Friday's Afternoon Update
State releases FCAT scores
Florida's third-graders scored slightly higher on the FCAT reading exam this year, while fourth-, eighth- and 10th-graders wrote better essays than in 2012, results from scores released today show. The scores released Friday are the first wave of marks expected from the 2013 administration of the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test and the state's new end-of-course exams. More from the Orlando Sentinel and the Miami Herald.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT A Miami startup company has developed an application that delivers written news stories and blogs in sound, complete with anchors and video clips. Guide’s app has an avatar anchor — choices include a human, a dog and a robot — that reads the content of RSS feeds, while displaying photos and playing videos that are posted with the story. |
Three Florida beaches make Dr. Beach Top 10 list for 2013
The smile of Dr. Beach still shines on the Sunshine State as three Florida beaches made his annual Top 10 beaches in the U.S. list. Dr. Beach is Dr. Stephen P. Leatherman and he's Director of Florida International University's Laboratory for Coastal Research. He's been doing the list for 23 years. [Source: South Florida Sun-Sentinel]
U.S. weather-watcher satellite fails just before hurricane season
A key satellite positioned to track severe weather in the eastern United States has failed, just as the 2013 Atlantic hurricane season is about to start. The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) activated a spare satellite, which will provide coverage of the East Coast, while it is trying to fix the failed one. [Source: Reuters]
» FRIDAY PREVIEW: Coming next week to FloridaTrend.com:
- Florida Icon: C.C. 'Doc' Dockey: The businessman tells us: "I’ve learned that both political parties in Florida do better running and building than they do governing."
- CEO Sounding Board: Florida CEOs talk about a recent settlement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
- Bearing Down in Jacksonville: Chinese company HCH targets north Florida for distribution.
- Florida Life: Surfing spots in the Sunshine State.
» You'll find all these stories first on the Daily and Afternoon Pulse e-mails.