Tag Archives: industry

TALLAHASSEE — Five dispensing organizations selected by state officials, including one from Alachua County, promised lawmakers Wednesday they would meet a deadline next month to get medical-marijuana production off the ground, despite legal challenges that could threaten their licenses. The Senate Regulated Industries Committee received updates from the state Office of Compassionate …

Perkins, TropiFlora and Gainesville-based San Felasco Nurseries, which were rejected by health officials for medical-marijuana licenses, are challenging the licenses granted to Florida's first "dispensing organizations." The deadline for appeals is Monday.

The outlook for production of Florida oranges, the state's signature crop, continues to drop. For the second consecutive month, the Florida orange-harvest forecast for the 2015-2016 growing season was adjusted down Wednesday by the National Agricultural Statistics Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

A Quinnipiac University poll last month found that nearly 90 percent of Florida voters support allowing adults to use medical marijuana. Numerous other surveys in Florida and across the country consistently show that a majority of voters endorse medical marijuana for sick and dying patients. Voters next November will almost certainly have the chance to decide whether Florida should legalize medical marijuana.

UF College of Journalism and Communications alumni Jeff Klinkenberg will speak at the Matheson Museum on Nov. 13 about two things that go hand-in-hand: Florida and alligators.

Gainesville holds a special connection to National Bat Appreciation Month, housing one of the largest bat houses in North America and a thriving bat population. Bats influence local agriculture by removing pests and dropping seeds that promote regrowth.

Taxi companies in Tallahassee and Broward County are suing the state over app-based transportation services, alleging that Florida officials aren’t requiring Uber and Lyft to prove that the way they calculate trip distances — and charges — is accurate. The Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services certifies taxi drivers’ meters …

Hundreds of job seekers made their their way around the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Multipurpose Center Tuesday morning for the annual Gainesville job fair. Gainesville's unemployment rate increased from 4.3 percent in April to 5 percent in July, so the job fair was just what many people needed.

Council on American-Islamic Relations filed a lawsuit against Florida Gun Supply in Inverness, Fla. after Andy Hallinan, the owner, declared his store a “Muslim-Free Zone." Activists question what this policy implicates for all individuals who can be culturally profiled as Muslims in Florida.

Off The Griddle is one of the food trucks in Gainesville that provide alternative dining options. Michael Musoke, owner of Off The Griddle, said the trucks cost between $20,000 to $100,000, which is less than it would to open and maintain a restaurant.