veterans' claims examiners. For assistance on this or any veteran-related issue, call (727) 319-7440 and they'll return your call within 24 hours. You may also email them at VSO@fdva.state.fl.us.
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Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
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Keys Weekly
Growing up along the Florida shores, Devon Pharo always looked to the ocean. His passion for the blue is true, and it’s translated into a career researching and working in the Florida Keys waters and reefs.
Born in Stuart, Pharo attended the University of Florida in Gainesville for undergraduate and graduate studies. He majored in biology and minored in wildlife ecology and conservation. With admiration for wildlife and habitat conservation, Pharo placed emphasis on marine species and environments. His academic studies ultimately took him to the Florida Keys. That led him to become a marine biologist on the restoration ecology team with the Florida Fish & Wildlife Research Institute (part of FWC) in Marathon and a full-time resident in the Upper Keys since 2018.
“The ocean has been a constant presence in my life,” Pharo said. “My mom and dad both instilled a love of the water and natural world in me. When I obtained my scuba certification, my fascination with the underwater world led to a career in marine science.”
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Florida Department of Economic Opportunity
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Governor Ron DeSantis announced at a roundtable Wednesday that the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO) will submit Florida’s application to participate in the Lost Wages Assistance (LWA) Program.
The program would provide additional temporary benefits for those eligible for Reemployment Assistance for weeks of unemployment ending on or after Aug. 1, 2020.
“On behalf of Floridians who are continuing to face challenges finding employment, I would like to thank President Trump for providing additional funding while they get back on their feet,” DeSantis said. “We appreciate the opportunity to provide this temporary assistance through the Lost Wages Assistance program.”
If approved, eligible Floridians would be offered $300 in assistance per week from the state.
To be eligible for this benefit, you must be currently receiving at least $100 in an approved Reemployment Assistance program weekly benefit amount and must certify that you are unemployed or partially unemployed due to the disruptions caused by COVID-19.
Pending approval of Florida’s application, payments will be retroactive to Aug. 1, 2020.
Those currently receiving Reemployment Assistance benefits, are unemployed or partially unemployed due to COVID-19 and are currently receiving at least $100 per week in Reemployment Assistance benefits will be eligible to receive the additional $300 benefits from the LWA funds funded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). This includes individuals receiving:
State Reemployment Assistance, including Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) and Unemployment Compensation for Ex-Service members (UCX);
Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC); Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA); Extended Benefits (EB); Short-Time Compensation (STC); Trade Readjustment Allowance (TRA); and Payments under the Self-Employment Assistance (SEA) program.
The LWA program will be administered similarly to the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation program. No additional application will be necessary. Eligible Floridians who are currently receiving Reemployment Assistance will receive their LWA benefits the same week they receive their weekly Reemployment Assistance benefits.
The DEO highly recommends that Reemployment Assistance claimants select direct deposit as their means of receiving benefits to ensure payments are received as quickly as possible.
Funding for this program comes from FEMA disaster relief funds. Guidance from FEMA and the U.S. Department of Labor indicates that states should be able to receive approximately three weeks’ worth of benefits upon approval, with additional weekly approval being granted on a weekly basis, depending on the remaining balance of the fund. However, funding could end at any time, and is contingent upon a required state match based on state re-employment assistance paid out during the period.
The DEO is currently preparing to implement the LWA program to ensure eligible Floridians receive the additional benefits as quickly as possible.
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Pent-Up Travel Demand Extends Summer Travel Into Fall Travel Pulse
With virtual learning and working from home, the summer travel season is being extended into the fall.
MMGY Global has found that Americans are looking to recoup lost summer vacation time spent in lockdown and are feeling more comfortable venturing out. This time, MMGY is calling “Stretch Season,” an extension of the summer travel season into the fall months driven by pent-up travel demand and the ability to travel while working and learning remotely.
“The season following Labor Day provides travelers an opportunity to extend their travel budgets during a more value-oriented period, especially in their own cities, regionally and in destinations that feature outdoor activities like beaches and parks,” said Clayton Reid, CEO of MMGY Global. “This new reality creates an opportunity to boost the travel industry and help stimulate economic recovery.”
MMGY Travel Intelligence’s ongoing Travel Intentions Pulse Survey, which measures the impact of COVID-19 on American travelers’ attitudes and changes in travel behavior, found that this could be a lucrative time for the travel industry.
Sixty-four percent of travelers expect to take a leisure trip within the next six months, and 54 percent of travelers say that they are more likely to travel in the fall this year than in previous years.
The research found that leisure trips planned for late July and August have shifted to the fall thanks to loosened cancellation policies and travel brands adapting quickly to the new marketplace.
Road trips remain popular with 73 percent of travelers feeling safe traveling in their cars. Families with kids doing remote learning can extend vacations and work and learn in their travel destinations.
Only 29 percent of business travelers are expecting to take a business trip in the next three months which creates an opportunity for those road warriors to extend time with friends and family and dedicate more time (and loyalty redemption points) to leisure.
Budget-minded travelers can take advantage of fall deals and savings by traveling during a typical shoulder season, stretching their budgets farther in sought-after destinations such as beaches and national parks.
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Florida Department of Law Enforcement
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FDLE donates confiscated stolen goods to Brevard County charities Florida Today
A truckload of stolen goods has been rerouted to good causes Wednesday, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
An investigation into an organized retail crime group resulted in the seizure of nearly $500,000 worth of health and beauty products, said Agent Jason Kriegsman, resident agent in charge of the Brevard and Volusia field office.
"This is from an investigation into a group of individuals that were going around Florida stealing all the various products," he said.
According to an affidavit from FDLE, various groups would walk into retail chains across the state — including locations in Brevard County — and walk out with high-value merchandise.
Razor blades, heartburn medication, tooth-whitening strips and other expensive items were stolen and then sold to a fence who would sell the items for a profit on eBay and other websites.
The suspects in the case would often walk into the stores, take the items from the shelf and simply walk out past all registers without paying before getting into a waiting car.
"The case ended and all of the judicial proceedings have concluded so we wanted to take all of the products that we could donate back to the community and the charities that are hurting," Kriegsman said.
Thousands of simple items such as toothbrushes and shoe sole inserts will now go toward Brevard County citizens in need, Kriegsman said.
FDLE used a combination of surveillance footage, witness statements and undercover stings in their investigation of the group.
Ultimately a dozen arrests were made and the primary fence, 38-year-old Jonathan Ouellette of Osceola County, was charged with money laundering and dealing in stolen property. He is serving an eight-year sentence in a Florida state prison.
Those items are now going toward several Brevard County charities: Habitat for Humanity, The Daily Bread, Aging Matters of Brevard, The Women’s Center of Brevard and Veteran’s Transitional Facility.
Kriegsman said the stores could not take the stolen goods back for liability reasons.
Amir Skopljak, operations manager for Brevard Habitat for Humanity, said the donation means a great deal to his organization. High-end thermostats that were stolen by the organized retail theft ring will now be used in new homes built by the group.
"Something like these thermostats are a big deal because not only will they be put into homes, it's something way nicer than what we usually get," he said. "It's going to give that much more positive energy."
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Florida Housing Finance Corpration
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Winter Park Construction Breaks Ground on $23M Madison Landing Affordable Community in Orlando
Seniors Housing Business
ORLANDO, Fla. — Winter Park Construction has broken ground on Madison Landing, an affordable seniors housing community in Orlando.
Development partners American Residential Communities and New South Residential paid $1.3 million for 5.4 acres of land for the project. The first phase will be a 77,473-square-foot, seven-story building totaling 110 units. Development costs for Phase I are estimated at $23 million.
Completion of Phase I is scheduled for September 2021. A second phase, not yet approved, would add 86 more units. The developers are pursuing future funding from Florida Housing Finance Corporation (FHFC) to complete Phase II.
Phase I will be 90 percent reserved for households making up to 60 percent of area median income (AMI), with the remaining units for those making less than 33 percent of AMI. The county reports that AMI is $68,100.
Winter Park Construction is the general contractor for the project, Blue Skies Studios is the architect and Evans Engineering is the civil engineer.
“The partners were awarded Low Income Housing Tax Credits from the Florida Housing Finance Corporation in March,” says Stacy Banach of New South Residential. “Wells Fargo is the equity investor. Madison Landing was selected by an Orange County selection committee to obtain a funding commitment for $747,000, which allowed the applicant to compete for a LIHTC award at FHFC. Financing.”
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Volunteer Florida Awards $360,000 in Funding to Support Communities Impacted by COVID-19 Yesterday, Volunteer Florida announced that $360,000 in funding will be distributed to five organizations that are working to implement an AmeriCorps Program in their community. Along with funding, organizations will receive technical assistance and support that will help them successfully manage a future AmeriCorps program. Programs will focus on helping community members that have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. “I am so proud of the work that Floridians are doing to not only stop the spread of COVID-19, but help their neighbors in need,” said Governor Ron DeSantis. “I applaud these organizations and the many others across our state that are stepping up and supporting community members who need a little extra help during this difficult time.”
“We were overwhelmed by the number of applications that we received for this funding opportunity – a true testament to the giving spirit of our state,” said Volunteer Florida CEO Clay Ingram. “When times get tough, Floridians rise to the occasion by protecting each other and serving each other. We look forward to supporting the work of these organizations in the years to come.” Awarded organizations will receive up to $75,000 for a one-year planning period to prepare for managing a future AmeriCorps program. These organizations may apply for grant awards subsequent to their planning year to implement their proposed program. Funding for AmeriCorps is made available by the Corporation for National and Community Service, the federal agency for volunteering and national service, and administered by state service commissions like Volunteer Florida. The following organizations received an AmeriCorps Planning Grant: Children’s Home Network (Hillsborough) Over the next year, Children’s Home Network will use the AmeriCorps Planning Grant award to create an education-focused mentoring, tutoring and recreational guidance program for children who are cared for by a grandparent or other family member. Florida Association of Healthy Start Coalitions, Inc. (Statewide) Over the next year, the Florida Association of Healthy Start Coalitions will use the AmeriCorps Planning Grant award to develop a program to support high-risk pregnant women, infants and their families. Literacy Alliance of Northeast Florida (Duval) Over the next year, Literacy Alliance of Northeast Florida will use the AmeriCorps Planning Grant award to design a program structure to address literacy gaps in the community, including family and digital literacy with a focus on increasing literacy gains in adults. Senior Resource Alliance – Area Agency on Aging of Central Florida (Seminole, Orange, Osceola, Brevard) Senior Resource Alliance will spend the next year developing a community-wide program focused on improving services and support to seniors. Services will focus on education, health, social support and support for independent living. University of Central Florida (Orange) The University of Central Florida’s downtown campus will use the next year to develop a program that will propel stronger educational, social and economic outcomes for residents living in poverty in Orange County.
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Department of Business and Professional Regulation
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Restaurants invest in tech tools to increase safety during the pandemic and beyond Smart Brief
As restaurant operators continue to look for ways to serve customers safely amid the coronavirus pandemic, many are outfitting their eateries with high tech solutions to increase sanitation and facilitate contactless payment and other touchless tasks.
Many of these new tools and systems come with high price tags, but operators increasingly view them as an investment in their restaurant’s future. The majority of the restaurant technology upgrades happening now are features that many operators already had on their radar -- the pandemic simply moved them to the top of the to-do list.
Expanded online ordering capabilities and delivery and pick-up options were the first to get fast-tracked when the pandemic forced restaurants to abruptly close their dining rooms back in March. Off-premises dining had been growing for years before the pandemic hit, but demand for delivery and drive-thru options skyrocketed once they became consumers’ only option for eating restaurant food. It’s likely that demand will remain high even as dining rooms reopen, and many restaurants are reacting accordingly by fine-tuning their takeout menus and carving out more space for online orders.
Several chains have announced plans for new store formats that cater to the social distancing mandates of the here and now, but will also stand up to increased demand for off-premises dining long term. Krispy Kreme’s New York City flagship store set to open next month will offer a grab-and-go section and a walk-up window. Starbucks and Taco Bell have both announced that they are speeding up the roll-out of new store formats designed to streamline mobile order pick-up.
These off-premises tactics are only half of the equation for most restaurants, which are also struggling with how to rebuild dine-in sales.
Beefed up safety, sanitation measures are here to stay
Food is only part of the reason consumers dine at restaurants, and as the pandemic presses on the pent-up demand for the full experience of dining at restaurants is growing. However, safety concerns are keeping many consumers out of dining rooms, even as they reopen. More than half of respondents in a Datassential industry survey conducted earlier this summer said they would not be comfortable with on-premises dining once the pandemic improves and social distancing is eased.
To combat this unease, Maryland-based Silver Diner has invested in an array of new safety features, including a three-tiered air purification system.
The hospital-grade system includes HEPA filters to purify the air as well as ultraviolet light in the air conditioners to disinfect air moving through the restaurant. An additional set of ultraviolet lights disinfect surfaces overnight.
The cost to install the system in all 18 Silver Diner locations and two Silver Brasserie locations totaled about half a million dollars, said Silver Diner executive chef and co-founder Ype Von Hengst. He said the chain is the first in the US to install such a system that combines air filtration with two levels of UV light disinfection.
“It’s a lot of money, but it’s a lot more money losing sales every day and trying to pay your rent and trying to pay your associates on half the sales, which is an impossible thing to do in the long term,” he said.
The percentage of sales coming from off-premises orders has nearly doubled during the pandemic, but Von Hengst said it’s imperative to bring customers back inside the restaurant’s four walls.
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Department of Juvenile Justice
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Florida Department of Elder Affairs
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A new tool gives you a personalized report on your COVID-19 risk WDBO.com Orlando, Florida — The tool was released by the Florida Department of Elder Affairs, but anyone of any age can take the assessment. The tool asks questions about a variety of things, such as underlying health conditions you have, the types of activities you are taking part in, your age, and the number of people living in your home. It will calculate your risk factors, and tell you how likely you are to be infected and spread the virus. It will also give you a safe behavior score, and will tell you how likely it is that you will experience severe effects from the virus if you do get it. I took the test, I’m happy to report that it said my severity risk was low. It said my risk of hospitalization is 3% and my risk of not surviving the virus is only 0.1%. You can take the test here to see how at risk you are.
How COVID-safe are you? Take this survey to get your score ClickOrlando.com On a scale of 1 to 10, how COVID-safe are you? The Florida Department of Elder Affairs wants to be the judge of that.
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Department of Management Services
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Department of Enviromental Protection
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District Receives Funding from Florida Department of Environmental Protection for Two Wellfields in Polk County
Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) awarded Southwest Florida Water Management District to assist with aquifer testing, feasibility, and preliminary design for the planned Southeast and West Polk Lower Floridan Aquifer (LFA) wellfields in Polk County. The projects are cooperatively funded between the District and the Polk Regional Water Cooperative (PRWC). Traditional water sources are nearing their sustainable limits in Polk County and alternative water sources will need to be developed to meet the projected needs.
“Addressing water quantity challenges requires aggressively pursuing projects that will develop the water supply resources needed to meet our state’s growing demand,” said DEP Secretary Noah Valenstein. “DEP is proud to partner on these projects that will help ensure a safe and sustainable water supply for this region.”
The Southeast LFA wellfield is planned for a location near the eastern boundary of the District in Polk County south of Highway 60. The water treatment facility site is north of Highway 60, and up to 15 wells will be spread along a 10-mile line south of the highway. The goal of this project is to use the brackish groundwater from the LFA in Southeast Polk County as an alternative water supply. The Southeast wellfield is a permitted supply, and after treatment through reverse osmosis, may deliver up to 30 million gallons per day (mgd) of high-quality drinking water to member governments of the PRWC.
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Department of Transportation
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Jacksonville Transportation Authority CEO Nathaniel Ford Sr. and Florida State College at Jacksonville President John Avendano signed a memorandum of understanding to expand the JTA's autonomous vehicle Test & Learn program on FSCJ's Cecil Center Campus. The expansion includes using FSCJ's Commercial Drivers License Test Track at the Cecil Center, the development of educational curriculum for autonomous vehicles and related technologies, and the eventual launch of an autonomous vehicle circulator on an FSCJ campus, according to an Aug. 26 news release. The JTA board of directors approved the agreement May 28. Ford said in the release the partnership will help educate and prepare the next generation of transportation professionals. "This initiative will not only support our students' learning and training, preparing them for the jobs of tomorrow, but we know it will also put a spotlight on our community, advancing the job market and the economy as a whole," Avendano said. The agreement lays the groundwork for an autonomous vehicle circulator to operate on an FSCJ campus in the future. JTA has been working with autonomous vehicle technology since 2017 as it plans to launch the Ultimate Urban Circulator program, a 10-mile Downtown transportation network planned to replace the Skyway and to expand that system through ground level connections into the surrounding neighborhoods. A request for proposals for the first phase of the project, the Bay Street Innovation Corridor, is scheduled to open in September. That phase is partially funded with a $12.5 million grant from the Federal Transit Administration.
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