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Thursday's Daily Pulse
What you need to know about Florida today
Florida's long fight with Georgia over water to Apalachicola Bay and its oysters heads back to court
Florida's decades-long fight with Georgia to get an equitable share of a major regional water source to revive its dying oyster industry is headed to a New Mexico courtroom next week. U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Paul J. Kelly of Santa Fe, New Mexico, was chosen by the Supreme Court to serve as a special master in the 2013 case and will hear oral arguments from both states on Nov. 7 in Albuquerque. [Source: USA Today]
Florida company continues its solar revolution path
Florida Power & Light’s plans for the expansion of its solar program are clearly ambitious. The utility company will add 30 million solar panels to its power grid over the next 10 years — approximately 300,000 of them at a plant it will begin building in St. Johns County sometime over the next year or so, according to FPL spokesman Stephen Heiman. [Source: Florida Times-Union]
DeSantis' key proposals face early obstacles in Capitol
Ambitious proposals by Gov. Ron DeSantis to raise minimum teacher salaries and require employers to verify the lawful immigration status for workers collided this week with early concerns from Florida’s lawmakers. The chilly reception in the Republican-controlled Legislature signals difficult policy battles for some of the GOP governor’s signature proposals for 2020. [Source: WJCT]
Florida claims to be a driverless car paradise. Critics call it a lawless mess
Florida is racing to overtake states like Arizona and Nevada as the training ground for tomorrow’s self-driving vehicles. Over the past seven years, the Sunshine State has quietly passed legislation that is friendly to AV research and development, luring companies with prospects of lax regulation, perennial fair weather, and the seemingly endless increase in tourists and retirees. AV startups from Pittsburgh to Silicon Valley have launched operations in Florida, lobbying lawmakers and claiming valuable real estate. [Source: Medium]
Census undercount would have a big impact on Florida
The census determines the number of seats each state gets in the US House of Representatives, and it’s used to set federal funding for state and local governments. That’s about $700 billion in federal funds spent on schools, hospitals, roads, public works and other vital programs. Economic analyst Hank Fishkind says that an under count would have an impact on business too. [Source: WMFE]
ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:
› New plan will create affordable housing along South Florida’s rail path
A new collaborative between local, state and national non-profit institutions has unveiled an ambitious plan aimed at creating and preserving affordable housing along the rail path throughout Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties.
› Winning Pulse memorial and museum design announced
Vowing to create a “sanctuary of hope and healing,” the onePULSE Foundation announced Wednesday a design for the Pulse memorial that includes a tranquil reflecting pool and 49 trees encircling the remains of the club and a separate, towering museum that “rises like a budding flower,” its rooftop promenade offering views of the memorial and what’s being called the "Pulse District.”
› State coastline still at risk for offshore drilling
The fight to protect Florida's Gulf Coast from offshore oil and gas drilling is far from over. That was the update delivered on Oct. 28 during a presentation at the Sanibel and Captiva Islands Chamber of Commerce's monthly Business After Hours, held in partnership with the Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation and Oceana - an international advocacy organization focused on ocean conservation that is leading a national campaign to prevent the expansion of offshore oil drilling.
› ‘It’s our Super Bowl’: Expect a spectacle at 60th annual Fort Lauderdale boat show
If Fort Lauderdale is the Venice of America, the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show is its biennale. And though it may be comparatively younger, the boat show, and the city that hosts it, are all grown up.
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