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Friday's Daily Pulse
What you need to know about Florida today
› Hundreds of jobs are open at Hard Rock’s giant guitar-shaped hotel. Here’s how to get one
The giant guitar in Hollywood is looking for workers again — this time it has room for 600. The Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood is hosting a three-day job fair from July 7 to 9, according to the Hard Rock. This is the casino’s second job fair. The first one, which was hosted in June, attracted 2,500 applicants and resulted in more than 500 job offers.
› Changes for Florida VPK program put on hold
Voluntary prekindergarten providers were dealt a setback Tuesday. The Department of Education tells Contact 5 it hit pause on a rule change, that could help improve performance scores in the state. Right now, VPK providers are scored based on the Kindergarten Screener, a test their VPK students take 3 months after they graduate.
› Tests reveal new Florida algae blooms too toxic to touch
In May, Florida Gulf Coast marine scientist Dr. Mike Parsons warned that blooms of toxic algae would erupt in Florida waters this summer. Now researchers are finding toxic blooms in waterways ranging from the Tampa Bay region through South Florida. The Florida Department of Environmental Protections is currently monitoring a toxic bloom in Lake Okeechobee near the Port Mayaca Dam.
› Florida ranks 43rd in access to mental health care. A new group in Tampa Bay wants to change that.
As substance abuse and suicide rates continue to climb across Tampa Bay, a group of local hospital executives is hoping a new community partnership can help reverse the trend. The West Coast Florida Mental Wellness Coalition launched a few weeks ago with a big mission in mind: to solve the region's ongoing mental health crisis by making care more widely available and erasing longstanding stigma.
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