Tomorrow: Jacksonville Webinar About Small Business Relief Program
Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry, JAXChamber, and VyStar Credit Union will host a webinar tomorrow, April 9th, to offer more information about their Small Business Relief Program. Earlier this week, the Jacksonville City Council unanimously approved a relief package for small businesses, which will pay a $1,000 grant and cover the fees, interest, and principal of loans for qualifying businesses that borrow from VyStar Credit Union. VyStar is preparing to loan up to $50 million to Jacksonville businesses. Register for the webinar here: https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/1972025088020037900
Floridians Can Now File for Unemployment Benefits Offline
Unemployed Floridians continue to struggle with the online system that administers unemployment filings. Complaints abound about the website repeatedly booting users off while trying to complete the application. With the influx of applicants from the COVID-19 crisis, Governor DeSantis has added 82 servers and more call center staffers. Now, applicants can file through the mail, though the online system is still recommended for faster processing.
Yesterday: Polk County Municipal Elections
Polk County held local elections yesterday despite COVID-19 exposure concerns, with voters wearing face masks and standing apart in line. Polk County Supervisor of Elections Lori Edwards explained that supervisors of elections are “just administrators” and “actually don’t have any authority to change election dates”. Steps were taken to protect voters and poll workers, including limiting the number of voters in each polling location and continuously disinfecting pens and surfaces. See election results here: https://www.wfla.com/news/polk-county/results-polk-county-2020-municipal-elections/
UNF Finds High Approval Ratings for Local Jacksonville Leaders
A UNF poll reveals high approval ratings for local Jacksonville leaders in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. More at WJCT: https://news.wjct.org/post/unf-poll-curry-gets-70-approval-covid-19-work-desantis-trump-trail-significantly
Pinellas County Updates Essential Services in Safer-at-Home Order
Pinellas County has updated the industries included as essential services under its safer-at-home order. Now included under the order are: alcoholics anonymous meetings, narcotics anonymous meetings, animal shelters, automotive dealers and repair shops, bicycle shops, gun sales, insurance businesses, moving companies, and realtors. Read full guidance here: http://pinellascounty.org/emergency/covid19/FAQ-Stay-at-Home-Order.pdf
Florida Attorney General Taking Action Against Price Gouging
Attorney General Ashley Moody is taking action against price gouging on supplies used for protection against COVID-19. Moody is encouraging Florida residents to report price gouging. Her office has issued over 40 subpoenas and secured $100,000 in refunds for consumers so far. If you have noticed price gouging, you can report it by calling 1-866-9NO-SCAM or visiting myfloridalegal.com.
Updated Numbers
There are now 15,456 cases throughout the state of Florida and 309 deaths. In Hillsborough County, there are 626 cases and 7 deaths. For updated data, visit: https://fdoh.maps.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/8d0de33f260d444c852a615dc7837c86.
Resources
WHO: https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/advice-for-public
CDC: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html
Florida Department of Health: https://floridahealthcovid19.gov/
U.S. Chamber of Commerce: https://www.uschamber.com/coronavirus
Tampa Chamber of Commerce: https://www.tampabaychamber.com/Your-Chamber/Newsroom/coronavirus-updates.aspx
Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce: https://jaxchamber.com/coronavirusbusinessresources/
Lakeland Chamber of Commerce: https://www.lakelandchamber.com/covid-19-resources/
