Tuesday's Afternoon Update

What you need to know about Florida today

| 10/2/2018

Voting gets underway as millions of mail ballots are shipped to Florida voters

The first wave of mail ballots that will help decide who becomes the next governor and U.S. senator in Florida are headed to households across the state Tuesday. County election supervisors are hoping that the state sets a new record for voting by mail in a midterm election, and one reason why is the length of the ballot itself. More from the Tampa Bay Times and WOFL.

‘Uber for lawn care’ apps arrive in Gainesville

In today’s digital age of too-many-to-count mobile applications that mostly claim to help simplify your life, two new apps launching in Gainesville this week hope to take the phone calls and personal checks out of lawn-care transactions. More from the Gainesville Sun.

Scripps Florida scientists land flurry of NIH grants, fattening record haul

Scientists at Scripps Florida won nearly $50 million in grants from the National Institutes of Health during the federal fiscal year that ended Sunday. It was a record haul that eclipsed Scripps Florida’s previous annual record of $42.5 million set in 2017. More from the Palm Beach Post.

SeaWorld: Attendance keeps surging after past struggles

The financial turnaround at SeaWorld is still gaining momentum as the company reported a projected 10 percent attendance jump for the third quarter. The numbers, which are preliminary and haven’t been approved yet, were released Monday by SeaWorld because of a potential debt refinancing transaction. More from the Orlando Sentinel.

Florida delegation gets $30 million for cybersecurity center in Osceola County

Florida’s U.S. senators–Democrat Bill Nelson and Republican Marco Rubio–and two Central Florida Democrats in the U.S. House–Stephanie Murphy and Darren Soto–have secured $30 million in federal funds for a cybersecurity center in Osceola County. More from Florida Daily.

Business Profile
Universal Engineering Sciences Inc.

During the course of more than 50 years in business, the Orlando-based company, which has a large presence in the Tampa region, has been responsible for ensuring thousands of construction sites all over Florida and beyond are safe for building. The company, founded by Seymour "Sy" Israel and now run by his son, Mark Israel, specializes in soil testing, materials testing, code compliance and other unglamorous yet essential services.

» More from the Business Observer.

Out of the Box
Chugga chugga choo choo! All aboard the wine train

Sometimes a very successful concept is born from combining two things that are already good. This is also the case with the Royal Palm Railway. Drinking wine is fun. Riding a train is a good time. Why not combine the two? The train shuttles riders to and from Mount Dora and Tavares on a regular basis, but they also offer a number of unique railway experiences.