SHARE:
Thursday's Afternoon Update
What you need to know about Florida today
Key Florida Republicans now say yes to clean needles for drug users
There's a green van parked on the edge of downtown Miami on a corner shadowed by overpasses. The van is a mobile health clinic and syringe exchange where people who inject drugs like heroin and fentanyl can swap dirty needles for fresh ones. This mobile unit in Miami-Dade County is part of the only legal needle exchange program operating in the state. But a new law in Florida — a needle exchange law that won the support of Florida's conservative legislature, and was signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis Wednesday — aims to change that. More from NPR.
Florida Trend Exclusive
Perspectives: What Florida teachers have learned teaching abroad
Many Florida teachers have participated in private and government programs that fund trips for teachers to countries like Brazil, China and others to observe, compare teaching practices and exchange ideas. Bradenton teacher Patrick Whelan has taken part in four trips as part of those programs. “There are teachers who do these all the time and teachers who don’t even know they exist,” he says. More from Florida Trend.
Marco Rubio, Sherrod Brown bring back bipartisan Small Business Fair Lending Act
This week, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., teamed up again with U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, to bring back their proposal which, they insist, will help small businesses. After bringing it out for the first time in December, Rubio and Brown brought back the "Small Business Fair Lending Act" on Tuesday. The senators insist their bill will "protect small businesses by closing a loophole used by nefarious lenders..." More from NewsTalk Florida.
Researchers seek new hemp varieties to bolster Florida program
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has signed a bill to create a state hemp program, and there's new urgency to find varieties of the crop that can grow well in the state's subtropical environment. "I have an email list of people interested in our research that has a thousand names on it -- farmers and others," said Zachary Brym, project coordinator for University of Florida's hemp research program. "I get calls and emails every day from farmers who are curious about growing it as a crop." More from UPI.
Orlando the slowest U.S. airport for international arrivals: report
Orlando International Airport has one of the slowest times to exit an airport for international arrivals, according to a report by Blacklane, a German chauffeur company. MCO was recorded as the airport with the fourth slowest exit time in the world (and the slowest U.S. airport) between stepping off of a plane and into an automobile with a median time of 53.5 minutes, the report showed. More from the Orlando Sentinel.
Statewide
Miami Beach OKs funds to start dredging clogged waterways
Miami Beach commissioners have approved $250,000 for dredging of the Biscayne Point Waterway and Collins Canal. Homeowners celebrated the decision after waiting nearly three decades for sediment removal. Sediment continues to pile in most areas of Biscayne Point Waterway and Collins Canal, cutting boat access at certain points. It’s a big issue for his residents, said Brian Gilderman, president of the Biscayne Point Homeowners Association. “There are some very shallow spots under the bridges and access points throughout the canal where at low tide people’s boats have trouble getting through.”
» More from the MiamiToday.
Leadership
Poker princess parlays life story into key business lessons
Molly Bloom bottomed out — in business and in life. Now she offers sound advice for entrepreneurs: Kindness matters. Molly Bloom’s life story — at only 41 — has already been through a Colorado-sized mountain of ups and downs. For a time, she was the tabloid-press anointed Poker Princess. The Loveland, Colo. native and onetime competitive skier ran underground poker games on both coasts in her 20s, where A-list celebrities like Alex Rodriguez, Matt Damon and Leonardo DiCaprio were players.
» Read more from the Business Observer.
In case you missed it:
