SRQ President Rick Piccolo disputes the subtext of a comment to Jack Collins Jr. about the airport's fight against a multifamily community at the former Sarasota Kennel Club.
Citing airport operations noise concerns, the Sarasota Planning Board recommends against the approval of an apartment community at Sarasota Kennel Club.
Monday s Afternoon Update | 5/24/2021
Florida to drop $300-per-week benefit program for unemployment
The Florida Department of Economic Opportunity will withdraw from Florida s Pandemic Unemployment Compensation program. The program that brought a supplemental $300 per week will end June 26, as part of DEO s Return to Work initiative. Other federal benefits will continue but are set to expire on Sept. 6. DEO said they will continue to monitor job posting and hiring trends in this time. More from WESH.
Could Florida get another chance at high-speed rail under Biden?
Even without federal investment, there has been progress in Florida in bringing high-speed trains online. In 2018, Brightline launched the first privately operated high-speed rail line in the country linking Miami and Wast Palm Beach. The company recently passed the halfway point on construction to bring service between South Florida and Orlando. It’s scheduled for completion at the end of 2022. More from the Tamp
The deal is expected to help the state recoup $2.5 billion over the next five years, according to the governor s office. The Legislature would have to ratify the compact, which could be done during a special session the week of May 17.
That all could be for naught, though. U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland must first sign off on the agreement. If she does so, the deal will likely face a court challenge.
One court challenge may come from NoCasinos.org, the not-for-profit organization behind passage of Amendment 3 in 2018 requiring referendums on any future expansion of gambling.
Daniel Wallach, a Hallandale Beach attorney whose firm specializes in sports betting issues, said in an interview with The Daytona Beach News-Journal this week that no other state has been approved for sports betting in the way conceived in Florida. The compact between DeSantis and the Seminole tribe allows wagers beyond the bounds of the reservations.