Jacksonville Zoo and Botanical Gardens has opened its J. Wayne and Delores Barr Weaver Manatee River and VyStar SkyScape entrance. The 333,000-gallon facility was designed for the rescue, rehabilitation and release of Florida manatees. The SkyScape includes an immersive video screen, a café and retail space, and views of the Manatee River habitat.
NOTABLE QUOTABLE
"Technology has been clearly shown to improve our ability to find more polyps and reduce the miss rate for some of these flat, subtle polyps."
— Mayo Clinic Florida gastroenterologist Dr. Michael Wallace, commenting on the use of AI-enhanced imaging to spot and treat colon polyps that might be missed during a colonoscopy.
SPORTS
- The Jacksonville Jaguars will officially use Camping World Stadium in Orlando during the 2027 season while renovations take place at EverBank Stadium, the football team's home stadium.
HIGHER EDUCATION
- The University of North Florida will use an $8-million gift from the estate of Kernan R. Hodges to renovate and upgrade its Hodges Stadium. The funds for the 9,400-seat stadium add broadcast-level lighting as well as a digital video board and support upgrades made possible with $6 million allocated from the city of Jacksonville last year. The stadium is home to the school's soccer and track and field teams.
- The Healthcare Simulation Center for Jacksonville University will return to its Arlington campus. It had been at a former shopping plaza for more than six years. The simulation center will be part of JU's College of Healthcare Sciences building and will include mock hospital rooms, exam rooms and an anatomy lab, among other features.
MOSH
- The Museum of Science & History in Jacksonville released renderings for three of 10 galleries at its new location. Nexus will be the proposed "town square" of the new museum, and Nature & Culture will focus on Jacksonville. The location is slated to open in 2028.
HEALTH CARE
- In a $465-million deal, India-based Infosys has acquired Optimum Healthcare IT, a Jacksonville Beach-based firm that specializes in health care IT and consulting. The acquisition will assist Infosys in growing AI and digital operations. Infosys has more than 330,000 employees in 63 countries.
- UF Health has opened its UF Health Orthopaedic Surgical Center in Gainesville, a $27-million, 24,000-sq.-ft. facility with six operating rooms, as well as 11 pre-operative and 11 postoperative bays.
EXPANSION
- Phillips Infrastructure of Knoxville, Tenn., has opened an office in Jacksonville. The firm has built infrastructure for Walt Disney World as well as for Blue Origin's orbital rocket campus and other Florida projects. The Jacksonville office will serve as a regional hub for its Northeast Florida market and surrounding areas.
AEROSPACE
- GE Aerospace will invest $3 million in its Jacksonville facility for lab upgrades, new equipment and testing. That's in addition to $10 million invested in the facility over the previous three years. GE Aerospace builds equipment for commercial and military aircraft at the site as well as ignition systems.
CONSULTING
- Assessment Technologies Group, a Jacksonville human resources consulting firm specializing in employee selection, assessment and organizational development, has evolved its public-facing brand to QubitHR.
Cold-Hardy
The University of Florida continues work on a cold-hardy avocado that was tested in real-life conditions during Florida's freeze this past January. The current breeding line from UF and the Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences survived temperatures that dipped down to 17 and 18 degrees. More work from UF/IFAS will help improve peel thickness and lower the amount of cracking during summer rain.
Training Docs and Vets
Lincoln Memorial University of Harrogate, Tenn., has opened its LMU-DeBusk College of Osteopathic Medicine and LMU College of Veterinary Medicine in Orange Park. Both schools will welcome their first students later this year.
Its campus in Clay County sits on 12 acres and spans 130,000 square feet among two buildings.
The campus is the first four-year medical school location in Northeast Florida. With existing campuses in Harrogate and Knoxville, Lincoln Memorial focuses on primary care and community-based training and aims to reduce physician shortages in the north Florida region.
The three-year veterinary program will include partnerships with the Jacksonville Humane Society and Clay County Animal Services.
Flying ICUs
HCA Florida Healthcare has launched a Chiefland-based air ambulance service to help patients who have suffered from trauma, stroke and other serious conditions. Called "flying ICUs," the HCA Florida AirLife ambulances span a range of 379 miles and can cruise at speeds of 153 miles per hour.
The helicopters — provided through a partnership with Air Methods in Colorado — will mostly serve patients in Levy, Dixie and Gilchrist counties, which are more likely to have travel time of an hour or longer for emergency care.