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Florida climate change story will be told by state newspapers, public radio in new collaboration

Climate change is the story of Florida’s future. No other state has as much at risk. That’s why six of the leading news organizations in Florida have formed a partnership to share stories and work together to report on the complex challenges of climate change. The founding members include the Orlando Sentinel, Miami Herald, the South Florida Sun Sentinel, the Tampa Bay Times, the Palm Beach Post and WLRN Public Media. [Source: Orlando Sentinel]

Florida Hispanics Focused on Immigration, Economy and Healthcare as 2020 Election Begins

Hispanic voters are front and center this week as Telemundo hosts 20 contenders for the Democratic presidential nomination and two rounds of debates while Vice President Mike Pence launches Latinos for Trump in Miami. Asked about their top issues, 24 percent of Florida Hispanics say the most important issue is immigration while 21 percent say the economy and jobs and 17 percent point to healthcare, according to polls by Telemundo and Mason Dixon. [Source: Florida Daily]

Gov. DeSantis signs bill to create state hemp program

Gov. Ron DeSantis closed out Tuesday signing a raft of 15 bills, including legislation authorizing a state hemp program. SB 1020, which creates an industrial hemp program under the auspices of the state’s Department of Agriculture, cleared the Senate and House by unanimous votes this Session. The bill, sponsored by Senate Appropriations Chairman Rob Bradley, would allow the Department to administer regulations regarding licensing and cultivation of hemp, the THC-deficient cousin of marijuana. [Source: Florida Politics]

Virgin Trains USA beaks ground on Orlando passenger rail line

Virgin Trains USA officially broke ground Monday on an extension of its privately funded passenger-rail line from West Palm Beach to Orlando, Florida. Formerly Brightline, Virgin Trains is developing 170 miles of new track into the completed intermodal facility located in the new South Terminal at Orlando International Airport as part of the second phase of the expansion into central Florida. Read more from Brightline Press. Also available at Progressive Railroading and Orange County Government Florida.

See also:
» Virgin Trains USA announces initial public offering of up to $619 million to support Brightline expansion

» Virgin Group purchases Brightline, renames it Virgin Trains USA

ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› First Research Team to Film Elusive Giant Squid in U.S. Waters Includes USFSP Professor [USF]
Sleep comes at a premium on a research cruise – you take it when you can get it – but some things are worth waking up for.

› 2019’s Best Beach Towns to Live in [WalletHub]
WalletHub compared 192 cities across 62 key metrics. The data set ranges from housing costs to share of for-sale waterfront homes to quality of beach water.

› In Florida, your vegetable garden is now safe from local governments [Orlando Sentinel]
Local governments can no longer ban homeowners’ vegetable gardens under a bill signed into law by Gov. Ron DeSantis.

› The giant legal loophole in Florida's soon-to-debut texting-while-driving ban [Miami Herald]
Florida's new texting-while-driving law is set to take effect Monday, but police officers say enforcement is going to be a challenge. 

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Florida Association of Health Plans Annual Conference

Florida’s Health Plans: Connecting Florida’s Health Care Community | Join us for the 2019 Florida Association of Health Plans Annual Conference, Sept. 4-6, at the Hilton Bonnet Creek, Orlando.  Register at FAHP.net.

› Florida cracks down on plastic surgery centers, becoming among toughest states [USAToday]
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis late Tuesday signed into law the first major reform in more than a decade to the state's cosmetic surgery industry, giving regulators stronger tools than in many other states.

› Broward Health must pay six-figure fine to government [South Florida SunSentinel]
Broward Health has been smacked with a six-figure fine for being out of compliance with federal regulations when the publicly funded health system that operates six hospitals was in turmoil two years ago.

› Rieber Lands $36M Construction Loan on Florida Medical Office and Hotel Project [Commercial Observer]
, a lender based in Miami, has originated $36 million of construction financing to fund the development of a mixed-use commercial building in Aventura, Fla.

› Regional business council born out of experience bidding for Amazon headquarters [South Florida SunSentinel]
A television producer for one of Emeril Lagasse’s cooking shows is fighting a subpoena to turn over financial records to the Florida House of Representatives. Lawmakers are asking for years of records detailing how the show “Emeril’s Florida” spent millions of dollars it received from the state’s tourism agency.