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Monday's Daily Pulse
What you need to know about Florida today
Florida’s expanding population applies pressure on water supplies
The Florida Office of Economic & Demographic Research says the statewide daily demand for water, 6.4 billion gallons as of 2015, is projected to increase by 17% in the next 20 years to more than 7.5 billion gallons as the population climbs to 25.2 million. That demand could be higher and the availability of that water lessened if climate change increases the frequency of droughts. More from the Sarasota Herald-Tribune and the Daily Commercial.
Florida economists, open primary supporters clash over projected costs
State economists say that a proposed amendment to allow all registered voters to participate in a single, open primary listing all candidates for statewide office would have little fiscal impact on the state but would cost counties $5 million or more for each of the first three election cycles. Supporters of the amendment dispute the estimate from the Financial Impact Estimating Conference, saying it shouldn’t cost more and may even cost less – pointing to other states that have turned to the “top-two” style of open primaries. [Source: Tallahassee Democrat]
Florida Trend Exclusive
Oil drilling in the Everglades
In Florida, the big issue is offshore drilling. Florida’s land, however, is dotted with sites permitted for oil and gas wells — some dry holes, some never drilled and others plugged and abandoned. All but a few of the producing wells lie in Collier County and near the Alabama border in Santa Rosa County although applications are pending for drilling in Calhoun County in the Panhandle. Existing wells largely date to the 1970s and 1980s. [Source: Florida Trend]
Florida startup aims to train doctors with virtual reality
Tampa-based Immertec creates software for physicians and medical device companies, and connects them through virtual reality. Instead of traveling to spend days inside an operating room observing a new surgical technique or learning how to use a new device, the software allows surgeons to watch others perform live while wearing virtual reality headsets from anywhere in the world. See Florida Trend's profile of Immertec and read more from the Tampa Bay Times.
NASA’s first SLS core stage fully assembled, will be used on Artemis 1 launch to the moon
The pieces are coming into place for NASA, even if it has taken longer than expected. The first core stage for what will be the most powerful rocket to launch from Earth has been assembled. While it still has to be attached to engines and transported to NASA’s test facility in Mississippi before it ever gets to Kennedy Space Center, NASA and partner Boeing now have completed the first core stage of the Space Launch System that will be used to launch an Orion spacecraft on the Artemis 1 mission to the moon. [Source: Orlando Sentinel]
ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:
› Online voter registration system restored after Florida Democrats complain
The Florida Online Voter Registration site was offline over the weekend, angering Florida Democrats who accused Gov. Ron DeSantis' administration of orchestrating the maintenance days before a national voter-registration mobilization effort. Tuesday is National Voter Registration Day, which encourages local organizations and businesses to conduct voter registration drives.
› St. Petersburg accepting grant applications for business revitalization
The city is accepting applications for its Commercial Revitalization Program. The city has allocated $175,000 for the program this year. The grants are matching, and are awarded for work on new or existing commercial buildings that improve business districts and decrease vacancy rates. The money is paid out upon a project’s completion.
› Food Network filming episode of ‘Restaurant Impossible’ in Florida
Theresa’s Restaurant, a downtown Bradenton breakfast and lunch spot dating back more than three decades, will again be hosting a crew from Food Network for what will likely be an upcoming episode of “Restaurant Impossible” starring Robert Irvine. The celebrity chef visited Theresa’s four years ago and will be revisiting the restaurant.
› MOSI the favored site as Hillsborough takes steps to establish film studio
Visitors once walked among dinosaurs and took trips to the stars at the Museum of Science & Industry’s main exhibition center. The 400,000-square-foot hall — hit by hard times and now empty, except for the hurricane supplies stored there — might teem with wonders again. This time, through the magic of movies.
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