Floridians struggling since the start of the coronavirus pandemic are being forced to take jobs below their skill levels and at low wages as the state scales back unemployment assistance, opponents of reducing aid say.
Local Business
After Blaming Workers for Staying Home, Waste Pro Pledges to do Better, and Pay Better, in Palm Coast
Waste Pro issued its latest service-improvement plan to Palm Coast government after fines the city levies for poor service against the company increased for six successive months and the government threatened last week to end its $9 million contract with the waste hauler.
Florida Faces Dire Shortages of Restaurant Workers: ‘They Don’t Think We Are Worth the Money’
A survey from the National Restaurant Association in mid-May found that staffing levels at restaurants are below the industry standard, “with 84% of operators saying their current staffing level is lower than it was in the absence of Covid-19.”
Treating Workers Like They’re Disposable Is Bad Business
The entire fast-food industry rests on a low-wage, high-turnover foundation. And at those rare moments — like this spring — when new workers seem harder to find, the industry starts expecting its politician pals to cut away at jobless benefits and force workers to take positions that don’t pay a living wage.
Palm Coast Warns Waste Pro It May End Its Contract in 7 Days Over ‘Severe’ and ‘Unacceptable’ Deficiencies
Losing patience after repeated service failures by Waste Pro, Palm Coast government today declared the garbage hauler in breach of contract and began looking for other haulers while giving Waste Pro seven days to fix current problems.
Palm Coast Man, 55, Accused of Propositioning a Woman then Stabbing her and Her Boyfriend When She Said No
Rene Laso, 55, of Palm Coast, faces two felony counts of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon after allegedly stabbing a woman and her boyfriend when she refused money and sexual advances.
Rays of Promise: Boston Whaler Marks Reopening of Boating Plant, Projecting 400 Jobs and Orders Into 2023
Brunswick Corp. and Boston Whaler executives today formally reopened the former Sea Ray plant that shut down three years ago, projecting to ramp up over the next 12 to 24 months back to 400 jobs, and likely more beyond that: boat-buying is brisk and demand for Boston Whaler is back-ordered well into 2023, the executives say, ensuring the stability of the plant for years to come.
Flagler Unemployment Flat at 5.3% But Floridians Become a Bit More Optimistic
Flatness was the order of the month in April in Flagler County: The unemployment rate didn’t budget from 5.3 percent-a zone where it’s hovered, with bare ticks up and down, for eight months. The number of people on the unemployment rolls barely changed (2,519), so did the number of people with jobs (45,194).
Tabling Tonight’s Hearing, Whispering Meadows Ranch and County ‘Very Close to an Agreement’ as Talks Continue
Prompted by an outpouring of support for Whispering Meadows Ranch and talks started this weekend, the county is delaying for at least a month the hearing that had been scheduled for this evening’s County Commission meeting, where the commission was to decide whether to grant the ranch a permit to keep its operation on John Anderson Highway or force it to end operations there.
Whispering Meadows Ranch’s Fate Hangs on a County Commission Vote Monday After 14 Years of Serene Service
On Monday, the Flagler County Commission will decide whether to allow Whispering Meadows Ranch to continue operating as it has for nearly 14 years, as an equine therapy retreat for disabled children and veterans, or whether it will be shut down. But none of the commissioners have visited the ranch. Here’s a profile of Whispering Meadows.