Florida News That Impacts You – November 13th, 2024
Bottom Line: Your daily recap of the biggest news from around the state that impacts you in South Florida.
- A record number of tourists visited Florida in the third quarter. According to Visit Florida, an estimated 34.6 million visitors came to the state in the third quarter, a 1.8% increase over last year’s total. Through the first nine months of the year, an additional 2 million visitors have come to the state compared to a year ago with domestic visitors accounting for 92% of the total.
- Governor DeSantis announced Florida will open a new international trade development office in Italy next year, under the SelectFlorida office, which currently operates 18 international trade offices in 16 counties. According to the governor: Florida is greatly expanding its Italian presence, and we are pleased to announce our newest international trade office will be in Italy. Our brick-and-mortar presence here will continue the work of this trade mission in bringing more businesses, investment, and trade to Florida.
- The Martin County Commission unanimously voted to approve a revised plan to bring a Brightline station to the county on Tuesday. Following Stuart’s decision to back out of an already agreed upon plan to bring a station to the city, Brightline engaged county officials with a plan. Under the revised plan, Brightline will agree to a 40-year lease for a station near the Martin County Courthouse at 500 Southeast Flager Ave. with the county paying up to $15 million towards the construction of the station.
- Partly cloudy skies with wind picking up throughout the day as a cool front makes its way into our area. We’ll have highs in the low 80’s - which is typical for this date. The National Hurricane Center is tracking one system. A disturbance in the southwestern Caribbean Sea has a 90% chance of developing over the next seven days. Current forecasting suggests that the system will interact with the Yucatan Peninsula before making its way into the Gulf.
- Gas prices dropped three cents per gallon on Tuesday. The average price for regular unleaded in Florida is currently $3.05 per gallon. In Palm Beach County the average price is $3.23 per gallon, in Martin the average is $3.04 and in Indian River County the average is $3.04 per gallon.