Tuesday's Afternoon Update
Big bucks betting Floridians will approve gambling expansions in 2022
When all is said and done, proponents and opponents could spend $1 billion trying to convince Floridians to expand or restrict gambling with $62 million already pledged to back or challenge three November 2022 ballot measures. The Florida Division of Elections last week posted two new prospective proposed Constitutional amendments that would ask Florida voters to approve new non-Seminole casinos and allow North Florida cardrooms to offer casino games. More from the Center Square.
Duke Energy, hedge fund continue battle
Duke Energy and a hedge fund continued a public battle Monday about the financial performance of the utility, including the operations of Duke Energy Florida. The West Palm Beach-based Elliott Investment Management L.P. sent an 11-page letter to the Duke Board of Directors criticizing company leaders and saying Duke Energy Florida is “perhaps the most glaring example of under-management.” More from the News Service of Florida.
Brevard libraries return with free or low-cost activities for every interest
Finally freed from pandemic-induced closures, Brevard County Public Libraries are back with in-person programming that ranges from Legos to ukuleles. “We have all kinds of things going on,” said Library Services director Wendi Bost. Even better, much of the programming is free, and the rest are affordably priced at just a few dollars. More from Florida Today.
Miami’s oldest tech conference just got new funds — and a familiar new board member
Miami’s longest continuously running tech conference, eMerge Americas, has received an investment from venture fund and angel investor network Florida Funders to expand its programming. Meanwhile, the conference is getting two new board members: Miami Mayor Francis Suarez and Marc Blumenthal, general partner at Florida Funders. More from the Miami Herald.
Real estate tech firm HomeLight opening Tampa regional hub, hiring 100
A San Francisco real estate technology company is opening a new regional hub in Tampa, and planning to hire more than 100 workers in the process. HomeLight, a platform that refers home sellers and buyers to agents and other services, announced Monday that it will base the Florida operations of its title and escrow division, HomeLight Closing Services, in Tampa’s Westshore district. More from the Tampa Bay Times.
Profile
Albert Dotson Jr., Managing Partner, Bilzin Sumberg, Miami
Albert Dotson Jr. is the founding president of the South Florida chapter of 100 Black Men of America, a nonprofit mentoring organization, and he’s especially proud of his work with former Miami Heat player Alonzo Mourning in Overtown, an historically black area of Miami. In 2003, in partnership with Mourning and developer Martin Margulies, Dotson helped open the Overtown Youth Center, initially as the attorney for the venture and then as its board chairman for its first 10 years. The center provides educational and recreational activities to local children.
» More from Florida Trend.
Economic Backbone
The one big threat when it comes to cyber-security has nothing to do with software
Though malicious software gets most of the attention when it comes to computer security, the biggest cyber-security threat right now is a hardware problem, says Mark Tehranipoor, director of the Florida Institute for Cybersecurity Research (FICS). Established in 2015 under the Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering at the University of Florida, FICS’ mission is to research all aspects of cyber-security, including hardware, network, mobile, big data, internet, applied crypto, social sciences and law.
» Read more from Florida Trend.