SHARE:
Wednesday's Daily Pulse
What you need to know about Florida today
Women in Leadership: Change Agents
Women filled less than a quarter of Florida’s board seats last year, more than 3% behind the national average, University of Tampa professors Ashley Salaiz and Rebecca White found when they conducted their first study of female representation on the boards of Florida’s public companies in 2022. Their updated Florida Census of Women Public Company Directors is scheduled to be released Nov. 9 in Miami. Florida is expected to have inched up from 2022’s last-place finish to second-to-last, just ahead of Nevada among the 25 states with at least 20 Russell 3000 companies, according to early findings the researchers shared with Florida Trend. [Source: Florida Trend]
Florida students' ACT scores among nation's worst
Nationally, the class of 2023 had the worst ACT performance in more than three decades, according to newly released data from the nonprofit that administers the college admissions test. Florida's average composite ACT score, an average of the scores for the English, math, reading and science sections, was 18.9 out of 36, a big drop from 19.6 in 2014. Last year's average was 19. [Source: Axios]
New bill proposed in Florida to add annual fee for electric car, hybrid owners in lieu of gas tax
Senate Bill 28 proposes adding an extra license fee in 2024 for electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids starting in 2024. It would cost EV owners $200 more a year and then go up to $250 by 2029. Plug-in hybrid owners would pay an extra $50 license tax and then go up to $100. [Source: WTVT]
Space Florida, Israel Innovation Center seek new project proposals
It’s the latest call for proposals from the grant initiative to support an aerospace ecosystem and the Florida-Israel connection. The program has funded $20 million in research since the partnership started in 2013 when a $2 million recurring joint fund was established to support research, development and commercialization of aerospace and technology projects to “benefit both Israel and Florida,” according to a release. “Together, we are forging a future of collaboration and creating the global aerospace industry in an unbeatable location,” Rob Long, president and CEO of Space Florida, said in a release. “Working with our friends in Israel is one way we can fuel investment and growth in the aerospace industry.” [Source: Tampa Bay Business Journal]
Nursing home association warns feds that staffing proposal is unattainable
“Arbitrary and unfunded mandates such as proposed in this rule will only create access issues, because the staff required in this proposal do not exist, are not projected to exist, and the proposed requirements certainly cannot be met if CMS (the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services) is unwilling to provide any additional funding for centers to hire the staff needed to comply,” Emmett Reed, chief executive officer of the Florida Health Care Association, wrote in a to the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, last week. “Providers will be forced to limit admissions, at a minimum, and may be forced to close when they simply cannot afford to meet the requirements proposed.” [Source: News Service of Florida]
ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:
› Payment delays in Florida school voucher program need to be addressed, lawmakers say
It is unclear what state legislators will do to fix the problem, but it is expected to be an issue for the 2024 legislative session, which starts in January.
› Florida Attorney General takes legal action against solar company
At a Tampa news conference Tuesday, Ashley Moody will discuss a case involving a solar company accused of “scamming hundreds of Floridians,” according to a news release.
› Tampa tower owners obtain $45 million in financing
JLL Capital Markets arranged the five-year loan for Highwoods Properties and The Bromley Companies. New York Life Insurance Co. is the lender.
› Sarasota celebrates completion of water plant rehabilitation project
Water plant is the largest of its type in the United States; designed to maximize drinking water yield from wells Sarasota County marked the completion Monday of Phase 2 of the $52 Million rehabilitation of the Carlton Water Treatment Facility, at the T. Mabry Carlton Reserve off of Border Road near Venice.
Go to page 2 for more stories ...
In case you missed it:
