March 28, 2024

Tuesday's Afternoon Update

What you need to know about Florida today

| 2/9/2021

Florida Trend Exclusive
Smart Machines: AI technology's impact on Florida's business sectors

AI can’t replace humans, but the technology is making inroads in more and more business sectors. The leaps forward have been made possible by powerful computer processing engines and advances in machine learning techniques. Computers with enough horsepower can crunch large data sets and use a series of algorithms to extract patterns and glean insights from that information. More from Florida Trend.

Buccaneers’ Super Bowl win fills sails of Tampa Bay businesses

During the build-up to this year’s National Football League championship at Raymond James Stadium, local business owners had feared the worst about what a pandemic Super Bowl might cost them. But as jubilant Bucs fans hit the streets before and after the team’s 31-9 win over the Kansas City Chiefs, the picture looked — and certainly felt — a lot rosier. More from the Tampa Bay Times.

In Florida city, hackers try to poison the drinking water

A hacker gained unauthorized entry to the system controlling the water treatment plant of a Florida city of 15,000 and tried to taint the water supply with a caustic chemical, exposing a danger cybersecurity experts say has grown as systems become both more computerized and accessible via the internet. The hacker who breached the system at the city of Oldsmar’s water treatment plant on Friday using a remote access program shared by plant workers briefly increased the amount of sodium hydroxide by a factor of one hundred. More from the AP and Wired.

Sarasota media company purchases trade magazines

Wildflower Media, a Fort Lauderdale-based publisher of trade magazines and books for the floral industry, has sold Florists' Review, Superfloral and Canadian Florist to Fuse Media+. Sarasota-based Fuse Media+ plans to modernize the print publication of these floral industry titles, according to a press release. More from the Business Observer.

Capt. Sandy Yawn joins Visit Jacksonville

Visit Jacksonville elected three new members Feb. 5 to the tourism bureau for Jacksonville and the Beaches board of directors: Capt. Sandy Yawn, Jacksonville Sheriff Mike Williams and Alex Alston. Yawn is a mega-yacht captain and a star of “Below Deck Mediterranean” on the Bravo Network. She is building Maritime 618, a restaurant in LaVilla that will serve yacht-style cuisine. Yawn donates 50% of sales from her Capt. Sandy merchandise line to the nonprofit Jacksonville School for Autism. More from the Jacksonville Daily Record.

Event
New socially distanced Florida music festival Moon Crush debuts in April

 Moon Crush, a new spin on the music festival concept in the time of COVID-19 is happening in Florida in April, Taking place in Miramar in the Panhandle, the Moon Crush venture is an attempt at a COVID-safe live music event, with a beach getaway thrown in for good measure.

» More from the Orlando Weekly.

Celebrate The Big Win

Mention ImageLimited-edition book celebrates the Buccaneers’ remarkable season

Celebrate the Buccaneers’ 2020–21 championship with this hardcover collector’s book. Full of compelling stories and action-packed photos from the award-winning journalists of the Tampa Bay Times, this 160-page book puts you inside the huddle and is the perfect way to commemorate this historic season. Pre-order today and save big!

 

Sports Business
MLB's Grapefruit League to use Florida 'pods' for spring training

floridaMajor League Baseball's Grapefruit League teams are expected to be placed in separate "pods" in Florida as a COVID-19 safety precaution. Teams based on Florida's west coast will play 28 games. Teams with facilities on Florida's east coast will play 24 games against east coast opponents and have four intrasquad matchups. The Grapefruit League schedule is expected to start Feb. 26 and end March 30.

» Read more from UPI.

Tags: Daily Pulse, Afternoon Pulse

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Florida Trend Video Pick

Bitter-to-swallow cocoa costs force chocolate shops to raise prices
Bitter-to-swallow cocoa costs force chocolate shops to raise prices

Central Floirda chocolate shops are left with a bitter taste as cocoa prices hit an all-time high earlier this week.

Video Picks | Viewpoints@FloridaTrend

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