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Wednesday's Afternoon Update
What you need to know about Florida today
BP money aims to bolster workforce training
Triumph Gulf Coast earlier this month surpassed the milestone of distributing more than $550 million in grant awards stemming from the BP oil spill settlement, with much of the funding going toward schools in an effort to boost the North Florida region’s local workforce. Proposed programs and projects funded by the grants must meet certain requirements before they can get funding. More from the News Service of Florida.
Miami-Dade plots its artificial intelligence strategy
A request last July for Miami-Dade County to research artificial intelligence (AI) has produced a report outlining key objectives and guidelines. “As the use of AI in government continues to grow and change,” the report asserts, “we are committed to a balanced, people centric approach that prioritizes fairness, data privacy, security, and opportunities for the county’s workforce.” More from Miami Today.
Tiny homes for Tampa’s homeless welcome first residents after delays
Tucked between the interstate and the railroad tracks, woven into the industrial sprawl of Tampa’s eastern edge, 99 tiny white homes sit in a sunbaked lot. These 64-square-foot structures, with fold-out beds and air conditioning, were assembled last April as transitional housing for the homeless. The city of Tampa provided $750,000 to get the project off the ground. But the small cottages sat empty for a year. More from the Tampa Bay Times.
JEA announces list of consultants who will bid for evaluation of utility
Seven consultancy groups applied to evaluate JEA's capital structure and organization. The consultants who made the noon deadline Tuesday are E. Source Companies LLC, Guidehouse, IT Vizion Inc, Scottmadden Inc, Alvarez & Marsal Holdings LLC, Deloitte Consulting LLP and K3 Strategies LLC, according to a JEA procurement meeting presentation. The consultants who made the cut will go through a bidding process, and JEA will eventually select one to lead its review. More from the Jacksonville Business Journal.
North Port business growth sparks entrepreneurship events
Entrepreneurs are increasingly choosing North Port for their operations, and a group of more than 100 converged recently in the city at the first-of-its-kind business networking event. Nearly 160 businesses have opened their doors in the city so far in fiscal year 2024, North Port Economic Development Manager Vinnie Mascarenhas said. Since the municipality’s fiscal year began in October, a steady stream of businesses has been added to the its roster, primarily in the service industry. More from the Business Observer.
Transportation Trends
Spirit Airlines shows improvements, but still finishes last in travel industry customer satisfaction study
Discount carriers Spirit Airlines and Frontier Airlines, once destined to be merger partners, both upped their games in terms of serving their customers, but remained on the bottom of an annual customer satisfaction survey for 2023-24, a national research firm has announced. Although it registered more improvement points than any airline, South Florida-based Spirit finished last in the annual American Customer Satisfaction Index Travel Study.
» More from the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
Profile
The night nurse
Lisa Nummi’s pediatrician encouraged her to go into nursing. “So I went to nursing school and immediately fell in love. I was hooked,” she says. At Tampa General Hospital she kept ratcheting up the intensity, working in pediatrics, then pediatric intensive care, then the pediatric emergency room. Eventually she became a flight nurse paramedic, treating injured patients in a helicopter whirring through the sky.
» Read more from Florida Trend.
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