Thursday's Afternoon Update

What you need to know about Florida today

| 3/16/2017

Oscars shine may not be enough to save Florida film industry

With three Oscar wins from eight nominations, the success of Moonlight at last month’s Academy awards should have been a celebration of a thriving Florida film industry. Instead, it could be among the last of Florida’s long production line of blockbusters. More from the Guardian.

Digital studio gets $1.25M incentive deal for move to Orlando

Arrow Sky Media, a digital media studio that works on animated film and live production projects, has secured $1.25 million in incentives to move its headquarters and dozens of tech and digital media jobs to Thornton Park from Nashville. More from the Orlando Sentinel.

How dependent is Florida on the gun industry?

To determine the states that depend most heavily on the arms and ammunitions industry both directly for jobs and political contributions and indirectly through firearm ownership, analysts compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across eight key metrics. More from the Orlando Business Journal.

Florida could cut off food stamps to more than 200,000

Florida could cut off food stamps for more than 200,000 residents -- including children and seniors -- under a measure now moving ahead in the Legislature. Republicans backing the move say that now that the economy is improving it's time to change eligibility requirements to the way it was prior to the Great Recession. More from the AP and the Tampa Bay Times.

Fix water quality or Florida tourism will suffer, fishing and boating industries warn

The leaders of one of the nation's largest outdoors companies, a major boat manufacturer, and tourism industry officials met with Gov. Rick Scott and legislators Wednesday to make the case that urgent action is needed to end the toxic discharges from Lake Okeechobee. More from the Tampa Bay Times.

Health and Safety
Three Women Blinded by Unapproved Stem Cell Treatment at Florida Clinic

Three women with macular degeneration became permanently blind after undergoing an unproven stem-cell treatment touted as a clinical trial at a South Florida clinic. Medical experts said the episode raises questions about whether the government and doctors are doing enough to protect patients from the dangers of unapproved therapies.