Thursday's Afternoon Update

What you need to know about Florida today

| 1/31/2019

After Michael, the Forgotten Coast fears it's being forgotten

Cleanup and recovery from Hurricane Michael is slow, costly and ongoing. As donations to the area stall and media coverage fades, some residents of the Forgotten Coast fear the area is living up to its name. For people living there, the future is still unclear. Many sunk their life savings into small timber farms as their retirement plan. Some said they just are not sure the community will bounce back. More from WUSF and WFSU.

Digital tech conference in Orlando gets boost from Tampa entrepreneurship group

The leaders behind Digital Orlando — a one-day conference scheduled for 12 p.m. on April 10 at the Orlando Science Center — announced that it has teamed up with Synapse, which just recently hosted its third annual summit in Tampa, for its program this year. More from the Orlando Sentinel.

Mote Marine Laboratory a step closer to building new aquarium

Mote Marine Laboratory’s plan to build a $130 million multilevel aquarium just west of Interstate 75 progressed Wednesday with a key vote by the Sarasota County Commission. The commission unanimously approved an overall agreement with the laboratory, allowing Mote to begin due diligence on nearly 12 acres of county-owned land at Nathan Benderson Park. More from the Sarasota Herald-Tribune.

Miami International Airport joins Brazil’s post office to aid e-commerce

Shipments that took weeks and sometimes months to travel from the US to Brazil will now arrive in days as part of a new expedited shipping service partnership between Miami International Airport and Correios, Brazil’s post office. More from Miami Today.

Orlando-based AI startup acquired by California firm

An Orlando artificial intelligence company that has developed a chatbot that runs on the technology has been acquired by a California financial tech firm for an undisclosed amount. Abe.ai, which designs AI-based software and mobile products for banking, will now be part of a group of companies owned by Envestnet of Redwood City, Calif. More from the Orlando Sentinel.

Sports Business
Alexandra Baldwin named Web.com Tour president

The PGA Tour has appointed the first woman to head one of its six global circuits. Alexandra Baldwin, who has been vice president of marketing partnerships for the Tour, was named president Wednesday of the Web.com Tour, replacing Dan Glod. He has been named the PGA Tour’s senior vice president for global sponsorship strategy and development.

» More from the Florida Times-Union.

Out of the Box
Virtual reality theme park could come to Florida

Florida is on the short list for a possible new virtual reality theme park. D. Legends Holdings Pte Ltd., a Singapore-based creator of indoor virtual reality parks, is considering building a park in Orlando.