FYI: July 11, 2024

Bellow are some of the FYIs in this week’s edition. The entire content of this week’s FYIs and Insider sections is available by subscription only. To subscribe click here.

SUNNIER AND FASHIONABLE: Sun-protective clothing manufacturer Coolibar has moved its corporate headquarters from Minneapolis – hardly the nation’s sunshine capital – to Wynwood, which “allows us to design and, more importantly, test the products year-round that our customers count on to protect them,” said Sebastian Ozanne, chief brand officer. “Being in a fashion hub like Miami provides the foundation for a new corporate chapter that helps our product design teams stay abreast of the latest trends and creative innovative designs, technology-centered apparel, and accessories.” The corporation now occupies the entire third floor of the Wynwood Annex Building, 215 NW 24th St. It maintains its existing offices and manufacturing facilities in India and Thailand.

HIGH JOB GROWTH RANKING: The Miami area’s addition of 66,800 jobs from May 2023 to May 20124 was the fourth-largest of any metropolitan community in the nation, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics reports. The New York metropolitan area added the most jobs in that period, 144,400, followed by Houston with 81,700 and Dallas with 68,000. Lowest in job growth year over year among the 12 largest metropolitan areas was San Francisco, with 3,400 added jobs. Above that were Boston with 8,000 new jobs and Chicago with 12,700. The Miami area in the study includes Broward and Palm Beach counties as well as Miami-Dade.

EXIT THE MIDDLEMAN: The Florida Department of Transportation has asked Miami-Dade County commissioners to step out of the middle of grant proceedings and let the county’s airports seek, receive and spend federal and state grants without requiring commission approval each step of the way. Those grant activities appear regularly on agendas for commissioners to approve, which they generally do unanimously without discussion. But that delays the flow of grant funds that subsidize many airport projects, the state says. Instead, the state is asking the county to let the airports do what PortMiami already does: handle the grants internally and report to commissioners what is going on. A commission committee is to discuss the procedural change this week, along with added airport reporting requirements to keep commissioners in the loop.

GAS PRICE SPIKES: Gas prices in Miami spiked 13.5 cents per gallon on average last week, shooting up to $3.49, according to GasBuddy. That’s 12.3 cents per gallon higher than a month ago and 7 cents higher than a year ago. The national average meanwhile stayed flat last week at $3.46, up 3.7 cents from a month ago but 5.5 cents lower than a year ago.