SHARE:
Wednesday's Daily Pulse
What you need to know about Florida today
Florida midterm elections: Republicans’ historic night as it happened
The news of the night: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis handily won his reelection bid over U.S. Rep. Charlie Crist, celebrating with an energetic victory party in Tampa. What will a second DeSantis term in Tallahassee look like? People of all political stripes expect him to continue to hammer the cultural issues that have made him a national name — especially as he governs a state that has turned increasingly red. More from the Tampa Bay Times and the Miami Herald.
Hurricane Nicole forecast to form, strike Florida late tonight
What is forecast to become Hurricane Nicole is bearing down on the Bahamas this morning and targeting Florida tonight with tropical-storm-force winds already moving ashore, according to the National Hurricane Center. Thousands of Floridians are under evacuation orders as a strengthening Tropical Storm Nicole is expected to grow into a Category 1 hurricane this morning with hurricane warnings in place from the coast of Volusia-Flagler county line south to Boca Raton. [Source: Orlando Sentinel]
Florida Trend Exclusive
Florida Icon: Jim Strickland
"I'm 67 years old, and at age 7, I wanted to be what I am now. I always just wanted to be on a horse," says rancher Jim Strickland. "At points of my life, the environmental community was over here and the agricultural community was over there — separated. It wasn’t until the last 10 or 15 years that we started coming together, and we’re getting closer still. We can talk about wildlife corridors, endangered species habitat and using wetlands to filter water. We’re coming together, but it took years, and it took open-mindedness on both sides." [Source: Florida Trend]
Flood maps fall short, researchers say
After crashing ashore in September in Southwest Florida, Hurricane Ian caused flooding across the state. Now, Florida faces more flooding as Tropical Storm Nicole is poised to hit the East Coast and move up the state. But North Carolina State University researchers say federal flood maps underestimate the risks of flooding in Florida and other states. And that can lead many homeowners to ignore buying flood insurance — a decision that many people might be regretting as they try to clean up water-damaged homes after Ian. [Source: News Service of Florida]
Brightline trains tested at full speed as private railroad's Florida network grows
Brightline, a privately owned rail company that plans to eventually expand to Tampa, has successfully completed its latest test of higher-speed trains. The company ran trains of up to 79 miles per hour through northern Brevard County 20 different times late last week. Testing has occurred for the last several weeks as service to Orlando looms in 2023. Brightline's trains reached speeds of 110 miles per hour on test runs through Martin and St. Lucie counties on Oct. 21. That's likely the fastest train to ever operate in Florida. [Source: Tampa Bay Business Journal]
ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:
› Scooters wheeled off streets of Miami
The city commission has mobilized and demobilized Miami’s scooter program several times since its inception in 2018, and looming concerns stall operations once again. Commissioners debated the scooter program’s future for 20 minutes Oct. 27. They ultimately voted 3-2 to temporarily halt the program and continue the matter to their next meeting on Nov. 17. While it wasn’t on the agenda, Commissioner Alex Diaz de la Portilla moved to terminate scooter operations citing safety concerns and an unfair advantage to the lone vendor still participating in the pilot program.
› The Factory, St. Pete at risk of foreclosure, but it remains open
Trouble has been brewing at The Factory, St. Pete for a few months now. In September, a post appeared on social media accounts belonging to the “creative hub” stating that it was going out of business. The Factory quickly removed the post and made a statement saying the first post was a mistake and a result of miscommunication. On Monday, co-owner Kara Behar issued a statement notifying the media that the Dimmitts had filed foreclosure action on the property.
› Orlando lands marquee U.S. Olympics event for 2024
Downtown Orlando will be the stage for the 2024 U.S. Olympics Team Trials — Marathon event. The USA Track & Field (USATF) and United State Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) announced the City Beautiful's downtown destination will welcome up to 500 men and women athletes on Feb. 3, 2024.
› Robot taking over routine jobs at Baptist Medical Center Jacksonville
There are times when there aren’t enough hours in the day to care for patients. It raises the question whether it is the best use of time for a trained medical professional to manually deliver items from one department to another. In response, Baptist Medical Center Jacksonville and Wolfson Children’s Hospital are using a robot delivery system called Moxi to handle the routine jobs.
Go to page 2 for more stories ...
In case you missed it:
