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Thursday's Daily Pulse
What you need to know about Florida today
CBD, hemp industries seek clear regulation, pricing as expo heads to Florida
Emerging industries related to cannabidiol and hemp are struggling to navigate rapid change as they prepare to meet at a USA CBD Expo on Friday through Sunday in Miami Beach, where announcements are expected about new players and products. Dust still is settling after a large CBD retailer, Curaleaf, received a warning from the Food and Drug Administration on July 22 that it was making unsubstantiated claims on the health benefits of its products. [Source: UPI]
Florida businesses learn hard lessons when not prepared for disaster
Despite the potential for hurricanes, tornadoes and other natural disasters, many small business owners don't prepare for the worst, leaving them to learn during a crisis what they should have done differently. And even companies that do plan can be unprepared for the unique circumstances of a particular disaster. [Source: AP]
Florida’s first climate change czar is light on relevant experience
Florida’s first chief resilience officer, the person in charge of adapting the most vulnerable state in the nation to climate change, has an impressive resume. But it’s missing one thing — any obvious experience with climate change or resilience. [Source: Times/Herald]
GrowFL's 2019 Florida Companies to Watch honorees
GrowFL is pleased to announce this year’s 50 Florida Companies to Watch honorees, a statewide competition that identifies companies expected to see significant growth over the next several years. These 50 companies were selected from more than 500 nominees for Florida Companies to WatchSM, a program hosted by the economic development organization GrowFL, in association with the Edward Lowe Foundation. [Source: Florida Trend]
Florida economists grapple with Medicaid expansions
State economists are struggling to come up with estimates of how much it would cost the state and how it would affect Florida’s economy if voters approve a far-reaching constitutional amendment that calls for expanding Medicaid. State economists are charged by law with providing a detailed estimate of the financial impact, but they continue to wrangle over how many people would enroll in Medicaid --- and how much that coverage would cost --- if the proposed constitutional amendment is adopted. [Source: WLRN]
ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:
› Universal may reveal plans for new theme park today
Universal Orlando is expected to make a “major" announcement Thursday morning, and the company has been hinting for a year that it will build a new theme park. Universal has been mum on what it will say. But analysts have called it the most well-known secret in the industry: Universal is going to build a new theme park in Orlando.
› Hurricane Center now says 70% chance of tropical cyclone in Atlantic
The chances keep increasing for a tropical wave moving across the far eastern Atlantic Ocean to strengthen into a cyclone over the next five days, the National Hurricane Center said in its latest advisory. Currently known as Disturbance No. 2, it has a 70% chance of forming over the next five days, according to the 8 p.m. advisory.
› Pérez Art Museum Miami plans to close for a week’s worth of maintenance
Have you penciled in a visit to the Pérez Art Museum Miami for the Beatriz González retrospective show or maybe a visit to the waterfront Verde restaurant and bar for its fantastic fish tacos? Go for it, but just don’t do it on the week of Aug. 19 through Aug. 25. PAMM and Verde will be closed for maintenance.
› Wyndham Destinations sells vacation rental business for $162 million
Orlando-based timeshare giant Wyndham Destinations has shed its vacation rental business, selling its inventory of 9,000 houses, condos and townhomes for $162 million to Vacasa of Portland, Oregon. The deal means Vacasa, which calls itself the largest vacation rental management platform in North America, now has 23,000 homes across the globe.
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