Florida News That Impacts You – September 3rd, 2024
Bottom Line: Your daily recap of the biggest news from around the state that impacts you in South Florida.
- Florida’s Tool Time Sales Tax Holiday is taking place this week. The sales tax holiday, that provides sales tax exemptions for power tools, work boots, and supplies commonly used by trade workers began Sunday and continues through Saturday (the 7th). Sales tax exemptions of up to $300 are available for eligible items.
- Additional details are emerging from the now scrapped plan to develop nine Florida state parks. In an interview with the Palm Beach Post on Monday, James Gaddis, a cartographer in the Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s Office of Park Planning, admitted he leaked the plans publicly in an effort to stop the proposals. Gaddis said he was tasked with drawing the plans for each of the nine parks, but that he “was disgusted” with the plans and opted to leak the project instead. Gaddis’ admission confirms Governor DeSantis’ statement last week when he referred to the proposals as a “half baked” plan that was leaked. The state pulled the development plans for all nine parks last week following public backlash. Other reports have emerged suggesting that both Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus were involved in the plans for development of golf courses. Notably, the similarly failed 2011 effort to create a “Jack Nicklaus Golf Trail”, would have featured Nicklaus designing golf courses within state parks.
- Today is the deadline for people to collect over $300,000 in unclaimed funds from the Palm Beach County Clerk of Courts. The funds are the result of unclaimed vendor payments, refunds, deposits, juror checks and cash bonds that were allocated prior to January 1st of 2023, and have yet to be collected. Residents can visit the Clerk of Courts website for more information.
- It’ll be hot today with showers possible throughout the day and highs in the upper 80’s. Temperatures will be about 4 degrees warmer than usual for this date. The National Hurricane Center is tracking two disturbances. A disturbance in the Caribbean Sea is expected to drift towards the Yucatan Peninsula over the next few days with a 40% chance of development. A second disturbance off the coast of Africa likewise has a 40% chance of development over the next week, however it’s unlikely to impact populated areas.
- Gas prices exiting Labor Day weekend are 2 cents lower than a week ago. The average price for regular unleaded in Florida is currently $3.28 per gallon. In Palm Beach County the average price is $3.46 per gallon, in Martin the average is $3.34 and in Indian River County the average is $3.29 per gallon.