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Wednesday's Afternoon Update
What you need to know about Florida today
Florida justices question state argument against recreational marijuana amendment
Florida Supreme Court justices on Wednesday cast doubt on the state’s attempt to block a proposed amendment that would allow recreational marijuana use. During a hearing Wednesday, Justice Charles Canady said he was “baffled” by an argument presented by the Attorney General’s Office, which is seeking to disqualify the amendment that would allow marijuana use for people 21 and older. Proponents are hoping to put the amendment to voters in 2024. More from the Tampa Bay Times.
Veterans make more than civilians in these South Florida cities
According to a report from SmartAsset, veterans in Hialeah earned $66,521 in 2022, an amount that was 159.4% higher than the $25,648 annual salary of those who didn't serve in the military. The income gap between veterans and civilians in Hialeah was also the second largest in the U.S. among large cities with populations of 100,000 or higher. More from the South Florida Business Journal.
APEX Accelerator AT FAU helps businesses access government contracts
Florida Atlantic University’s Innovation and Business Development program has been selected as the regional administrator for the newly named Florida APEX Accelerator, a federal network designed to expand the number of businesses in the United States capable of participating in government contracts. APEX Accelerators provide businesses with the knowledge, resources and relationships they need to scale, innovate and contribute to America’s industrial base and Florida’s economy. FAU is the exclusive administrator of the APEX Accelerator program for Palm Beach and Broward counties, with the goal of helping create a resilient, sustainable supply chain for the U.S. Department of Defense and other federal, state and local government agencies. More from Florida Atlantic University.
Orange County tourism gets economic boost after months of declining dollars
After five months of declining tourism tax dollars, Orange County is seeing a slight improvement for September. “We finished a little bit less than 1% up,” said Orange County Comptroller Phil Diamond. “Hopefully, this is a sign that things will improve.” That increase means the county took in over $359 million for fiscal year 2022/2023. “That is the most we’ve ever done in Orange County,” said Diamond. Diamond attributed that success to the spike in tourists following the pandemic. “This year, we just had record after record after record because Florida was the only game in town,” said Diamond. But then things started to level out, with the post-pandemic rush fading. More from WDBO.
Florida ranks high in 2024 U.S. News & World Report best cities to retire. Here's the list
Looking for a place to retire? Florida is waiting for you. In the U.S. News & World Report's "2024 Best Places to Retire in the U.S." list, 10 of the top 30 ranked cities are in the Sunshine State. The top place to retire in Florida? Daytona Beach, which came in at No. 8 out of the 150 metropolitan cities that made the list. Pennsylvania dominated the list for retirees this year, with Harrisburg, Reading, Lancaster, Scranton and Allentown taking the first five spots. New York City was No. 7, then back to Pennsylvania with York at No. 7 and Pittsburgh at No. 10. No. 9 was Youngstown, Ohio. That's something of an upset over last year when there were four Florida cities in the top ten, but rising housing costs may have cost us some points. More from the Daytona Beach News-Journal.
Space
Four Sarasota County students to see lab experiment launched into orbit on a SpaceX rocket
Four eighth-grade students from Pine View, Yatharth Kakkad, Felix Ratner, Rugan Suresh and Rishik Yellu, worked for over a year on research about the effects of microgravity on the ability of the microalga Chlorella vulgaris to remove nitrogen and phosphorous from wastewater. The students' experiment is scheduled to launch on a SpaceX rocket from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral on Thursday, a date that has been rescheduled several times due to normal launch delays.
» More from the Herald Tribune.
Profiles
Miami Springs voice actor Mauriett Chayeb Mendez brings characters to life worldwide
Without an agent, union colleagues or trips to Hollywood, Miami Springs resident Mauriett Chayeb Mendez has found success as an international voice actor. Chayeb Mendez, 35, worked for years behind the scenes as a production assistant on film and television projects for companies like VH1 and A24. A Craigslist ad looking for a voice actor changed her life.
» Read more from the Miami Herald.
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