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Monday's Afternoon Update
What you need to know about Florida today
Snakes even larger than Burmese pythons may be breeding in Florida
Considered the heaviest of the constrictors, green anacondas (Eunectes murinus) are like Burmese pythons and other constrictors in that they'll eat almost anything. A handful of green anacondas have been found in the wild and captured across the state, including one near the Naples area, according to USGS records. Scientists say there is possibly a colony established in the Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park in Collier County. More from Yahoo News and USA Today.
State Farm Florida is now the state’s second-largest home insurer. It vows to stay in Florida.
State Farm is becoming a good neighbor to Florida again. The company regained its position as the state’s largest private market insurer — and No. 2 insurer overall — during the first quarter of the year, supplanting longtime No. 2 Universal Property & Casualty Corp., according to an analysis of marketshare data produced by the state Office of Insurance Regulation. More from the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
Central Florida businesses agree Brightline's impact will be significant
Kevin Thibault sees massive potential for the Brightline passenger train station's local stop being housed at Orlando International Airport. As the Miami-based intercity train begins rail service on the $2.8 billion, 170-mile route from South Florida into Orlando, some of the impact it will have on the airport will become clear in the weeks after service starts, the CEO of the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority said. Tickets already are on sale for travel from Sept. 1 through March of next year — though service may start earlier than that. More from the Orlando Sentinel.
Two years after environmental disaster, how close is Piney Point to closing for good?
More than two years after Manatee County’s environmental disaster made national headlines, the long-neglected Piney Point site is closer than ever to final closure. When a giant pond began leaking and threatened to collapse in April 2021, state leaders were forced to authorize the release of 215 million gallons of contaminated water into Tampa Bay. With an injection of $100 million in state funding and court-appointed leadership, site operators are on track to ensure that never happens again. More from the Miami Heald.
Amazon to set up $120 million Space Coast shop in competition with SpaceX’s Starlink
Amazon and Jeff Bezos have big plans to launch thousands of satellites from the Space Coast, hoping to play catchup and compete with Elon Musk and SpaceX’s Starlink service. To speed up the process, it’s going to build a $120 million facility to prep those satellites just miles from the launch pad. The company announced Friday it has agreed to expand into Florida with Project Kuiper, the name for its future broadband satellite network, by setting up a 100,000-square-foot processing facility at a nearly 80-acre site at the Kennedy Space Center’s former Shuttle Landing Facility. More from the Orlando Sentinel.
Sports Business
Toon Town says it will be largest indoor pickleball facility in Jacksonville
Less than two years after the Toon Town entertainment and sports complex in Talleyrand added two indoor pickleball courts, the business is adding four more courts to accommodate players of the fast-growing sport. Richard Parkes, director of pickleball activities at Toon Town, and J.T. Rhodes, owner of the business that has a pizzeria and games, oversee the complex at 444 Talleyrand Ave., which has been in operation for about seven years.
» More from the Jacksonville Daily Record.
Profile
Dial-an-expert, no charge
Steven D. Rubin, a South Florida real estate attorney for more than four decades, jokes that he has a bright idea every 40 years. Several years back, he had the idea of connecting volunteer, board-certified specialist attorneys with legal aid staff attorneys in need of expert help on thorny client matters. In 2018, he and the Florida Bar Foundation created a Certified Lawyers on Call Service. “That was my bright idea,” Rubin says.
» Read more from Florida Trend.
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