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Monday's Daily Pulse
What you need to know about Florida today
Florida growth to top 300,000 people a year
906 people are moving to the state of Florida every day. 330,605 people are moving to Florida every year. That's equal to adding a city slightly larger than Orlando every year, according to a report released online this week by state economist. Sunshine state economists estimate the population of Florida will grow to 22 million residents in 2022, according to the Demographic Estimating Conference. More from WFTS, the AP, and WOFL.
Tropical wave could form into tropical storm with Florida in its sights
A tropical wave is developing in the southeast Caribbean Sea and has a 20 percent chance of becoming a tropical system within the next five days, according to the National Hurricane Center’s 2 a.m. update. Current projections show Central Florida lying directly in its pathway as it continues to move northwest while producing heavy rainfall and the possibility of flash flooding in Puerto Rico, the Lesser Antilles, and Hispaniola. More from the Orlando Sentinel and WKMG.
The development of autonomous vehicles in Florida
Fifty years after Florida revived for a moonshot, the state’s government and industry pioneers have mixed around another breakthrough innovation that will be deployed closer to home. Executives and authorities have looked to make Florida a hotbed of activity in the advancement of self-driving innovation, an area as synonymous with next-generation transportation as Silicon Valley or Detroit. [Source: Analytics Insight]
Did Florida accidentally legalize pot? Officials clamber for a solution after hazy hemp law
State officials have heralded hemp as a new wonder crop. But the plant’s recent legalization is complicating efforts to prosecute marijuana-related charges, and has left police and prosecutors alike scrambling for a solution. As state attorneys from across Florida huddled in Naples this week for their summer conference, one issue was at the front of everyone’s mind: a new state law has made charging people for marijuana possession much harder. [Source: WJCT]
New Study Says Everglades Water Is Harming Keys Corals. Not Everyone Agrees.
The Florida Everglades can be a contentious place. Politicians, conservationists and farmers never seem to agree on much. Debate among scientists tends to be collegial. But a new study on coral and the Florida Keys that gained national headlines last week has reignited a decades-old dispute over pollution and the Everglades. [Source: South Florida Sun-Sentinel]
ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:
› Auto mechanic shortage prompts hiring call from AutoNation
AutoNation, the country’s largest automobile retailer, is putting out a nationwide call to hire more than 500 service technicians for its service and collision centers. The Fort Lauderdale-based company is seeking to avoid effects of an auto mechanic shortage that grows worse as baby boomers retire from the profession.
› Naples-based Conditioned Air to build new operations hub in Lee County
Conditioned Air has its eye on growth. The longtime Naples-based company has announced plans for a 52,710-square-foot operations center in Fort Myers to support its current and future growth. With the new building, Conditioned Air's footprint in Lee County will nearly triple in size. The company is already one of the largest air-conditioning contracting and service firms in Southwest Florida.
› FPL shows early interest in JEA
The day after JEA made its historic decision to invite offers for privatizing the city-owned utility, executives with the parent company of FPL had a quarterly conference call with industry analysts to discuss company earnings. An analyst popped the question about acquiring JEA. NextEra Energy CEO Jim Robo was ready with an answer.
› Universal Orlando plans ‘major’ announcement; could it be details about new theme park?
A month away from Disney’s Galaxy’s Edge opening, Universal Orlando Resort has some of news of its own to share. Universal said Friday it would hold a press conference on Thursday morning to make a “major” announcement at the Orange County Convention Center, which is in the shadow of the hundreds of acres of land that Universal has been acquiring.
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