Photo: Norma Lopez Molina
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Tuesday's Daily Pulse
What you need to know about Florida today
Florida Trend Exclusive
Floridian of the year: Frank DiBello, rocket man
Frank DiBello has helped make the loss of the shuttle old news and has boosted Florida toward a sustainable space industry that the state has never seen. DiBello and Space Florida, the economic development organization he leads, have exerted an outsized influence in building a new commercial future for Florida in space. Read the full story here.
Florida's death penalty system will face renewed stress in 2017
Florida's death penalty system, under sustained legal assault for the past year, faces renewed pressure in 2017 that will strain courts, victims and taxpayers in ways sure to rekindle a debate over capital punishment. [Source: Lakeland Ledger]
Judge tosses state agency's pollution reporting rules
In a victory for business groups, an administrative law judge ruled that the Florida Department of Environmental Protection overstepped its authority in proposing new requirements for notifying the public when pollution occurs. [Source: News Chief]
See also:
» Environmentalists 'hopeful' for year of progress in improving water quality on the Treasure Coast
What to know as Amendment 2 goes into effect today
The constitutional amendment allows higher-strength marijuana to be used for a wider list of medical ailments. However, the true measure of the amendment won't be seen until a new set of rules are adopted and implemented by the Florida Legislature and the Department of Health. [Source: AP]
» Quick poll: Are you glad medical marijuana is now legal in Florida?
Florida gas taxes will nudge up slightly in 2017
Florida law requires annual adjustments to gas taxes based on changes in the consumer price index, which measures what people are paying for goods. Gas taxes in Florida vary slightly by each county because some counties have adopted additional gas taxes. [Source: AP]
› St. Augustine sees holiday business after Hurricane Matthew
The season between Thanksgiving and New Year's — which has always been a busy time for the Historic Coast's tourism sector — has provided a timely lift. Small business owners and hoteliers alike are relying on tourists to fill registers and beds.
› Keys plan field trial for bacteria-infected mosquitoes
The Florida Keys Mosquito Control District and the privately owned, Kentucky-based company MosquitoMate are still reviewing locations for the field trial of Wolbachia-treated Aedes aegypti mosquitoes.
› USTA hopes Orlando campus can ignite youths' tennis interest
The tennis industry hopes to help stoke interest in the sport as the U.S. Tennis Association opens its 64-acre national campus this week in southeast Orlando's burgeoning Lake Nona development.
› U.S. officials have OK to study bringing Bahamas sand to Florida beaches
A potential solution to a troublesome sand shortage off Southeast Florida is tucked away in a massive water resources funding bill President Barack Obama signed into law last month.
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