SHARE:
Tuesday's Afternoon Update
What you need to know about Florida today
Blue Origin selects Florida's Space Coast for commercial aerospace operations
A $200 million investment by Jeff Bezos' privately-funded aerospace company will bring 330 new jobs to Brevard County. In a statement, Blue Origin announced their Orbital Launch Vehicle (OLV) will be designed, manufactured, launched and ultimately returned to Brevard County, Florida. This marks the first time all aspects of commercial spacecraft development and launch will be completed within the Space Coast. Full story is here. Also see the announcement by Gov. Rick Scott.
Florida earns a B- for small business friendliness
Small business owners strongly approve of Florida's tax regulations but find the state a challenging location to start a business, according to Thumbtack’s annual Small Business Friendliness Survey. For the survey, 1,709 owners were asked to rate state and city government on a broad range of policy factors. The results are better than in 2014, when Florida ranked #23 and earned a C+ overall. Read more and see full survey results for Florida here.
Celebrity chefs find new palates with cruise lines
Celebrity chefs have found a new landscape to tempt customers' palates, and it's not even on land. Cruise lines keep partnering with name-brand chefs to add a signature restaurant to their ships. More at the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
Florida Frontiers: St. Augustine marks 450 years
St. Augustine is the oldest continuously occupied European settlement in what is now the United States. The 450th anniversary of the founding of St. Augustine has been commemorated all year, culminating this week with concerts, art exhibitions, and a reenactment of the first landing of Menéndez. More at Florida Today.
Port Everglades' record trade tops PortMiami
Talk about international trade in South Florida, and many people immediately think PortMiami. Broward County's Port Everglades often gets overlooked, even though the seaport handles more cargo by tonnage, by shipping containers and by value than its southern neighbor. More at the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
Out of the Box
Lactation suites
A new room at Jacksonville International Airport is designed to provide mothers nursing children or lactating more comfort and security. The Lactation Suite has been opened at JIA for mothers travelling through the airport.
» More from the Florida Times-Union
Florida Icon
Peter Meinke
Peter Meinke, poet laureate of Florida, reflects on a life of poetry: “It would be a disaster to overemphasize STEM. I’m not against STEM, but we need to teach the arts, too, maybe now more than ever. People who are brought up on STEM, they need something to slow them down a little, both in their reading and in their lives.”
In case you missed it:
