SEAWEED While it may sound like something from a horror film, a 5,000-mile-wide blob of seaweed is makings its way to Florida’s Gulf coast. The sargassum seaweed bloomed in the Atlantic Ocean and is traveling through the Caribbean to the Gulf of Mexico. The blob can potentially dump mounds of smelly seaweed along the Gulf coast this summer. In Barbados, it was reported that 1,600 trucks a day were used to clean up their beaches where piles of the seaweed reached up to 6 feet high.
TOURISM VISIT Florida estimates 137.6 million people visited the state in 2022. This represents a 5 percent increase over 2019, the last year before the pandemic, and a 12 percent increase over 2021.
LAW ENFORCEMENT BONUSES The Law Enforcement Recruitment Bonus Payment Program, passed in 2022 by the Legislature, has awarded 1,400 law enforcement officers with bonuses totalling $7 million. Thus far, 431 officers from 45 states and U.S. Territories have relocated to Florida and have taken advantage of the incentive. An additional $106 million has been distributed to first responders through the Essential First Responders Recognition Payment Program, which awards $1,000 to essential local government first responders.
CAPITOL EVENTS The Florida Department of Management Services has released new rules governing groups that wish to hold events in the Capitol complex. The events must “align with state agency missions,” and be sponsored by a government agency or legislator.