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Monday's Daily Pulse
What you need to know about Florida today.
› Clean start: Green technology companies, united by 'acceleration network,' trying to grow jobs
Electricity from manure. Fuel oil from yard waste. Biodiesel from algae. Solar panels that generate electricity from both sides. While these sound like far-fetched concepts, companies in Brevard County and Central Florida are working on profit-generating, job-creating ventures using these green ideas. The Florida Cleantech Acceleration Network has been formed to speed that process by cataloging advanced clean technologies in Central Florida and helping entrepreneurs get them into the commercial marketplace more quickly.
› Opinion: Mandatory Insurances, Taxing Us to Death
From Steven Kurlander, writing for Florida Voices:
The House voted earlier this week to get rid of Obamacare on the heels of the Supreme Court ruling that its insurance mandate was constitutional. And so the debate continues about whether the government should impose a “tax” on Americans who refuse to buy health insurance. Left unsaid is whether other forms of mandatory insurance also represent a tax -- taxes that are going through the roof. Commentary continues here.
› Rubio's health plan looks like exchanges
Chapter 8 in Sen. Marco Rubio's book, "100 Innovative Ideas for Florida's Future," is titled "Quality Healthcare at an Affordable Price." and it includes the idea that "Florida should launch a marketplace of affordable health insurance." Now, Rubio's vision for an insurance marketplace is about to come to fruition. It's called Florida Health Choices. And though Republicans such as Rubio and Gov. Rick Scott won't admit it, Florida's marketplace is a lot like President Barack Obama's health exchange, the very one Scott says Florida won't embrace.
› New app protects against ID theft, fraud
If you live in Florida, the odds are you will come across way more identity thieves and fraudsters than hurricanes or alligators. So it may be worth adding the new free app called Scam Detector onto your iPhone or Android device. Florida ranks first per capita in identity theft complaints nationwide and ranks sixth in fraud complaints.
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