Can NASA keep the public excited about moon missions after Artemis I?
NASA’s Artemis program captured the attention of the nation this past month when an uncrewed Orion capsule completed a nearly month-long test flight around the moon and back. Now the agency has to find a way to keep the public excited about its moon program. It’s going to be a long time, about two years, before the agency's 322-foot Space Launch System, the world’s most powerful rocket sets the Florida sky ablaze again to launch the Artemis II Mission. As for the first footsteps on the moon since 1972 with Artemis III — that might not occur before 2030. [Source: Florida Today]
Business Beat - Week of December 16th
Get top news-to-know with Florida Trend's headline-focused video newsbrief, hosted by digital content specialist Aimée Alexander.
Wildlife officials step up efforts to save starving manatees as cold weather approaches
There’s a new stepped-up effort to reduce manatee deaths in Florida this winter in what officials say is the largest supplemental feeding project the state’s wildlife agency has ever engaged in. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are working together to beef up and refine strategies to curb the rising number of deaths. Manatee mortality has risen sharply in the past two years, with 2021 mortality numbers reaching 1,052, significantly higher than the past five-year average of 682. More from the South Florida Sun-Sentinel and WFSU.
Unequal Futures: In Florida, poorer communities fund scholarships for wealthier kids
“The kids hit the jackpot this year.” That’s how then-Gov. Lawton Chiles described Bright Futures, the Florida Lottery-funded scholarship program, when it became law 25 years ago. But that jackpot’s prizes aren’t paid out equally. An Orlando Sentinel investigation found that Bright Futures’ benefits go disproportionately to students from more affluent areas and mostly bypass students living in poorer neighborhoods — the same neighborhoods where higher lottery ticket sales provide much of Bright Futures’ money. [Source: Orlando Sentinel]
Florida’s nursing pipeline is broken as many would-be nurses fail their exams
As Florida struggles with a growing demand for nurses, its system for training them has a serious problem. Every year, thousands of nursing school graduates fail at the finish line, unable to make the final milestone required to become licensed. Registered and practical nurses must pass the National Council Licensure Examination before they can practice anywhere in the United States. And Florida nursing students are failing at a rate higher than anywhere else in the nation. [Source: Tampa Bay Times]
ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:
› ‘The phone’s barely ringing.’ Orlando home sales plummet in November.
Orlando home sales hit their lowest point in nearly four years in November, heading into the holidays with falling prices and rising inventory, according to the latest market report. Sales in metro Orlando were down 26.5% from October to 1,996, the lowest total since January 2019, according to the new report from the Orlando Regional Realtor Association. It was a drop of 45.5% compared with November 2021. “The phone’s barely ringing,” said real estate agent John Silva of John Silva Realty & Associates in Orlando.
› Miami Military Museum should stay private, mayor says
The good news about the county’s proposed takeover of the Miami Military Museum beside ZooMiami is that an initial inspection says its electrical and mechanical systems “show no deficiencies.” That’s according to a memo issued last week by Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava. So, all that’s left to resolve are the termite-ridden museum’s buckled floors, leaky roof, and potential heating, ventilation and air condition issues.
› Coca-Cola opens new St. Petersburg sales and distribution center
Coca-Cola has a new facility in the Tampa Bay area. The beverage company opened its $10.2 million sales and distribution center off Gandy Bridge in St. Petersburg earlier this month, Coke Florida said in a statement Wednesday. Coke Florida began operating at the site on Dec. 5. Construction began on the site in 2019 and was delayed by the pandemic, said the Coca-Cola Florida branch based out of Tampa.
› Record-tying cargo ship joins Jacksonville rotation
A containership tying the record for the largest to visit Jacksonville arrived at JaxPort this week, the Jacksonville Port Authority announced. The ZIM USA has a cargo capacity of 11,923 TEU and is one of four new ships replacing smaller vessels in ZIM’s weekly container service, according to a JaxPort news release. The ZIM USA is one of two 11,700-TEU and two 11,923-TEU ships to be included in a regular JaxPort rotation, replacing smaller vessels.
Go to page 2 for more stories ...
› What will Santa bring? For Vero Beach Regional Airport, a U.S. Customs facility
Corporate Air is close to breaking ground on a $20 million expansion at Vero Beach Regional Airport that will include a U.S. Customs facility – complete with interrogation rooms and holding cells – and six 20,000-square-foot hangers for private jets. Corporate Air is a fixed base operator, or FBO, that provides fuel, aircraft maintenance, hangar space, charter flights and related services for customers who fly in and out of town on private or corporate planes.
› Why a popular Miami-area beach has been closed. Your health may be at risk
Miami-Dade health officials issued a no-swimming advisory at the popular Crandon Park South beach after two water samples exceeded the recreational water quality standards for enterococci. In simple terms, there’s too much waste in the water, which can come from human or animal feces.
› Alachua County votes to withdraw support for affordable housing project in east Gainesville
The Alachua County Commission in a special meeting on Tuesday passed a split vote to withdraw its support for a proposed $25 million affordable housing development in east Gainesville. The project was being spearheaded by the Jacksonville-based nonprofit Ability Housing, which purchased the roughly 6.3 acres next to the city of Gainesville's Heartwood homes development for about $1.8 million.
› FIS accelerates management changes: Stephanie Ferris becoming CEO on Dec. 16
Fidelity National Information Services Inc., or FIS, announced that Stephanie Ferris will assume the role of CEO on Dec. 16. The Jacksonville-based financial technology company announced in October that Ferris, FIS president, would succeed Gary Norcross as CEO on Jan. 1, with Norcross assuming the role of executive chairman. However, FIS said in its Dec. 15 announcement that Norcross is leaving the company entirely.