Florida
How some business owners in Southwest Florida are recovering, almost two months after Hurricane Ian
After Hurricane Ian hit the southwest Florida in late September, Zac “Captain” Varner needed to wait seven days to see if his enterprise, Peace River Charters, was swallowed by the storm.
Rain and winds from Hurricane Ian prompted record-breaking flooding alongside the Peace River that put all six buildings at his Arcadia-based headquarters underneath water.
“Full devastation,” he mentioned. “Naturally, as a result of there’s so many parts to my enterprise, it was a whole lot of thought and planning on the place to begin first.”
Stationed on two websites alongside the Peace River in DeSoto County, his crew focuses on varied river and land excursions by airboat, horseback and “swamp buggy,” a marsh-traversing car much like a monster truck. The corporate, which has been in enterprise for ten years, additionally provides cabin leases, a bait-and-tackle store and an alligator exhibit.
“We’re form of a one-stop out of doors vacation spot store for southwest Florida,” he mentioned.
Varner mentioned that November sometimes marks the start of their busy season that lasts by means of April. Sometimes, this contributes to a dip in unemployment in Florida’s southwest counties.
However throughout a labor pressure replace on Friday, the chief of workforce statistics and financial analysis for the Division of Financial Alternative mentioned he “expects these numbers to go the opposite manner.”
“That is the primary month the info will present the impacts of Hurricane Ian,” mentioned Jimmy Heckman.
Statewide knowledge present unemployment elevated to 2.7% in October, up from 2.5% in September.
In the meantime, the labor pressure total continues to develop, with Heckman saying that record-breaking migration to the state of Florida is a possible contributor to constant labor pressure will increase in latest months.
READ MORE: Florida’s jobless fee climbs after Hurricane Ian
Varner mentioned he usually employs round 20 full-time staff. With amenities broken and river excursions halted till additional discover, his total crew has transitioned to part-time work, and he’s needed to get artistic to maintain them on payroll.
“So the month of October, a whole lot of our work was outdoors of the river excursions,” he mentioned.
“We do not have the amenities proper now. We do not have our bait and deal with store. We do not have our alligator displays open but. It is having to handle hours — and naturally — attempting to offer individuals as a lot work as we are able to.”
Varner negotiated with DeSoto County and different companions to contract odd jobs for his crew, like particles removing and upkeep on photo voltaic panel fields.
He mentioned the Florida Small Enterprise Emergency Bridge Mortgage Program, activated by Gov. Ron DeSantis to assist small companies get well, saved his enterprise afloat by means of October. He is additionally banking on a bodily catastrophe mortgage, distributed by the U.S. Small Enterprise Administration (SBA), to come back by means of.
Varner mentioned the prospect of rebuilding after a hurricane is made extra grim by the risky prices of supplies and labor because the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It is positively a giant concern,” he mentioned. “It is laborious to actually get a quantity down on what these prices are going to be as a result of all the pieces is continually fluctuating.”
In keeping with SBA knowledge, over $900 million in bodily catastrophe and financial damage loans have been authorised for small enterprise house owners recovering from Ian statewide. Enterprise house owners in counties from the better Tampa Bay area account for over $119 million in lending, with 114 recipients in DeSoto County at simply over $6 million in particular catastrophe loans.
“I do really feel like we’re resilient as an organization, and we have needed to overcome some pure disasters and pandemics earlier than,” Varner mentioned. “It’s positively is a problem for our staff — you go from being a well-oiled machine to coping with managed chaos.”
Gabriella Paul covers the tales of individuals residing paycheck to paycheck within the better Tampa Bay area for WUSF. She’s additionally a Report for America corps member. Right here’s how one can share your story along with her.
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/WTBNTYVF5REP5AX4EQNNDHWXSQ.png "‘By any means necessary,’ Mississippi mom determined to adopt 6 siblings")
TCU men’s basketball started their season off with a bang. The Frogs dominated the Florida A&M Rattlers 105-59 Monday.
It is tough to find many flaws about this win. Pretty much every aspect about the Frogs was a positive.
Here are some notable stat differentials from the win:
|
TCU |
Florida A&M |
|
|---|---|---|
|
FG Percentage |
55% |
33% |
|
3FG Percentage |
47% |
24% |
|
Total Rebounds |
47 |
29 |
|
Offensive Rebounds |
18 |
9 |
|
Blocks |
3 |
0 |
|
Steals |
8 |
3 |
|
Assists |
29 |
8 |
Understandably, they did play against subpar competition in Florida A&M, but this was a highly efficient win that will help TCU’s rankings long term.
There should rightfully be optimism for this team.
One of the biggest stories surrounding this year’s TCU team is the amount of youth on the roster.
TCU’s bench rotation includes four freshman and one true sophomore, and they all played well against the Rattlers.
Here are the five young guys’ statlines:
Vasean Allette: 20 points, 9-13 FG, 5 rebounds, 3 assists
Jace Posey: 11 points, 3-4 3FG, 3 rebounds, 2 assists
Isaiah Manning: 10 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal
Micah Robinson: 7 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists
David Punch: 7 points, 3-4 FG, 3 rebounds, 2 blocks
This youth is one of the biggest question marks for TCU this season and how they will step into these roles.
It is safe to say this is a stellar start for this group as they hope to keep these performances going.
Ernest Udeh Jr. has taken a massive step this season from last, and the additions of guards Frankie Collins and Noah Reynolds have helped this jump drastically.
Udeh Jr. tied his career-high with 13 points along with 11 rebounds for his second career double-double.
Collins and Reynolds have done a stellar job getting him the ball and running the offense a lot better than last season.
Jamie Dixon touched on this postgame, saying how it is nice for the offense to have “pass first” guards.
Jamie Dixon said Noah Reynolds and Frankie Collins are more “pass first” guards than last year.
Noted that Avery Anderson III and Jameer Nelson Jr. were more “score first” last year
— Nick Girimonte (@GirimonteNicky) November 5, 2024
These three players are probably the most important guys for the Frogs to have success this season, so establishing this connection early is extremely valuable as TCU goes deeper into their schedule.
Jamie Dixon
Jace Posey, Vasean Allette, and Frankie Collins
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When the Florida Gators and Texas Longhorns faced off in 1940, the Longhorns shut out the Gators 26-0. Since then, the programs have combined for a total of 1,285 wins, 34 conference titles, and seven national championships.
A lot has happened as you can tell, but finally, both teams will face off again, this time, as members of the same conference.
The Florida Gators (4-4 overall, 2-3 SEC) looked dangerous last week against the Georgia Bulldogs with backup quarterback D.J. Lagway before his untimely injury in the second quarter. The Gators were forced to turn to freshman Aidan Warner who failed to keep the Gators in the lead. Florida eventually lost 34-20.
Lagway hasn’t been ruled out for the Texas game, but if he can’t make it back in time, Warner will once again be out there for Florida which shouldn’t be particularly a tough task for the Longhorns’ defense who should have Andrew Mukuba come back after losing the defensive back to injury in the Georgia game.
But the Texas offense will have a taller task. Don’t let the score confuse you against Georgia. The Gators defense stomped on Georgia before mistakes from the offense and special teams started haunting the team. The Gators in their last two games against Kentucky and Georgia have had six interceptions, a concerning development for Texas QB Quinn Ewers who has thrown an interception in every game this year he has played in (except for Michigan) including two against Vanderbilt last game.
Texas will need running backs Jaydon Blue and Tre Wisner to have big games. The Gators’ defense has allowed more than 140 rushing yards in each of their last three games this season and ranks second to last in rushing yards allowed in the SEC at 165 yards a game.
With Texas favored to win by -21.5 points and ESPN giving Texas a 90.9% chance, it could be easy for Texas fans to write off Florida as another victory for the 7-1 Longhorns. But Florida, who hasn’t had a winning season in over three seasons, will have a chip on their shoulder and aren’t a stranger to playing top-ten opponents to their level. If you remember, Florida took Tennessee to overtime in Knoxville just a couple of weeks ago. And if Florida plays Texas like they played Georgia, with Lagway or not, then Texas could be in trouble.
But Texas is hungry to prove themselves as a top team in the nation again. A big statement win could be just that.
2024 record: 4-4, 2-3 in the SEC
Head Coach: Billy Napier
Passing: QB D.J. Lagway
2024 stats: 56 for 92 for 1,071. Six touchdowns and five interceptions.
Rushing: RB Montrell Johnson Jr.
2024 stats: 70 carries for 373 yards and four touchdowns
Receiving: WR Elijhah Badger
2024 stats: 24 catches for 560 yards and two touchdowns
Tackles: DB Trikweze Bridges
2024 stats: 41 (19 solo)
Sacks: EDGE Tyreak Sapp
2024 stats: 3.5 sacks
Interceptions: DB Devin Moore
2024 stats: two interceptions, two pass deflections
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Other Texas Longhorns News:
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ORLANDO, Fla. – On the eve of the November election, Floridians are seeing some of the lowest prices at the gas pump in 2024.
According to AAA, the state average for regular gas dropped 13 cents per gallon last week. On Monday, the state average reached $3.01 per gallon, nearly 20 cents below where the average price was this time of year in 2023.
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“Florida gas prices are at their lowest levels since January 2024,” said Mark Jenkins, spokesman for AAA. “Over the weekend, more than 60% of Florida filling stations had gas prices below $3 a gallon. There’s a good chance the state average dips below $3 a gallon in the coming days.”
In Orlando, the current gas price average fell to $2.98 a gallon.
Florida’s current average is almost 10 cents lower than the national average of $3.10 per gallon.
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