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Wednesday's Daily Pulse
What you need to know about Florida today
Does Iowa provide any lessons for Florida?
Florida is no stranger to elections problems, ranging from delays in reporting results to malfunctioning equipment to hard-to-read ballots. But elections experts cautioned against drawing too many lessons from Iowa’s Democratic caucuses for Florida’s upcoming primaries, given the vast disparities between the two systems. [Source: Tampa Bay Times]
Larger Puerto Rican-owned businesses coming to Central Florida
A clothing chain out of Puerto Rico is opening in Winter Park and it’s one of many larger Puerto Rican businesses moving to Central Florida. They customize tuxedos. Leonardo Cordero says Central Florida is the perfect “fit” for his clothing chain. "One of the greatest advantages we have is it’s more friendly to open a business. Permits itself, everything on the business side was quicker, easier," Cordero said. According to the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Metro Orlando, Cordero isn’t the only one to open a larger business here. [Source: WOFL]
Florida senators OK $2 million tax break for rental-car giants
A group of Florida senators -- including three from Central Florida -- voted Tuesday to give $2 million tax breaks to rental-car giant Avis Budget Group Inc. and a few other big companies that rent or lease cars. The Senate Commerce and Tourism Committee unanimously approved the tax break (SB 1240), which could also save $2 million each for Hertz Global Holdings Inc. and Enterprise Holdings Inc. [Source: Orlando Sentinel]
Who’s killing horses in Central Florida? A mystery terrifies owners.
Buying and selling horse meat is effectively illegal in the U.S., but slaughter had been on the minds of many in the Central Florida horse community lately. In the span of a couple of weeks, horses in three counties had been stolen, killed and butchered, ravaged bodies or severed heads left behind. The news rattled owners and caretakers who feared they’d be next. [Source: Tampa Bay Times]
In South Florida, tweets about flooded streets come before the actual floods, a new study found
When water levels start to rise in Miami, pictures and videos quickly pop up on social media of cars fording deep puddles, and tourists trying to keep their luggage dry. A new study suggests that those posts — specifically, the tweets — could be an effective method for measuring the real-life impact of floods. [Source: Miami Herald]
ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:
› Lockheed Martin to boost Orlando tech with new $100,000 program
Lockheed Martin has created a $100,000 grant program that will award Orlando small tech companies with the money they need to pursue projects in areas like artificial intelligence, sensors and autonomy. “Lockheed Martin Invests: Orlando” is one of the first by a private company to specifically target Central Florida companies and could be a major shot in the arm to Orlando’s technology community, which has been trying to position itself as an emerging tech hub.
› Dunedin’s historic Coca-Cola plant to close, affecting 193 workers
Since opening in the 1940s, the plant on San Christopher Drive has produced everything from orange juice concentrate for World War II troops overseas to peels that ended up in perfume and cattle feed. For years, orange juice containers sold at McDonald’s restaurants across the country came with the label “Made in Dunedin, FL.”
› Autonomous vehicle testing begins in Gainesville
A long-awaited pilot project launched Monday in Gainesville — but this time there is no pilot. The University of Florida and the Florida Department of Transportation have partnered to bring the first autonomous vehicle to the city of Gainesville. Community members were invited to a Monday morning ribbon-cutting ceremony and an inaugural test ride of the shuttle, running between the Southwest Third Street parking garage to Innovation Square near Southwest Second Avenue.
› Another hub for tech in Miami? A growing company found a new home in the Grove
Coconut Grove has what tech teams are craving. And some are willing to pay a premium to get it. The growing company Taxfyle, which provides an on-demand tax filing app, signed a three-year lease for 13,959 square feet in Coconut Grove in December. It moved to a Class A space in the Mayfair in early January.
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