Friday s Daily Pulse | 1/29/2021
Florida jobless claims jump as tourism faces long recovery
With first-time unemployment claims spiking last week, a top Florida economist is cautioning that the vital, but battered, tourism industry is in for another difficult spring because of COVID-19. Amy Baker, coordinator of the Legislature’s Office of Economic & Demographic Research, told lawmakers Wednesday that despite improved tax-revenue numbers for December, big-spending foreign tourists aren’t expected to flock to Florida in the coming months because of the pandemic. [Source: News Service of Florida]
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23,000 acres approved for cultivation as Florida hemp industry begins to take root
“South Florida by the numbers” is a web feature that catalogs the most notable, quirky and surprising real estate statistics.
The big story of 2020 Miami real estate was the extraordinary surge of new residents fleeing cities and states with high taxes, rising living costs, and burdensome Covid restrictions. In the opening weeks of 2021, it appears that several big-name tech and finance companies are also leaving places like Silicon Valley and Wall Street for sunny South Florida, presenting extraordinary opportunities for real estate sectors across the region. But is this a momentary outlier, or a transformational trend that will re-shape the market for years to come? We examine it in this edition of “South Florida by the numbers.”
Softbank will invest $100 million to make Miami a new tech hub
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Softbank COO Marcelo Claure said that talent and capital are essential components for Miami to become a tech city.
Venture capitalists and private equity investors are interested in putting more money in Miami, he said.
Softbank Capital, the Japanese multinational conglomerate, wants Miami to become a bigger player in the tech ecosystem and it s putting $100 million into the effort.
On Thursday, Softbank Chief Operating Officer Marcelo Claure and Miami Mayor Francis Suarez announced a $100 million venture capital initiative to support Miami-based businesses and tech startups that are relocating to the city.
Traffic tunnels in South Florida? Local leaders want them and experts say it’s possible logistically
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The question is whether this ‘tunnel vision’ will become a reality.
The possible plan is a cool one, starting out relatively small, though a three-mile underground tunnel certainly isn’t small.
The idea is that the first tunnel could lead to a whole system of tunnels running under our feet and freeing up traffic.
When thinking of the name Elon Musk, one probably thinks of exploring space, but not necessarily exploring the underground.
That’s exactly what Musk wants to do in South Florida.
Mayor Suarez wants to make Miami a hub for crypto-innovation
Miami Mayor Francis Suarez has named a new innovation advisor to act as a “concierge” for high tech companies and cryptocurrency entrepreneurs he hopes to attract to boost Miami’s position as an innovation hub.
During his State of the City address this week, Suarez announced the appointment of Saif Ishoof as the Mayor’s Senior Advisor for Innovation & Technology. This role will be in addition to Ishoof’s work at Florida International University (FIU), where he is Vice President of Engagement, and is part of a one-year partnership with the university.