Identifying Local Opportunites
1. Lane Ranger: Why are four lanes slower than two?
https://www.gainesville.com/news/20200126/lane-ranger-why-are-four-lanes-slower-than-two
On State Road 20, the newly renovated 4 lane section of the road has the speed limit abruptly lowered to 45 from the 55 mph allowed on the 2 lane section of the road. This has lead to many people being pulled over and people questioned why this was changed.
The problem presented in the story is an abrupt change in speed limit leads to way more people getting pulled over than on a road where the speed limit is consistent.
Anyone driving on State Road 20 who does not notice the change of speed limit could be potentially impacted. This could happen to anyone driving on any road where the speed limit has been recently changed for only a small section of the road.
2. West End fades away
https://www.gainesville.com/news/20200125/west-end-fades-away
The West End golf course which opened in 1969 recently closed its doors in December after not being able to maintain a significant demand and amount of play on the course. The course had been on sale but had to permanently close after lack of funds rendered the course unplayable.
The problem presented in this article is that the local owners of a golf course were unable to keep the course open due to lack of upkeep resulting in less play year after year.
The specific problem in this story is faced by the owners of West End and any golfers who frequented that course.
3. Virtual reality training helps humans spot mental health woes
https://www.gainesville.com/news/20200123/virtual-reality-training-helps-humans-spot-mental-health-woes
A program called Kognito has recently been adopted by many schools in Florida which uses virtual reality to help kids learn to spot signs of mental health distress in their peers. UF's counseling and wellness center offers a free version of Kognito to students.
The problem presented in this article is that many students and teachers do not know how to accurately detect the presence of mental health distress in fellow students so they can not get them professional help.
This affects all students and teachers as well as anyone with a mental health illness.
4. In the Know: Aldi, Publix deals with Lucky's include a Naples store. What else does it mean for Collier and Lee?
https://www.naplesnews.com/story/news/columnists/in-the-know/2020/01/27/in-the-know-aldi-cuts-deal-with-luckys-for-some-storefronts-will-it-add-more-locations-collier-lee/4592077002/
With Lucky's market set to close all stores as it files for bankruptcy, Publix and Aldi have made deals to buy several of their locations. They have not fully announced which locations are going to which stores or how their creditors will be paid, however.
The problem presented in this article is that as Lucky's files for chapter 11 bankruptcy, they are looking to sell some of their real estate which could pose interesting opportunities for other companies.
This problem affects the Lucky's creditors who are in line to be paid off as the company liquidates their assets as well as other companies who may be interested in purchasing their real estate.
5. Naples developer order to clean up home sites in Royal Harbor, or pay fines
https://www.naplesnews.com/story/money/companies/2020/01/24/naples-developer-harry-zea-faces-code-enforcement-actions-royal-harbor/4553892002/
A local Naples developer was found to have projects that violated multiple city codes on unsightly and unsafe conditions. He will have 10 days to fix the violations or face fines on each property at a daily rate of 250 dollars.
The problem presented in this article that sometimes real estate developers do not comply with certain ordinances that can present problems for both their workers and people living in the vicinity of their projects.
This problem affects real estate developers, construction workers as well as the general public.
Hi Francis!
ReplyDeleteI found it very interesting that Florida schools has been using virtual reality to detect mental health distresses. I agree with you in the fact that teachers can not accurately detect mental issues is a problem as this can highly affect a student who may be suffering. I think in your post of fewer lanes, the problem could be maybe more specific to the case.
Hi Francis!
ReplyDeleteThe first article that you included on your list is quite interesting. I've seen first-hand how confusing it can be when speed limits are changed or moved along a particular road and I still don't understand why county's do it. This story, however, baffles me even more. How can a road become more dangerous if it gets bigger? I would think that if the road was expanded by TWO LANES, that the drivers would be more spread out. In my brain, it makes sense that the speed limit should stay the same because drivers aren't at anymore risk.
The county probably knows what it is doing and has the statistics to justify this more. However, it would be annoying to get pulled over for lack of knowledge of a speed limit change.
Cason
Hi Francis! I think it is so interesting that Florida schools are incorporating virtual reality into their curriculum, especially for mental health awareness. I would love to see how this program actually works. Sometimes, when schools try to address mental health, I think their intentions are correct but sometimes they just miss the mark. I hope this creates a better solution to a very overlooked problem!
ReplyDelete