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Thursday's Daily Pulse
What you need to know about Florida today
› Fort Lauderdale agrees to pay Elon Musk team $375,000 to do recon on beach tunnel plan
The town with killer gridlock is one step closer to making a deal with The Boring Company to take traffic underground. On Tuesday night, Fort Lauderdale commissioners said yes to kicking in $375,000 for a feasibility study that will help Elon Musk’s team of experts answer three key questions: Can South Florida’s terrain safely accommodate a pair of 2.7-mile tunnels? What is the best route for the so-called Las Olas Loop that would take passengers in Teslas from downtown to the beach and back? And how much will it cost?
› USF professor uses drones to find mosquito breeding habitats
A University of South Florida associate professor is working on a drone project he hopes ends the spread of tropical diseases across the world, and the technology is working its magic in Hillsborough County. Benjamin Jacob is currently in Uganda working with drones trying to eradicate a major source of malaria. He created the technology, which pairs a smartphone app with a drone and satellite images to find mosquitoes.
› City office tower targeted for soccer complex at Melreese
Miami’s new city government office building may rise next door to the new Miami Freedom Park, soon home to David Beckham and partners’ Major League Soccer stadium and a commercial park. The location is generally where the Melreese golf course clubhouse sits, on part of the land to be remediated and redeveloped by Miami Freedom Park LLC, adjacent to Miami International Airport.
› Company agrees to not build solar farm near historic Black community in Archer
A company that was planning to build a solar farm next to a historic Black neighborhood near Archer has withdrawn its application to build on the site, elating residents who have been fighting the proposal. Last July, the Alachua County commissioners denied Miami-based Origis Energy from building a solar farm on 638 acres outside Archer on County Road 346. The company has been trying to appeal the ruling based on a state law that Origis lawyers say allows similar projects by right.
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