ENTERPRISE FLORIDA The Enterprise Florida board of directors voted to cut its budget by $6 million during its June meeting, eliminating 26 positions and closing some international offices. The public-private partnership, which was created to recruit businesses to the state, received $23.7 million from the Legislature this year, though the Governor had requested $250 million.
SPACE FLORIDA In July, Space Florida’s board of directors agreed to pursue a short-term loan to start the design phase of a satellite network manufacturing facility on Florida’s Space Coast. The loan will be repaid by both Space Florida and OneWeb. OneWeb, a company that builds communication satellites and hopes to launch 648 of them to create a worldwide network, has indicated it will move its operation to Florida. They plan to occupy 100,000 square feet of the facility.
STATE FIRE LAB Jeff Atwater, Florida’s Chief Financial Officer and State Fire Marshal, is challenging the American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors Laboratory Accreditation Board’s decision to suspend accreditation of the state-run lab that analyzes fire evidence. In denying accreditation, the review team cited inaccurate test results in 14 of 26 randomly selected cases.
CONSUMER SAFETY Consumers will be better protected from identity theft at gas pumps. Click here for some tips from the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services on being safe at the pump.
Additionally, Florida’s Office of Financial Regulation issued a warning to tourists over the summer to be on guard for vacation rental and travel scams. You may read more about these scams here.