No lettuce for Florida manatees this winter: Experts end feeding trial after two years
For the past two winters, wildlife biologists in Florida experimented with hand-feeding lettuce to hungry manatees in the Indian River Lagoon because the animals’ natural food source, seagrass, was in short supply due to pollution problems. This winter, however, there will be no other feeding attempt. More from the Tampa Bay Times and Orlando Sentinel.
Duke agreed to pick up Idalia’s expenses
State regulators on Tuesday approved a Duke Energy Florida plan that includes collecting $91.9 million from customers in 2024 to cover costs related to Hurricane Idalia. The plan, approved unanimously by the Florida Public Service Commission, will take effect in January. To soften the blow on customers’ monthly bills, Duke will also spread the costs it already collects from a series of earlier storms, such as Hurricane Ian and Hurricane Nicole. More from News Service of Florida.
Fort Lauderdale’s venerable Galleria mall is for sale after failed redevelopment attempts
The decades-old Galleria Mall in Fort Lauderdale, once the epicenter of the city’s dining and retail scene, is looking for a buyer after years of trying to transform its identity into a 21st-century destination. CBRE, the country’s leading commercial real estate services firm, has taken on the task of finding a new owner. “An exceptional opportunity,” the firm said in a statement, “with incredible scale, luxury mixed-use redevelopment potential. A proposal of this magnitude has not been available in downtown Fort Lauderdale in decades.” More from the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
The service connects JaxPort with ports in the Middle East, India, Spain
The Jacksonville Port Authority announced Dec. 4 that Ocean Network Express will begin offering direct container service in May from Northeast Florida to seven ports in Pakistan, India, Saudi Arabia, Spain and Egypt. The weekly West Indies North America service will be operated by a fleet of nine ONE vessels. More from the Jacksonville Daily Record.
‘It is time.’ Miami artists are “rising” on the international stage this Art Week
Over the past few years, artists born and living in Miami have reaped the benefits of their hard work, talent, and status as an art center in their hometown as they now enjoy national and international attention more than ever. Historically, there has been a common local complaint that Miami’s local talent is overlooked during Miami Art Week, but that sentiment seems to have diminished as artists outgrow the shadow of Art Basel Miami Beach. More from the Miami Herald.
Eating in Florida
Orlando’s first Skyline Chili has a line of Cincinnatians
When Daniel Hunsucker opened the first-ever Skyline Chili franchise in metro Orlando on Nov. 8, there was a lot of excitement. Ohio transplants and people from the greater Cincinnati area flocked to the Winter Garden for a taste of home. There were lines out the door all week. Hunsucker, 32, ate Skyline five times a week as a high school student growing up in the Cincinnati suburb of Blue Ash. “I’m super passionate and I love the brand,” he tells me.
» More from the Orlando Sentinel.
Entertainment
A Tampa Bay family competes for $50K in ABC’s “Great Christmas Light Fight.”
A Hillsborough County family known for their extravagant Christmas lights will compete for a $50,000 prize on the 11th season of the reality series “The Great Christmas Light Fight” this December. Audra and Rodney Burton and their Sydney Road 2014 home in Valrico will appear on the Sunday, December 10 episode airing at 10pm on ABC.
» Read more from the Tampa Bay Times.
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