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Tuesday's Daily Pulse
What you need to know about Florida today
Utility Ballot Measure Sparks Battle in Florida
State leaders and powerful business groups are trying to kill a proposed constitutional amendment that would lead to major changes in the way Floridians get electricity. Opponents, including Attorney General Ashley Moody, legislative leaders, business groups and utilities, filed 13 briefs late last week at the Florida Supreme Court arguing that the proposal should be blocked from going on the November 2020 ballot. The briefs were the latest batch of arguments about the proposal, which would uproot the long-established regulatory structure that leads to residents and businesses in much of the state receiving electricity from four utilities: Florida Power & Light, Duke Energy Florida, Tampa Electric Co. and Gulf Power. More from the WFOR.
Gov. DeSantis says Trump can override the Air Force to bring Space Command to Florida
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is not done fighting for Florida to be the home of the newly formed Space Command, despite the U.S. Air Force’s insistence that only Colorado, California and Alabama are still in the running. The nation’s 11th combatant command doesn’t have a headquarters yet, but the Air Force — the military branch overseeing Space Command — last month released its shortlist of six potential sites it’s still eyeing. Despite an aggressive campaign by the state to pursue the headquarters, Florida didn’t make the list. But speaking at Merritt Island on Monday morning, DeSantis put that information into question, suggesting that Florida still had a chance — if the governor can convince President Donald Trump to make the final call in favor of the Sunshine State. “I went to the president early on, I said, ‘Mr. President, they’re going to do this process ...if that’s it, that’s the process and that’s what’s going to happen, I’ll respect that. But I think it’s your decision,'” DeSantis said. “And he made it very clear that it is his decision to make.” [Source: Orlando Sentinel]
Florida one of the nation’s worst for data breaches
The sun shines in most places in Florida, including — unfortunately — on your data. According to a study from Comparitech, the Sunshine State has had the fourth-most data breaches nationwide in the last 10 years, putting it behind only California, New York and Texas. From 2008 to 2019, Florida suffered 523 data breaches that exposed 353 million records. These breaches, however, are mostly attributable to marketing firm Exactis, which in 2018, suffered a data breach that exposed victims’ names, addresses, ages, phone numbers and other information in 340 million records. The large-scale breach affected most Americans. Exactis gathered and kept “much of that data ... without the victims’ knowledge,” the study said. The worst state for data breaches in the last decade has been California, which suffered 1,493 data breaches in the last decade, thereby exposing 5.59 billion records in the process. [Source: Tampa Bay Business Journal]
What is Florida’s most Googled financial topic?
When consumers have financial or housing questions, they naturally search Google. And in Florida, they seem to have a lot of questions about insurance. That’s according to a new analysis by review website TermLife2Go, which looked at the most asked questions about money by state. Floridians have had plenty of insurance issues, including last year’s devastation by Hurricane Michael, a category five storm that slammed the panhandle. Residents have also dealt with ongoing rising rates by insurers such as Citizens Property Insurance Corp. (Customers in Broward and Palm Beach will pay higher rates if the state insurer’s board of governors approve the hikes this week.) Citizens’ rates going up in Broward and Palm Beach counties » For its research, TermLife2Go cross-referenced financial topics with Google data trends and geography. Topics ranged from child care to mortgage. [Source: South Florida SunSentinel]
2019's Best States for Summer Road Trips + 84 Million People Advocate for Credit Card Test
With consumer demand for gas approaching its annual peak and people across the country preparing to drive to vacation destinations, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released three key reports to help people maximize both savings and fun. More from Wallet Hub.
ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:
› UF Researchers to Study Integrated Approaches to Protect Young Citrus Trees from Greening
While citrus growers continue to look for best management approaches to deal with the deadly greening disease, some scientists at the University of Florida will take an integrated look at how to protect young trees, by using tools growers already can use.
› Bay Park Conservancy Receives Unrestricted $2 Million Gift from Anonymous Donors
The Bay Park Conservancy announced a gift of $2 million by anonymous donors through their fund at Gulf Coast Community Foundation. The unrestricted gift, to be used over the next 3 years to build out and operate the $20 million first phase of The Bay Park, was inspired by the challenge match established by The Patterson Foundation and contributions from other generous philanthropists.
› Bringing more mixed use and multifamily to central Florida [Urban Land] Three game-changing projects in central Florida were highlighted during the 2019 ULI Florida Summit, with each taking a long view of remaking historic spots while gauging next-generation needs, including education needs in the region and the shifting needs of retail and industrial uses.
› How to make the rent? Work 108 hours a week
Three jobs to put a roof over your head? A new national study shows how far housing prices are beyond the reach of many working Floridians. It’s an alarming snapshot of the economy that highlights the struggle for low-income families, and it underscores the need for state and local governments to do more to expand access to affordable homes.
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