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Friday's Afternoon Update
What you need to know about Florida today
While Florida awaits Hurricane Dorian, hurricane center watches new tropical system
While Florida gets ready to endure a Category 4 Hurricane Dorian making landfall, the National Hurricane Center began tracking a new tropical wave off the coast of Africa. As of 8 a.m. Friday, the system is moving westward with some development possible early next week over the eastern and central tropical Atlantic, the hurricane center said. If it forms, it will be the seventh tropical depression of the 2019 Atlantic hurricane season. If it grows into a named storm, it would become Tropical Storm Fernand. More from the Orlando Sentinel.
See also:
» Hurricane Dorian track still aimed at South Florida, and it could bring dangerous storm surge to east coast
» Hurricane Dorian could hit during King Tide, and Miami is preparing to flood
» Hurricane Dorian forces cruise lines to shift sailings to keep thousands away from the storm
» Hurricane Dorian: Why it could make a sluggish 24-hour journey through Florida
» Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry urges residents to prepare as storm track shifts south
» Hurricane Dorian may halt garbage pickup next week in Orange County
Automation risk threatens Florida's jobs surge
Floridians, particularly ones on the west coast of the state, might be at risk of losing their jobs — but not from a recession. Instead, it’s the risk of automation. Overall, 47% of jobs nationwide are vulnerable to automation, according to a 2013 Oxford University study. But it depends on the mix of knowledge, skills and abilities an occupation requires as to whether a job will get the boot from a robot. More from the Business Observer.
Florida roads smoother, sturdier but deadlier
Florida’s roadways and bridges are among the smoothest and sturdiest in the nation, but the state’s thoroughfares are also some of the deadliest, costliest and most crowded, a new report by nonprofit Reason Foundation says. The libertarian think tank ranked Florida 40th overall in its “24th Annual Highway Report,” which uses state highway data from 2016 – the most recent year with complete figures available – and traffic congestion and bridge data from 2017. More from Miami Today.
Florida’s price gouging hotline now in effect with tips on how to avoid rip-offs
Florida’s attorney general is putting price gougers on notice after Gov. Ron DeSantis issued a state of emergency in Florida. Ashley Moody has activated Florida’s Price Gouging Hotline and a new NO SCAM smartphone app so consumers can easily report unscrupulous sellers who jack up prices on essential storm supplies. More from the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
What legalizing recreational marijuana would mean for Florida
A bigger marijuana industry could be headed toward Florida, drawing consumers one day with a larger selection of pot products and services. That’s if the Sunshine State becomes the latest in the U.S. to legalize adults’ recreational use of weed. Two proposed constitutional amendments now aim to legalize recreational or “adult-use” marijuana in Florida. More from the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
Out of the Box
Dolphins now frolic from giant old tree on JU campus
Hurricane Irma took down much of a giant old live oak tree on the Jacksonville University campus in 2017. And as another hurricane summoned strength off Florida this week, chainsaw artist Chad Gainey noisily transformed the trees remaining big branches into a work of art — three dolphins jumping playfully out of the water. His commission came to mark the start of the fall semester at JU, whose mascot, of course, is the dolphin.
» More from the Florida Times-Union.
Business Profile
Apex Property Restoration
A rejiggered model for his Estero carpentry and home restoration business, Apex Property Restoration, has juiced the momentum that helped Jonathan Bucci win the Governor's Young Entrepreneur Award. It’s been two years since then-Gov. Rick Scott predicted “hard work and determination” would bring success to Bucci and his startup enterprise. In that time, Bucci launched the bath-and-kitchen remodeling part of his business plan and began to plot an entry into a new region or state.
» Read more from the Business Observer.
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