Pinellas Business News, April 2020: COVID-19 Resources & Info | Donations | SBA Virtual Office Hours and Webinars

COVID-19 Resources for Business We have compiled and are regularly updating a web page of information about COVID-19 for Pinellas County businesses. Please visit www.PCED.org/covid19to see the eligibility requirements for available loans, “Safer at Home” guidance and links to resources. Pinellas County’s “Safer at Home” Order is in effect as of 12:00 p.m. March 25, 2020. Full details for…

In Letter to Trump, DeSantis Calls for Major Disaster Declaration for Florida

Gov. Ron DeSantis sent a letter to President Donald Trump Monday formally requesting that Trump declare a Major Disaster as the state responds to the coronavirus outbreak. In his letter, DeSantis asked for the inclusion of several individual assistance programs in the declaration, including: Disaster Unemployment Assistance; Crisis Counseling; Community Disaster Loans. Disaster Supplemental Nutrition…

May 8th deadline to apply for emergency loan for small businesses impacted by COVID-19

Tallahassee, Fla. – Today, Governor Ron DeSantis activated the Florida Small Business Emergency Bridge Loan Program to support small businesses impacted by COVID-19. The bridge loan program, managed by the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO), will provide short-term, interest-free loans to small businesses that experienced economic injury from COVID-19. The application period opens tomorrow, March…

Crowdsourcing to Fight a Pandemic

In city halls across the country, mayors and their staff are scrambling to find creative solutions to confront the overwhelming crisis brought on by the coronavirus pandemic. … Cities are rapidly crowdsourcing pandemic response ideas from experts, community leaders and other local governments across the country. This sharing and cross-pollinating of policy ideas through Twitter,…