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Thursday's Afternoon Update

As Hurricane Andrew memories fade, Florida weakens building codes

Hurricane Andrew was so catastrophic that Floridians — shocked by acres of flattened houses — rewrote the state's building codes, making them the toughest in the nation. Now, as memories of the horrendous destruction of Aug. 24, 1992, grow dim, the lessons learned from Andrew may be fading, too. More from USA Today.

Bill Nelson and Marco Rubio: All options on table for North Korea

Florida Sens. Bill Nelson and Marco Rubio sounded deep concern over the situation with North Korea and say all options should be on the table, including a U.S. military strike. More from the Tampa Bay Times.

Jacksonville’s Brightway Insurance expands to Washington state

Jacksonville-based Brightway Insurance is expanding to Washington state. The insurance agency will open a new office in Spokane, Wash. Monday, which is among two other offices opening in Castle Rock, Colo. and Raleigh, N.C. More from the Florida Times-Union.

Miami-to-Orlando train delayed again

Brightline passenger train service will begin later than expected, now scheduled to debut by the end of 2017 rather than by early fall, as previously announced. More from the South Florida Business Journal.

Why one Tampa Bay entrepreneur chose Amazon Marketplace over other retailers

When Theo Prodromitis was looking for a way to revamp her in-home party business selling sponges sourced locally from the Sponge Docks, she went online. Prodromitis is one of more than two million users from 170 different countries who sell their merchandise on Amazon Marketplace. More from the Tampa Bay Times.

Profile
Patricia Murphy

florida While many civil-rights figures are well-known for having stood their ground, one woman is finally getting recognized for the work she did in the air. On Thursday, Patricia Murphy of Winter Park will be honored as one of the pioneers for black commercial flight attendants in America.

» More from the Orlando Sentinel.

Out of the Box
Miami Beach’s Adults Only Hotel

florida originalsThe Julia, a 29-room hotel named after Miami founder Julia Tuttle, will join Miami Beach’s collection of art-inspired accommodations when it opens its doors Thursday. The Julia is built on the foundations of a former hotel built in 1932. And it’s adults-only, but that doesn’t mean anything R-rated — the hotel is just 18 and up.

» Read more from the Miami Herald.