SHARE:
Wednesday's Daily Pulse
What you need to know about Florida today
› ‘We need to know our history.’ West Grove is now officially called Little Bahamas
When Thelma Gibson was a child in Coconut Grove, other kids would use the term “Nassau” to make fun of her Bahamian heritage. This week when West Grove was officially designated as “Little Bahamas of Coconut Grove,” the “Nassau” pejorative appeared to have lost its hatefulness. “It’s good to be an old Nassau,” Gibson, 95, quipped to the crowd which erupted in laughter.
› Here are the Orlando startup winners at African American Chamber pitch event
Three local Black-owned businesses were successful in capturing a share of the $20,000 in startup funding on the line on Aug. 19 at the African American Chamber of Commerce Central Florida’s inaugural pitch competition. Kevin Lloyd of Make Your Life Entertaining took home the grand prize of $10,000 at the competition; Shirley Dorsainvil of Haitians Who Blog finished in second place and landed $7,000; and Ronice Jackson of Residential Matchmakers received $3,000.
› ‘Euphoria’ star Nika King joins forces with chef mom for Fort Lauderdale venture
Nika King — who plays the mother of Zendaya’s troubled character in the pretend world of HBO’s hit series “Euphoria” — is teaming up with her actual mom in the real world for an incubator kitchen. When Blue Tree Café opens in Fort Lauderdale, expected to happen in September or October as a takeout/delivery-only restaurant, the two want to also use their expansive new kitchen as a launching pad for other small food and beverage purveyors.
› New Sarasota-Manatee housing collaborative may offer immediate help to struggling renters
With an affordable housing crisis pricing out long-time residents, area leaders in Sarasota and Manatee counties have come together for a project that could possibly help hundreds of families in a matter of months. Funded by local foundations and philanthropists, the Suncoast Housing Collaborative is set to officially launch in mid-September, said Chris Johnson, chief executive officer of the Suncoast Partnership to End Homelessness, the nonprofit overseeing the initiative.
In case you missed it:
