REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION The GOP has picked Jacksonville to host the Republican National Convention keynote events in August. The convention’s official business meetings will take place in Charlotte. Portions of the convention events were moved to Florida after the governor of North Carolina expressed concerns about a potential spread of COVID at the larger events. TOURISM COVID-19 Read more about Issues of Interest[…]
FACIAL RECOGNITION The Orlando Police Department is one of the first police stations in America to test Amazon Rekognition facial recognition technology. The program allows police to upload a photo to “detect, analyze, and compare faces for a wide variety of user verification, cataloging, people counting, and public safety use cases.” The program is in Read more about Issues of Interest[…]
CITRUS There was more bad news for the citrus industry in Florida this month as the USDA forecasts 46 million boxes of oranges for the 2017-18 season, down 4 million from last month’s estimate. The industry was hit particularly hard by Hurricane Irma. IGUANAS The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has hired a trapper to try Read more about Issues of Interest[…]
CITRUS In March 2016, following approval from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Florida Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam permitted Florida orange growers to spray three anti-bacterial chemicals on their trees in an effort to curb citrus greening. The EPA initially approved the use of the anti-bacterials until December 31st. Early research shows the chemicals are effectively Read more about Issues of Interest[…]
TOURISM RECORD Governor Scott announced in November that Florida set another record in tourism, welcoming 85 million visitors to Florida so far this year. In the third quarter of 2016, 26.9 million people came to the State. CITRUS UPDATE Orange growers are cautiously optimistic about estimates concerning the citrus production forecast. The latest projection from Read more about Issues of Interest[…]