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Wednesday's Afternoon Update
What you need to know about Florida today
Will a more contagious virus reverse Florida’s recent downturn in COVID cases?
Even with two vaccines and COVID cases waning from a winter peak, Florida’s pandemic future has been obscured in recent weeks by the rapid spread of a new and more contagious variant of the virus. The state has become ground zero in the U.S. for the B.1.1.7 variant of the COVID virus, or the ‘”U.K. variant” — one of several spin-offs that have raised alarm in the scientific community. The more infectious version of the virus, scientists worry, could accelerate severe disease and deaths before public health officials get enough people vaccinated. More from the Miami Herald and WFIT.
Drilling will stop on controversial oil well 150 miles from South Florida after company finds the well too dry
A company will stop drilling a controversial oil well it started in December about 150 miles from the South Florida coast, after saying it did not find a valuable oil source. Bahamas Petroleum Company began drilling the exploratory well off the west coast of Andros Island on Dec. 20, despite wide criticism from Bahamian conservation groups as well as a group of U.S. Representatives led by Alcee Hastings. After six weeks of drilling, the company said it found oil, but a not a commercial quantity of it. More from the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
Canadian aerospace company to make Jacksonville its North American operations base
A Canadian company looking to build a propulsion system for hypersonic aircraft is planning to set up shop at Cecil Spaceport, the Jacksonville Aviation Authority said Tuesday. Space Engine Systems was lured to the area because the spaceport has already received required environmental and Federal Aviation Administration approval required to conduct testing at the former Navy base, JAA spokesperson Michael Stewart said. More from the Jacksonville Business Journal.
Florida bill would classify ‘DNA theft’ as a felony property crime
Florida in 2020 became the nation’s first state to enact a “DNA privacy” law prohibiting life, disability and long-term care insurance companies from using genetic tests for coverage purposes. Companion 2021 Senate-House bills would also establish a national first for Florida within the rapidly expanding realm of genetic privacy policy legislation and regulation: Felony criminal penalties for “stealing” or using someone’s DNA data, like any other personal property, without their consent. More from the Center Square.
New mosquito species found in South Florida. It’s an aggressive biter, of course.
South Florida appears to be home to yet another new invasive species — this one a mosquito that was last officially documented in the Florida Keys 75 years ago. The Aedes scapularis has been confirmed in Miami-Dade and Broward counties, according to a new study published in the Journal of Medical Entomology by Miami-Dade Mosquito Control Division, Broward Mosquito Control Section and Lawrence Reeves, an entomologist at the University of Florida. More from the AP.
Entertainment
‘Fear of Rain,’ shot in Tampa Bay and starring Katherine Heigl, premieres Friday
The writer and director of Fear of Rain lost her original source of financing and then had to change backdrops, costing her a state incentive and creating a larger budget. But the movie found a new home in the Tampa Bay area and was backed by financiers that included the Steinbrenner family. Now, the film starring Katherine Heigl and Harry Connick Jr. screens in theaters for at least a week beginning Friday.
» More from the Tampa Bay Times.
Development
Ghost structure from 2006 may yield new Miami Station
A plan to complete a skyscraper in the heart of downtown – begun 14 years ago – has evolved again, this time destined to bring more than 250,000 square feet of office space to the City of Miami. The latest proposal is called Miami Station and is planned for 530 NW First Court. The mixed-use project is to be considered Feb. 17 by the city’s Urban Development Review Board.
» Read more from Miami Today.
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