What is keeping tropical storms from developing in Atlantic basin?
Ten days into the Atlantic hurricane season, the National Hurricane Center has yet to highlight anything on its tropical outlook map showing any disturbances with a potential for development in the Atlantic basin. The most common locations for June storms to develop are the northwestern Caribbean, eastern Gulf, and off the Southeastern U.S. coast. More from the Florida Times-Union and the Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
Florida Trend Exclusive
Florida Icon: Leslie Pantin
Leslie Pantin, president of The Pantin Partnership, reflects on his journey from Havana to Miami. He tells us: "My childhood was incredible in Havana. We were well-positioned financially. It was a wonderful life in Havana until we left when I was 11. The Castro regime was coming on top of all of us. Things were getting real bad in Cuba. So we left for the United States for what we thought was going to be six weeks." [Source: Florida Trend]
Column: Florida is right to sue over ChatGPT risks, but one state alone can’t fix AI
Florida sued OpenAI this week claiming that ChatGPT poses a risk to children and that it aids in suicide and mass murder. We’re the first state to file this kind of suit. And while I agree with the reasons for the suit, I’m skeptical of a state-by-state regulation approach for technology. Even if Florida succeeds in holding OpenAI accountable, the lawsuit highlights a larger reality — Artificial Intelligence is too vast a problem for any one state to tackle. The federal government should take the lead. [Source: Tampa Bay Times]
DeSantis signs 17 bills, gets 20 more
Gov. Ron DeSantis on Tuesday signed 17 bills into law, and formally received 20 more pieces of legislation. The bills he signed are known as local bills, dealing with a piece of law affecting only specific city or county jurisdictions. For instance, one bill (HB 4029) puts a referendum on the November ballot for Hillsborough County voters, giving them the option to increase their county commission from seven members to nine members, with further expansion to 11 members if their population hits 2.5 million. As of the 2020 census, Hillsborough County had 1.58 million people. [Source: News Service of Florida]
Insurance experts urge Florida homeowners to prepare for hurricane season despite quiet forecast
Insurance experts say homeowners should not let their guard down despite forecasts calling for a below-average number of named storms this year. The Insurance Information Institute, also known as Triple-I, said preparation remains one of the best ways to reduce damage before a storm arrives. [Source: My Suncoast]
ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:
› Jacksonville's Suddath sees brighter future in military moving after controversial contract cancellation
Following the cancellation of a contentious military contract for the movement of military goods, one of Jacksonville’s most prominent companies in transportation sees a better environment to stay in the industry. Suddath praised Department of War Secretary Pete Hegseth and federal officials for launching the Personal Property Activity in January to oversee the operations of the Defense Personal Property Program, in other words, the program for assigning contractors such as Suddath to move the personal possessions and household goods of service members. The high praise marks a stark change from a year and a half ago.
› Miami-Dade pursues eminent domain for fuel terminal site serving port
Miami-Dade County Mayor Danielle Levine Cava said the county will pursue eminent domain action to acquire a fuel terminal on Fisher Island that serves ships at PortMiami, which would prevent condo development there. County officials were negotiating a deal to acquire the property but they couldn’t reach an acceptable agreement with the owners, she said. Governments in Florida can use eminent domain to seize private property for crucial public purposes, but they still need to pay compensation to the property owner.
› Clearwater to hand downtown street over to Scientologists
The Church of Scientology’s “spiritual headquarters” in the heart of downtown Clearwater may be one step closer to completion. Over the past decade, the church has swiftly ramped up its development projects, fueling city planning and community concerns about downtown’s future. The Clearwater City Council voted 3-2 June 4 to hand the church one block of South Garden Avenue.
› Orlando Kidz Zone celebrates 20 years of community impact
Orlando Kidz Zone launched in 2006 with the aim of diverting the paths of so many wayward kids that it would create a cultural shift. Modeled after the successful Harlem Children’s Zone in New York, the program recently celebrated its 20-year anniversary. It has served 9,000 children, lifting the high school graduation rate for those children up to more than 90%.
More stories ...
› Work completed on Jacksonville Jaguars’ headquarters
The Jacksonville Jaguars’ new headquarters building is over the goal line. PCL Construction Services Inc., the contractor on the One Tower Court project, announced it had completed work on the six-story building. The Jaguars held an opening ceremony for the tower in March, when portions had yet to be finished.
› Private, members-only racquet club is rising fast near West Palm
The Court Club, a private club focused on racquet sports, is rising fast in the greater West Palm Beach area. Also rising: the club's membership roster. Already there are 100 founding families. Organizers now are looking to select more members from the whopping 700-applicant wait list.
› Fort Myers considers doubling downtown scooter fleet
More scooters could soon be traveling on downtown Fort Myers streets. Spin, the company that provides the scooters, asked City Council members during a workshop June 8 to allow it to double the number of rental scooters from 100 to 200. “We think the strong demand we’ve seen on ridership would allow us to better serve the folks trying to use the program,” Spin representative Bruno Lopes said. Spin’s agreement with the city allows for an expansion of up to 400 scooters.
› Broward set to approve video-capable 911 system
Broward’s 911 system is about to get a major upgrade that promises to vastly improve law enforcement’s ability to respond quickly to emergencies and allow people seeking help to provide more information than ever before. County staff presented the idea to the commission last year, leading to a request for proposals from businesses interested in providing the service to Broward’s 2 million residents.