While all but ridiculing the county’s claim that it had broken the law by approving a lease amendment with Captain’s BBQ without putting it out to bid, Circuit Judge Perkins was far more receptive to the county’s claim that the amendment had not yet kicked in, and so could not have been breached. He all but drew a map for the county’s next attempt to dismiss the lawsuit, pending the taking of depositions.
Jobs & Unemployment
Who’s Afraid of a $15 Minimum Wage?
Forget assumptions. Forget fear-mongering PR releases chambered in baseless claims that a $15 minimum wage will cost jobs. When the most extensive analysis on the subject shows 20 times more people will live better than lose jobs, it’s case closed.
Economy Adds 638,000 Jobs, Lowering Unemployment Rate to 6.9%; Half Covid Losses Recovered
The U.S. unemployment rate fell a full percentage point in October, to 6.9 percent, as the economy continued its steady if fitful recovery from coronavirus-related job losses, adding 638,000 jobs in October. The gains would have been higher had it not been for the loss of 147,000 temporary Census jobs.
Flagler Falls 1% Short But Florida Voters Approve $15 Minimum Wage Phased in By End of 2026
The hike in the minimum wage will be phased in through Sept. 30, 2026, but it will represent a significant move in a state heavily dependent on tourism and the service industry for jobs. It was put on the ballot with the financial help of well-known Orando trial attorney John Morgan.
Disney Will Lay Off More Than 11,000 Union Workers as Covid Keeps Visitors Away
The layoffs are part of the Walt Disney Company’s plans to lay off 28,000 employees in the U.S., due to prolonged closures at parks in California and limited attendance in Florida. Disney employs about 77,000 people in Florida.
Unemployment Ticks Down to 6.2% in Flagler and Up to 7.6% in Florida as Recovery Slows
Flagler County’s labor force had been setting records and moving toward the 50,000 mark just before covid struck. It is now at 45,902, down from 47,459 a year ago. There are 2,700 fewer unemployed persons in the county today than there were a year ago.
Amendment 2, Raising Minimum Wage $1 a Year Until 2026, Would Lift Pay for 2.5 Million Workers
While the opposing camps on Amendment 2 offer those dramatically different pictures about what will happen if the minimum-wage measure passes, political experts anticipate that the outcome of the vote on the proposed amendment — one of six on the Nov. 3 ballot — will be close.
Daytona State College Gets Nearly $1 Million Grant to Help Covid Unemployed or Furloughed Back to Work
DSC’s Rapid Credentialing programs may be completed in as little as one to 18 weeks to assist unemployed, underemployed, or furloughed workers. Qualifying participants may be able to qualify at little or no cost depending on the program selected.
Florida Jobless Claims Up Again to Highest Number in 4 Weeks Despite Lifted Restrictions as Layoffs Pile Up
First-time unemployment claims jumped last week to 40,200 in Florida, up from 32,400 the previous week, as a growing number of major entertainment and travel-related businesses, including Disney and Universal cut hours and lay off employees.
Unemployment Rate Falls to 7.9% But Jobs Recovered Slow By More Than Half, to 661,000
The national economy returned 661,000 jobs to the workplace in September, less than half the 1.5 million added in August, as the pace of the recovery slowed and the unemployment rate fell to 7.9 percent. Personal income flattened in August and spending slowed as unemployed Americans lost their supplemental federal unemployment benefits.
Jobless Claims Are Down Across Florida, But Companies Are Imposing Large-Scale Layoffs
Florida is expected to end its participation in the federal Lost Wages Assistance program, which provides $300-a-week in benefits on top of state benefits. Nothing else has been lined up to replace it.
From Antagonism to Annexation: How Airport Commons Shopping Center Came to Love Palm Coast
The Palm Coast City Council this week annexed the 4-acre shopping center known as Airport Commons, opposite Wawa, on State Road 100, in a big shift from threats to sue the county over disagreements about it two years ago.
Jobless Claims Ease to 36,541 in Florida But Permanent Layoffs in Tourism and Hospitality Loom
The state’s latest number is down from an adjusted total of 45,590 first-time claims during the week that ended Aug. 29 and 51,647 claims during the week that ended Aug. 22.
Flagler’s Unemployment Back Up to 10.2%, Florida’s Up to 11.3% as Covid Surge Takes Economic Toll
After dropping sharply to 9.4 percent in June–down almost five points from the month before–Flagler County’s unemployment rate rose again, to 10.2 percent in July, a reflection of the coronavirus resurgence that began and June.
As Covid-Related Layoffs Hit Courthouse, Clerk of Court Gets, $250,000 Emergency Appropriation
Flagler County Clerk of Court Tom Bexley said his office saw $600,000 in lost revenue, the reduction from 62 jobs to 54, including four actual layoffs, and uncertainties ahead, requiring a $250,000 emergency appropriation to stave off further cuts.
Trump’s Dangerous Lies About the Covid Economy
Because of this resurgence, many states are pausing plans to reopen and some are reimposing restrictions. But these restrictions are not the reason the economy is slowing. They are the necessary consequence of allowing the pandemic to get out of control.
As Bars Must Wait Longer for Reopening, DeSantis Mulls Over Definition of ‘Essential’ Worker
The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last month put out new symptom-based testing guidance that would reduce the quarantine time for people not showing symptoms while recovering from the virus.
1.8 Million Jobs Return in July, But Pace of Gain Is Half That of June as Covid Scuttles Activity
The number of people holding jobs remains 12.9 million (or 8.4 percent) below February’s level. The current unemployment rate is 6.7 percentage points above that of February.
Flagler’s Unemployment Rate Drops to 9.7% in June as 2,200 Reclaim Jobs, Just Before Covid Resurgence
The number of unemployed fell from 6,100 in May to 4,371 in June in Flagler, pointing to a substantial rebound, though the surge in Covid-19 cases statewide and in Flagler since the June 5 Phase 2 reopening is casting doubt on the extent of the recovery.
Flagler Beach Has No Plans to Close Beach Over July 4 Weekend, and Will Make Free Shuttle Buses Available
As several counties in South Florida close their beaches over Independence Day weekend, Flagler Beach will keep its beaches open and make free shuttle buses available for visitors, to alleviate traffic and parking on the island.
Flagler Unemployment at 14.8% in Slight Improvement from April, But Florida Rate Rises to 14.5%
Flagler County’s unemployment rate was at 14.8 percent, a slight decline from the 15.2 percent rate in April but a smaller decline than expected as the economy began swiftly reopening at the beginning of the month.
Stunning Victory for Transgender and Gay Rights as Supreme Court Makes Protections Explicit
The decision will have far-reaching consequences regarding LGBTQ rights beyond employment, as it now explicitly lays out a prohibition against discrimination that cannot apply in employment situations without also applying in housing, education, the military and elsewhere.
165 Teachers and Other Staffers Qualify for School District’s Offer of Voluntary Early Retirement
Nearly 10 percent of the Flagler County school district’s workforce qualify for an early-retirement offer, the first in a decade as employees contend with Covid-19 anxieties and the district weighs difficult budget years ahead.
Short-Term Vacation Rental Regulations Vary Unpredictably From County to County
Some counties are mandating a 24-hour wait between bookings, while others are requiring “sufficient” or “adequate” time for cleaning and disinfecting.
Economy Rebounds, Adding 2.5 Million Jobs as Reopenings Bring Unemployment Down to 13.3%
Some 2.5 million people returned to work in May, lowering the unemployment rate to 13.3 percent, from 14.7 percent, and allaying fears of a depression-like contraction ahead.
206,000 Unemployment Claims Filed in Florida Last Week, On Eve of Phase 2 Reopening
Phase 2 reopening includes allowing bars, movie theaters and other entertainment venues to partially operate in all but three South Florida counties.
Flagler County’s Unemployment Vaults to 15.4%, 6th Worst in Florida, With Record 7,000 Jobless
In April, the number of jobless Flagler County residents was at 6,795, a number never seen in Flagler’s or Palm Coast’s history. The figure is an undercount: many more have filed for unemployment since, according to weekly initial claims.
Problems Persist for Florida’s Unemployed, Who Are Told to Expect Long Waits on Claims
Florida has scrambled to bring on more computer servers, set up a backup system for people to apply and allowed people to submit claims on paper applications.
The Bailout Is Working — For the Rich
The economy is in free fall but Wall Street is thriving, and stocks of big private equity firms are soaring dramatically higher. That tells you who investors think is the real beneficiary of the federal government’s massive rescue efforts.
Economy Loses 20.5 Million Jobs in April, Unemployment Rate at 14.7%, Worst Since 1939
The April figures are an undercount, as they represent only a partial survey of actual job losses in April. Those losses are closer to 30 million or more, according to the cumulative total of first-time unemployment claims filed over the past few weeks.
Florida Regulators Issue Permissive Rules for Restaurants In Reopening Steps
Servers and other employees won’t be counted toward limits on occupancy when restaurants reopen Monday under coronavirus guidelines, the state’s top business regulator said.
Saturday in Flagler: 3 Massive Food Drops at 4 Locations In Unprecedented Reflection of Aid and Hardship
Thousands of families will line up in cars for food distributions at Palm Coast City Hall, Parkview Church, on Education Way off U.S. 1 and at Wickline Center in Flagler Beach in a day of aid reflecting the crushing needs provoked by the coronavirus emergency.
More than a Fifth of Americans Unemployed as 1st Time Claims Keep Surging and Checks Keep Lagging
The total number of first-time claims filed in Florida since the start of the coronavirus emergency totals 1.6 million in a civilian labor force of 10.5 million, placing the state’s unemployment rate at over 15 percent.
Florida Jobless Claims Nearly Triple to Over Half a Million in a Week, U.S. Unemployment Over 16%
More than one in 10 new jobless claims–505,137 first-time applications of the 4.4 million new claims–across the United States last week were made to Florida’s overwhelmed unemployment system.
“We’re Not Opening Up The County,” Commission Chairman Cautions as Beaches Partially Reopen
The Flagler County Commission and Flagler Beach reopened their beaches partially starting Wednesday, but officials’ cautions against a premature, broader reopening are not all on the same page.
Consumer Confidence and Businesses Aggressively Implementing Safety Measures Will be Key to Rebound
Getting people to dine out, board airplanes and visit resorts will require increased confidence that businesses are aggressively implementing enhanced hygiene measures to reduce the spread of Covid-19, members of Gov. Ron DeSantis’ task force on reopening the state said Tuesday.
American Carnage: How Donald Trump Is Killing Us
The coronavirus has mutated into ideological variants. We are moving from a natural disaster to a man-made one, from statistically unavoidable deaths to deaths willed by indifference, ignorance, selfishness, and the political calculations of a single man. The consequences will compound rather than mitigate the pandemic.
Florida Task Force Looks for Answers on Reviving Economy and Making Testing More Widespread
The push to get businesses back open comes as public-health experts have warned social distancing restrictions should not be lifted until the numbers of new infections have slowed or stopped and there is widespread immunity.
Covid-19 Advice: 7 Lessons America’s Governors Should Not Ignore as They Reopen Economies
We spoke to frontline experts from around the globe and have compiled a list of recommendations for reopening U.S. states. Their consensus? It’s tough to find policies that simultaneously save lives and livelihoods.
Only 4% of Florida’s Unemployed Have Received Checks Since Losing Their Jobs
The state’s benefit checks of $275 a week remain among the stingiest in the nation. Separately, 23,801 checks have gone out to people who have qualified for federal money under a new federal stimulus law. The federal payments go up to $600 a week.
Millions of Americans Might Not Get Stimulus Checks. Some Might Be Tricked Into Paying TurboTax to Get Theirs.
Congress gave the IRS the job of sending out coronavirus rescue checks. But the underfunded agency is struggling, while for-profit companies like Intuit have started circling, hoping to convert Americans in need into paying customers.
5.2 Million More Initial Claims Push Unemployment Rate Past 13%, Nearing Great Depression Figures
In Florida, the last four weeks of claims totals 652,000 which, combined with 291,000 unemployed Floridians before the crisis–a five-decade low–approaches 1 million unemployed, placing the state’s current unemployment rate at around 9 percent and doubling Flagler’s unemployment rolls, past 4,000.
Crush of Initial Claims Push U.S. Unemployment Rate Past 10%, Florida’s Past 7% and Rising
Initial unemployment claims totaled 6.6 million for the week ending April 4 across the nation, and 169,885 in Florida. In the last three weeks, initial claims have totaled 16.8 million in a labor force of 163 million. That equates to an unemployment rate of 10.3 percent, a rate never reached during the Great Recession.
As Florida’s Unemployment Compensation System Collapses, DeSantis Tries to Focus on Improvements
Hundreds of call center operators are being rushed through training, paper applications are being made available and dozens of computer servers were brought from Orlando over the weekend to boost the online system’s capacity.
Coronavirus Kills Longest Economic Expansion On Record With 701,000 Job Loss in March, Much Worse to Come
The longest economic expansion on record, a 113-month streak that netted 22 million jobs between October 2010 and February 2020, is over. The economy shed 701,000 jobs in March and the number of unemployed persons grew by 1.4 million.
Half-Measures Harm: Lock-Down Flagler and Florida Now. Test Everyone.
The only option to buy time and minimize coronavirus deaths until universal testing is available is to enforce a lock-down, without which voluntary half-measures will only prolong harm to the economy and increase the death toll.
Labor Groups Plead: Florida’s $275-a-Week Unemployment Checks, Among Lowest in Nation, Aren’t Enough
Union representatives and workers warned of a “massive wave of unemployment” hitting the state as they called on Gov. Ron DeSantis to expand jobless benefits.
Showing No Signs of Infection Yet, U.S. Economy Adds 273,000 Jobs, Unemployment at 3.5%
Not yet showing signs of disruption from the coronavirus, the national economy in February added 273,000 jobs, leaving the unemployment rate where it’s hovered, at 3.5 percent, for the past four months.
Hack This: Palm Coast Is Onto Something With Tech Beach Competition
Palm Coast’s Tech Beach Hackathon last weekend points the way to a more useful form form of economic and innovative development, especially when contrasted with the enormous waste of dollars and resources over the past years at the county’s economic development department.
Palm Coast’s Inaugural Tech Beach Hackathon Glimmers With Stress-Tested Innovations
Palm Coast’s first “Tech Beach Hackathon” at City Hall was a weekend cramming session of tech developers connecting their just-designed apps to local healthcare problems looking for a solution.