March 28, 2024

Thursday's Afternoon Update

What you need to know about Florida today

| 8/14/2014

Florida foreclosure rate drops; still leads nation

Foreclosure activity in Florida has decreased by 30 percent from the same time last year, but the Sunshine State continues to have the nation's highest foreclosure rate. More at the AP.

See also:
» US foreclosure activity rises in July, but no cause for alarm


Sierra Nevada’s space plane in the chase to win NASA nod

Since 2010 private companies have been competing for a lucrative opportunity: to provide routine transport of American astronauts and cargo to the ISS as well as deliver other low Earth orbit payloads. Now three companies are closing in on that goal; NASA will be announcing the winner or winners later this year. More at Scientific American.


4 startups you'll find in UM's research park

Of Counsel
LaShawnda Jackson is driven to succeed


Attorney LaShawnda Jackson’s memory of her father propels her to succeed. Jackson was 3 years old when her father died. “Always in the back of my head was to make my dad proud,” says Jackson, a 37-year-old partner at Rumberger, Kirk and Caldwell in Orlando. “And those thoughts continue today.”

» Access full story

Miami native Daniel McVay has his feet in three different startups. It's hard to avoid new ideas when you work at the University of Miami's Life Science & Technology Park, the entrepreneur said. More at the South Florida Business Journal.


Shark Week doesn't always thrill Florida biologists

Halfway through Discovery Channel’s “Shark Week” programming special, millions of shark lovers are getting a great fix from the nightly television specials. But from the perspective of marine biologists, viewers might be getting an overdose of schlock. More at the St. Augustine Record.


Brazil tourism to U.S. to increase 50 percent by 2018

Brazilian tourists account for a large proportion of the growth in Florida's visitor numbers. Data from the US Department of Commerce shows a 15% overall increase in Brazilian visitors to the US from 2012 to 2013, while the Office of Travel and Tourism Industries is projecting a 50% increase in Brazilian tourists by 2018. More at World Property Channel.

Business Profile
iCloak Stik

delisle Thanks to an unusually successful Kickstarter campaign, a Lake County entrepreneur is moving ahead with plans to market an Internet-privacy device that has drawn supporters from around the world. Eric Delisle, 43, raised $100,600 in four weeks for his iCloak Stik invention — a pinky-sized USB drive that promises online anonymity for the layperson.

» More from the Orlando Sentinel

Tags: Daily Pulse

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Florida Trend Video Pick

Bitter-to-swallow cocoa costs force chocolate shops to raise prices
Bitter-to-swallow cocoa costs force chocolate shops to raise prices

Central Floirda chocolate shops are left with a bitter taste as cocoa prices hit an all-time high earlier this week.

Video Picks | Viewpoints@FloridaTrend

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