Lawmakers aim to overhaul state energy laws

Florida lawmakers are moving toward approving an overhaul of state energy laws, including eliminating references to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and imposing a ban on offshore wind-energy generation. The bills address numerous issues, ranging from natural gas pipelines to calling for a study of using “advanced” nuclear power technologies. Perhaps bigger picture, they would ditch parts of state law about reducing greenhouse-gas emissions. [Source: News Service of Florida]

Florida Trend Exclusive
Artificial intelligence: Donor science

Artificial intelligence might be all the rage these days, but Michael Peterman was an early adopter of the technology. In the early 2000s, the Naples native was working at a Fort Myers company called AccuData and started closely watching what tech giants like Amazon and Netflix were doing with all the data they were collecting. “It was around the time when some juggernauts in Silicon Valley were launching their early forms of machine learning,” he says. [Source: Florida Trend]

Researchers ‘optimistic’ that manatees are making a comeback in Florida

The number of manatees roaming Florida’s rivers, harbors, and coastline has dwindled in recent years, but experts are ‘cautiously optimistic’ that the population is rebounding. A sighting of nearly 1,000 manatees at Blue Spring State Park, on a chilly January morning, is the latest sign of a turning point for the gentle giants, that have been struggling to survive. [Source: Accuweather]

Florida gas prices rise on anticipated demand, refinery shutdown

Gas prices in Florida went up last week and topped the national average as anticipated demand and the unplanned shutdown at a large refinery pushed pump prices higher. The AAA auto club said the average price of a gallon of regular unleaded Tuesday in Florida was $3.34, up seven cents from a week earlier and up 34 cents from a month ago. [Source: CBS News]

One year later, Florida legislators are updating the $711 million Live Local Act

A year after passing the landmark Live Local Act aimed at spurring the construction of affordable and attainable housing in Florida, lawmakers are tweaking the law to ease concerns from a small number of localities and to strengthen some provisions. The proposed legislation to tweak the law has won wide bipartisan support.  [Source: Business Observer]

ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› Dozier School victims could get compensation for abuse they endured [Tampa Bay Times]
Survivors of the Dozier school could soon receive money for the physical and sexual abuse they endured at the state-operated program. Sen. Darryl Rouson, D-St. Petersburg, has repeatedly filed legislation seeking to create a fund for the school’s victims, but it never got far off the ground. This year, though, bills are nearing their final stops.

› Who won 2024 HGTV Dream Home in Florida? The cash option and other things to know [Tallahassee Democrat]
Who won HGTV's 2024 Dream Home giveaway? Now that voting is over, it's a waiting game. The sweepstakes officially ended this month for the beautiful Anastasia Island, Florida, home that was designed by architect Michael Stauffer and built by local builder Glenn Layton Homes. The home's interior design was by Brian Patrick Flynn.

› Pension-based 'Stadium of the Future' funding option sparks concerns in Jacksonville [Jacksonville Daily Record]
Jacksonville City Council Vice President Randy White says he received a stream of calls from his former co-workers to the news that the city was exploring the idea of borrowing from pension fund assets to help pay for the Jacksonville Jaguars’ “Stadium of the Future.”

› New FEMA flood maps for Sarasota County will update insurance requirements, risk levels [Sarasota Herald-Tribune]
Federal officials have drawn new maps for Sarasota County, documenting areas vulnerable to flooding to inform homeowners of the dangers they face and also document possible insurance requirements for property owners with mortgages. The maps will take effect on March 27.

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› Inter Miami unveils new name for stadium [South Florida Sun-Sentinel]
Inter Miami CF, the soccer team that has drawn international attention with superstar Lionel Messi, will play at a newly named stadium. DRV PNK Stadium has been renamed to Chase Stadium. The new signage was on display Tuesday at the venue. The partnership between Inter Miami CF (which is short for Club International de Fútbol Miami) and JPMorgan Chase was introduced as a “multiyear partnership.” It’s Chase’s first stadium naming rights deal in professional “fútbol.”

› No costume? No problem. Pensacon has something for everyone [Pensacola News Journall]
Make sure your lightsaber is charged and ready, as Pensacon, Pensacola's annual pop-culture convention, celebrates its 11th year Feb. 23-25. If there’s one message that Pensacon Marketing Director Julio Diaz wants to get across – it’s that Pensacon is for everyone, from the Power Ranger enthusiasts to the people watchers.

› The founder of a St. Pete trust fund is accused of taking $100 million [Tampa Bay Times]
A St. Petersburg nonprofit that administers trust funds for people with medical needs has filed for bankruptcy and is accusing its founder of taking $100 million in an unsanctioned loan. The Center for Special Needs Trust Administration filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in a Tampa federal court this month after learning that about half of the $200 million in trusts it oversees are missing.

› Embry Riddle professor says NASA’s CLPS initiative will bring change to the lunar economy [WFIT]
Through the Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative, NASA is working with several American companies to deliver science and technology to the moon. Commercial company Intuitive Machines launched a lunar lander, named Odysseus, on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Kennedy Space Center last Thursday, Feb. 15, and it is expected to reach the moon on Thursday, Feb. 22.