SHARE:
Friday's Daily Pulse
What you need to know about Florida today
Waiving bar exams a no go, says Florida Supreme Court
The Florida Supreme Court on Thursday refused a request to waive a requirement that law school graduates pass the state bar exam to practice law, saying that such a move could result in harm to the public. Dozens of lawyers last month filed a petition with the court seeking to lift the exam requirement for law school graduates who had signed up for a test that was supposed to be conducted in person in July. A state board switched to an online test amid the coronavirus pandemic, but that test also had to be postponed because of technical problems. [Source: Tampa Bay Times]
Travel experts: Expect at least one million more people in Florida for Labor Day Weekend
If you plan on traveling for Labor Day weekend you’re not alone. While travel experts at AAA aren’t making any predictions, data collected by the travel itinerary app TripIt show millions of people plan to travel to COVID-19 hot spots with Florida ranking number one. It reports while flight bookings are down 66 percent compared to last year, hot spots include Florida, Arizona, Nevada Mexico and the Caribbean. [Source: WTSP]
Edible medical pot candies hitting Florida shelves
Just one week after health officials signed off on guidelines for edible pot products, Florida’s largest medical marijuana operator on Wednesday began selling THC-infused candies in Tallahassee. The edible products are appearing on shelves nearly four years after Floridians approved a 2016 constitutional amendment that legalized medical marijuana for a broad swath of patients and nearly three years after state legislators passed a law carrying out the amendment. [Source: News Service of Florida]
Will the CDC’s national eviction moratorium apply to Floridians? Housing experts aren’t sure
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s national eviction moratorium left Florida housing experts scratching their heads. Will it apply to Florida, where there’s already a moratorium in place? They weren’t sure. “The bottom line is really we don’t know what effect it’s going to have,” said Jamos “Jay” Mobley, senior housing attorney at Orange County’s Legal Aid Society, who’s been helping low-income residents fight eviction notices. [Source: Orlando Sentinel]
Settlement reached on utility hurricane costs
Nearly two years after Hurricane Michael devastated parts of Northwest Florida, Gulf Power and consumer representatives have reached a proposed settlement on costs of restoring power and rebuilding damaged parts of the electric system following the storm. Gulf contended that it should be able to recoup $295 million from customers, but the state Office of Public Counsel, which represents consumers, disputed that amount. The two sides reached a settlement last week that would trim $5 million, along with requiring Gulf in the future to take steps to better track storm-related costs. [Source: News Service of Florida]
ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:
› Rare 3.8 magnitude earthquake rattles Florida-Alabama border, USGS confirms
A rare minor earthquake was reported near the border of Florida and Alabama Thursday morning, the United States Geological Survey confirmed. The USGS initially said the earthquake was magnitude 4.0 and happened near Mount Carmel, Florida in Santa Rosa County. The agency later updated to say the quake was actually 3.8 magnitude and happened near Pollard, Alabama.
› SeaWorld offers free admission for Florida teachers for a year
SeaWorld is offering free admission to Florida certified teachers for the next year, the theme park announced Thursday. “The teaching community deserves our thanks now more than ever,” SeaWorld said in a press release. Teachers can pre-register online using the ID.me process to receive the SeaWorld Florida Teacher Card eVoucher.
› One Daytona still ‘work in progress’ 6 years after getting $40M in public tax money
It’s been six years since the city of Daytona Beach and Volusia County approved $40 million in incentives to partially offset NASCAR’s costs in developing One Daytona across from Daytona International Speedway. They did so after a pair of economic studies predicted the entertainment/retail complex’s initial phase would create 4,300 direct and indirect jobs. One Daytona was also forecast to generate more than $250 million in local tax revenues over 30 years.
› Wild Florida buys more land, plans expansion of attraction
Wild Florida is in expansion mode. The Osceola County airboat, gator park and drive-through safari attraction has purchased 185 acres adjacent to its current 85 acres. “Our vision has been to create an easier way to explore the beauty of natural Florida and learn about wildlife around the world from your air-conditioned car,” Ranier Munns, co-owner of Wild Florida, located on Lake Cypress in Kenansville.
Go to page 2 for more stories ...
In case you missed it:
