March 18, 2024

Monday's Afternoon Update

What you need to know about Florida today

| 6/3/2013

Florida colleges cutting remedial education

Florida lawmakers have ordered a complete overhaul of the state's college remedial programs. While some researchers praise the legislation, which Gov. Rick Scott recently signed into law, college administrators fear that students are being set up to fail. Starting in 2014 the state's 28 community colleges, a large segment of students will be able to immediately enroll in college-level courses, regardless of their academic abilities. Last year 200,000 students had to take refresher classes in math, reading or writing to be accepted into college courses. Read more at the Orlando Sentinel.


Sales and Marketing Advice
To sell more, show how your business helps buyers accomplish their goals

You and your company should strive to become the experts that people turn to in your industry. But once you're established as an expert, the idea is to focus on your client's needs. Your audience wants to learn how to actually do something that will benefit them.

Florida Trend Business Profile

Old Colorado Inn Hotel, Stuart

Steven Vitale
Several years ago, Stuart real estate attorney Steven Vitale invested in some downtown buildings, including one built in 1914 as a hotel.
Continued...

» Ron Stein's full column is here.


Supreme Court OKs DNA swab in serious arrests

Police may take D.N.A. samples from people arrested for serious crimes, the Supreme Court ruled on Monday. "Taking and analyzing a cheek swab of the arrestee’s D.N.A. is, like fingerprinting and photographing, a legitimate police booking procedure that is reasonable under the Fourth Amendment," Justice Anthony M. Kennedy wrote for the majority. Read more at the New York Times.


Scott: Florida's crime rate at a 42-year low

From Gov. Rick Scott comes an op-ed piece (as seen in the Pensacola News-Journal):

"I am pleased to report that Florida is at a 42-year low crime rate because of the hard work of our state’s law enforcement and community agencies. Recently, we announced the 2012 Annual Uniform Crime Report, which shows Florida’s crime rate dropped 6.5 percent compared to 2011. The total number of crimes fell 5.7 percent from last year which translates into 43,536 fewer crimes in 2012. The number of violent crimes was down 4.3 percent, or 4,218 fewer crimes reported."


Small Business Advice
Step-by-step coaching improves employee performance

Coaching is one skill that managers should practice on a continual basis as it has become so much more important in recent times. With fewer staff members and a sustained emphasis on reducing costs, managers are being challenged to coax the best possible performance out of everyone on their team. The obvious answer here is to coach your employees to higher levels of effectiveness. Here's how to improve your coaching, step-by-step.
» Read more from Dr. Jerry Osteryoung

On the Brink

Scientists hope lab program saves butterfly (again)

Butterfly In 1992, the rare Florida Schaus swallowtail was brought back from the brink of extinction by a lab breeding program. At that time, thousands were released into the wild, and the species was saved. In the two decades since though, drought has dried out the swallowtail's habitat, and now only seven of the butterflies have been found in the wild. So the University of Florida's Museum of Natural History has swung into action, on the hunt for breeding females. » Full story at the AP.

Tags: Daily Pulse

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Incoming income tax instructor indicated
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Video Picks | Viewpoints@FloridaTrend

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