Florida rises in national rankings for electric vehicle sales
Floridians are feeling a bit more plugged in these days. At least when it comes to buying electric vehicles. This from the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, which compiled a state-by-state analysis of the U.S. electric vehicle market in the second quarter. EVs in Florida, the report found, represented 10.49% of all new light-duty vehicle sales statewide in the quarter. Florida is pacing slightly out of the national EV market share, which was 9.5% in the second quarter. More from the Business Observer.
Tropical Storm Melissa forms in the Caribbean
Tropical Storm Melissa has officially formed, and the first forecast track suggests it could threaten Haiti as a hurricane over the weekend. As of 11 a.m. Tuesday, the National Hurricane Center issued its first forecast track and cone for Melissa, which is expected to strengthen into a Category 1 hurricane as soon as Saturday as it approaches Haiti and Jamaica. More from the Miami Herald.
New charter schools poised to pull students from under-enrolled Orange campuses
Amid a burgeoning statewide controversy over a new law easing the way for private groups to launch public schools, two charter schools have announced plans to open in Orange County, moves that could pull students from neighborhood campuses already struggling to fill their classrooms. One of the new charter schools hopes to take advantage of the enrollment declines in Orange County Public Schools. It has filed paperwork to move, rent free, into a campus in Pine Hills that is about half empty. The other wants to recruit students from five other public schools. More from the Orlando Sentinel.
Coral Gables startup Surveill raises $1M to fuel the future of compliance AI
As co-founders of Surveill, a compliance intelligence startup in the financial services industry, Aydin Bonabi, his wife Asli Bonabi, and Ignacio Ortega deeply believe in human-led AI. They have built AI agents that act like compliance analysts that are hyper trained to provide insight and support to compliance officers. This team is on a mission to refine compliance as a driver of productivity and performance. More from Refresh Miami.
St. Petersburg gets another pitch to redevelop piece of Gas Plant
New pitches to develop part of the former Gas Plant neighborhood, where Tropicana Field stands today, keep coming in. The latest is from the Pinellas County Housing Authority, which on Oct. 8 submitted a proposal to St. Petersburg city officials to build a seven-story, 80-unit affordable senior housing building at 1659 Third Ave. S. That city-owned lot is east of Lot 3 used for Tampa Bay Rays games. More from the Tampa Bay Times.
Tech Trends
Tech firm, Florida Poly launch cybersecurity center
A local tech firm and Florida Polytechnic University are joining forces to train students to protect the STEM institution and businesses from ongoing digital attacks. In the stand-alone center located within the Barnett Applied Research building, paid student interns are gaining real-world experience in identifying and combating digital threats.
» More from WTVT.
Florida Trend Exclusive
Now hear this
Some companies look for headquarters based on factors like infrastructure, skilled labor and transportation. For hear.com cofounder Paul Crusius, Miami had a lot of appeal, starting with its time zone. Crusius and his partner Marco Vietor started their hearing aid business in 2012 in their native Germany. The time change ruled out the West Coast when they decided to open a U.S. office in 2015, Crusius says, and Miami just “has a special energy to it … a very entrepreneurial exploring, innovative energy.”
» Read more from Florida Trend.