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Thursday's Afternoon Update
What you need to know about Florida today
Florida toll-road task force members want greater public input
Hearing from the residents most affected by the potential toll road proposed for the as-yet-to-be-determined path of the Suncoast Parkway is a priority for several members of a state task force guiding development of the thruway. Problem is, the way the meeting agendas are structured doesn’t really provide for that opportunity. Not for the first time, several members noted the lack of public comment at the meetings and criticized the Florida Department of Transportation. More from the Gainesville Sun and The Star.
See also:
» New toll roads come with millions for utility upgrades but little information on when, where & how
Florida company pays $60,000 after underpaying Hurricane Irma rebuild workers
A Winter Haven roofing contractor didn’t pay its Hurricane Irma recovery workers properly, so it paid $60,098 in back wages and liquidated damages, the Department of Labor announced. The $60,098 from Residential Construction Group went to 43 employees, an average of $1,397.63 per worker. More from the Miami Herald.
A ‘pest hell-hole': Inside Florida’s long, itchy war on mosquitoes
Desperate early Floridians tried everything to combat mosquitoes, from slathering their bodies in lumps of bear fat to burning oily rags. Indigenous people avoided mangrove trees, where mosquitoes breed in the summertime, and used nets to cover up. Spaniards hid from the hungry skeeters under their armor as they trudged through the marshes. That was just the beginning. More from the Tampa Bay Times.
Our power lines will be buried for storm safety. Now a judge will weigh in on the plan.
A court challenge to "storm protection” rules could help determine regulations over a project to bury power lines in Florida. A hearing is scheduled for Friday before the Florida Division of Administrative Hearings in Tallahassee. Earlier this year, lawmakers gave the state’s utilities a new vehicle to charge customers for burying power lines. Now it’s up to the Florida Public Service Commission to provide rules and protect consumers from being overcharged. More from the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
Carnival has a plan for improving its environmental record. Meet the man in charge.
The newest member of Carnival Corporation’s C-suite is tasked with steering the world’s largest cruise company through a passage beset by environmental dangers, long-standing practice and legal consequence. As the company’s new chief ethics and compliance officer, Pete Anderson is charged with shifting the company’s culture and preventing it from breaking environmental laws — all while a federal judge, court-appointed monitor, third-party auditor and probation officer look on. More from the Miami Herald.
Around the State
Cleared for takeoff
Jacksonville’s Cecil Spaceport is getting its second launch tenant. Huntsville, Ala.-based Aevum will use a $4.9-million federal contract to send small satellites into low Earth orbit from Cecil to support the military and other government agencies. Aevum joins Atlanta-based Generation Orbit at Cecil Spaceport, part of a former Navy base that’s now owned by the Jacksonville Aviation Authority (JAA).
» More from Florida Trend.
Profile
Calyann Barnet
Celebrity stylist turned creative director Calyann Barnett’s new retail concept The Shop In Pop Up Shop is designed to give brands with a digital presence the opportunity to test the Miami market. “We’re starting to grow,” Barnett said. “The way New York has done, L.A. has done — Miami is the next city.”
» Read more from the Miami Herald.
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