March 29, 2024

Feature

Florida Icon: Willy Chirino

The small town where I grew up in western Cuba was surrounded by tobacco fields. When it rained, the smell of the earth mixed with the smell of the curing tobacco, and it was a beautiful smell. I can still remember it very clearly to this day, even though I have not experienced it since I left Cuba when I was 14. Read more »
Published on 10/11/2023

Making Connections

Robert Morcos was 3 years old when his Jordanian family immigrated to America. He grew up in Aventura, north of Miami, as the oldest of five siblings raised by a single mom, and he says he was always acutely aware that they were not wealthy like his friends' families. “I was always very entrepreneurial. Read more »
Published on 10/10/2023

Quick Fix

As Pensacola grapples with an affordable housing crisis, local leaders are looking at repurposing an aging motel to help tackle the problem. Read more »
Published on 9/30/2023

Driving Climate Conversations

Miami is considered especially vulnerable to sea level rise fueled by climate change. It's also becoming an epicenter for resiliency initiatives to mitigate impact on the city and its residents. But that doesn't mean the community fully understands what future adaptations it will require. Read more »
Published on 9/30/2023

Developmental Pitch

Last year, the Philadelphia Phillies spent $22.5 million to buy a strip mall just south of BayCare Ballpark, the 8,500-seat stadium where the team hosts spring training games and the Phillies-affiliated Clearwater Threshers play single-A Florida State League games. Now, after holding private meetings with Clearwater city officials, the Phillies' plans for the 13-acre shopping center site are coming into focus. Read more »
Published on 9/30/2023

Homestead Resistance

Evenings at David Herring's house and farm in Walton County in Northwest Florida are marked by the whining of motors coming on. Herring's farm abuts an 866-acre solar power plant completed this year by FPL. At the close of the day, the motors turn on to reset the panels, which track the sun to maximize power production, so they can face the next day's morning sun. “If you're outside, that's what you hear,” he says. Read more »
Published on 9/30/2023

Where the Wild Things Are

If it’s built in rural Florida, there will be wildlife roaming about. In Southwest Florida, an FPL motion-activated wildlife camera in Hendry County has captured Florida panthers traversing a fenced... Read more »
Published on 9/30/2023

Seeking Protection

Three activist groups served notice to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that they intend to sue to force the agency to invoke Endangered Species Act protection for the ghost orchid. The groups are the Institute for Regional Conservation in Hollywood, the Center for Biological Diversity and the National Parks Conservation Association. They say the orchid is threatened by poaching, habitat loss and degradation and by winds from intense hurricanes. The groups say the agency should have made a protection decision in January but the agency workplan indicates a decision won't be made until as late as fall 2026. The orchid is protected at Big Cypress National Preserve and other government and private preserves and sanctuaries. Read more »
Published on 9/28/2023

Helping Black-Owned Businesses Thrive

During the COVID-19 pandemic, many Black-owned businesses faced challenges accessing loans and other assistance to help them survive. To get a sense of the problem, entrepreneurial leadership coach Valecia Dunbar of Jacksonville teamed up with fellow entrepreneurs to survey those businesses and see how they might help. Read more »
Published on 9/28/2023

Tech Focus

The Orlando Economic Partnership has spun off its development efforts in the technology sector to create Innovate Orlando, a non-profit that will promote its MetaCenter concept. David Adelson, who served as the partnership's chief innovation officer, will serve as Innovate Orlando's CEO. Read more »
Published on 9/27/2023

The Partly Cloudy State

The Sunshine State nickname is more buzzword than actuality — at least if your business is power generation. Central Florida has 277 days a year — 76% of the calendar — that are cloudy or partly cloudy, notes Linda Ferrone, chief consumer and marketing officer for power provider Orlando Utilities Commission. “It's the partly cloudy state,” Ferrone says. Among large solar-power producing states, “it's very unique to Florida. California and Arizona don't have these challenges.” Read more »
Published on 9/26/2023

Solar Surge

The Florida Municipal Power Agency (FMPA), which supplies wholesale power to the state's municipal utilities, and Origis Energy are aiming to quadruple the power generated via solar farms. By the end of 2026, the Florida Municipal Solar Project will consist of more than 1.8 million panels installed on eight farms. Read more »
Published on 9/21/2023

Charting a Cleaner Path

JEA's new clean energy goals call for 35% clean energy and an 80% reduction in the company's carbon emission reductions compared with 2005 levels, both by the year 2030. The goals were announced in the company's triennial Integrated Resource Plan. Read more »
Published on 9/20/2023

Power Lessons

After working as a paramedic for eight years — and dealing with the emotional toll that comes with such a job — Alejandro Guillen was ready for a career change. Read more »
Published on 9/19/2023

All Together Now

You may know a community manager, a head of community or even a chief community officer. The job titles are popping up with more frequency at organizations of all sizes, from big brands like Peloton, Lululemon and Tesla to local small businesses and non-profits. They engage with customers, solve problems and learn from their feedback. They may recruit brand ambassadors, host events and share on social media, among other duties. Read more »
Published on 9/19/2023

Sowing Solar

As it implemented plans to expand solar power in Florida last year, Florida Power & Light made a huge land purchase, even by its own standard as the state's largest utility. It paid a California investment firm $76.7 million for 10,330 acres of farmland in St. Lucie and Indian River counties on Florida's east coast. Read more »
Published on 9/18/2023

Lighting the Way

In April, the city of Orlando teamed up with Kolumi — an Orlando startup that makes lighting systems out of recycled aluminum, glass and plastic — to outfit an administrative parking garage with its light fixtures. Read more »
Published on 9/15/2023

Green Machine

By this time next year, thousands of North Florida homes will be powered by natural gas drawn from cow manure, an emerging source of clean, renewable energy. Read more »
Published on 9/14/2023

The Butterfly Effect

With more than 10 million specimens of butterflies and moths from around the world, the Florida Museum of Natural History's McGuire Center for Lepidoptera and Biodiversity at the University of Florida is the most active lepidoptera research center in the world. It is arguably also among the fastest growing collections, adding about 200,000 specimens per year. Read more »
Published on 9/13/2023

Candy King

Inside an Orlando confection factory that would make Willy Wonka proud, a conveyer belt is rolling with rows of Hoffman's Chocolates chocolate-covered pretzels. Without missing a beat — or a pretzel — a female employee meticulously oversees the march of sweets, hand-drizzling each treat with far more ease than Lucy Ricardo and Ethel Mertz mustered in the iconic bit that made TV history. Read more »
Published on 9/12/2023

Enabling Orion

Darryl Howard grounds himself to his workstation to prevent a spark. Specially designed sticky floor mats and electrostatic smocks serve as additional safeguards, and for good reason: An unexpected zap could fry sensitive circuits that will go to the moon. The lives of four astronauts depend on more than just clean equipment. Read more »
Published on 9/12/2023

Icon: Rita Lowman

When I was 2, my parents divorced, and, (when I was) 5, they both remarried. So, for the first years of their marriages to my stepparents, I was living six months with one parent and six months with the other. When I was 9, I had the opportunity to go before a judge and he asked me what I wanted to happen. Since my parents only lived about five blocks apart, I said I wanted to live with my mom during the week and my dad on the weekends. The judge thought that was a great idea. For a judge to listen to me, a 9-year-old, that made a big impression on me. After that, I knew I would have the opportunity to have my voice heard. Read more »
Published on 9/11/2023

Permanent Anchor

Pensacola has received a $3.9-million grant from the state to build a headquarters for the American Magic sail racing team at the city's port. The state grant will be coupled with an $8.5-million grant from Triumph Gulf Coast, a non-profit that doles out funds recovered from fines related to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Read more »
Published on 8/27/2023

Outfitting Firewomen

Women make up 9% of firefighters in the U.S. One challenge they face is finding clothing that fits well and is affordable. Shirts or pants made of Nomex, a fire- and heat-resistant material, can cost a couple of hundred dollars each and women's gear is often pricier, in effect creating a “pink tax” for female firefighters. Read more »
Published on 8/24/2023

Helping Babies Thrive

Founders Glenn and Chelly Snow's LactaLogics processes breast milk from donor moms for use in feeding premature babies. The company is locating its headquarters and a processing facility in Port St. Lucie in the former Liberty Medical building on U.S. 1. Read more »
Published on 8/24/2023

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Florida Trend Video Pick

Facial recognition cameras in Florida city spark privacy concerns
Facial recognition cameras in Florida city spark privacy concerns

New security cameras in downtown Lakeland are raising concerns about privacy. The Lakeland Downtown Development Authority has begun installing 13 new security cameras on streets, sidewalks, and alleyways, and there are mixed feelings about them.

Video Picks | Viewpoints@FloridaTrend

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