The Florida Channel/Florida Trident
Hoping to position Florida as the next big destination for large and hyperscale data centers that power artificial intelligence, state lawmakers are weighing how much corporate secrecy is enough but not too much and how to manage the centers’ intensive demands for energy and water where they operate. Sen. Bryan Avila, Miami-Dade Republican, is leading the charge, saying Florida can outcompete motivated states such as Georgia, Virginia and Texas to land the multibillion-dollar projects here, creating thousands of high-tech jobs, tax revenue and related economic development.
WGCU Local Productions
Camille Louise Goering/Florida Trident
Florida lawmakers are considering legislation to tighten regulations on the production and sale of kratom, an increasingly controversial herbal supplement made from the leaves of a Southeast Asian tree. SB 994, sponsored by Sen. Joe Gruters, and HB 1205, sponsored by Rep. Dean Black, would expand the 2023 Kratom Consumer Protection Act, which they say would help shield consumers from a dangerously unregulated and wildly volatile drug.
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Courtesy of Art Center Sarasota & Sarasota County History Center
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Art Center Sarasota
For decades, the Beaux Arts Ball was the Sarasota cultural event of the season. Art Center Sarasota is bringing it back. This year, the themed roaring 1920s costume ball will honor artistic legacy, celebrate Art Center Sarasota’s centennial anniversary, and support the future of art in Southwest Florida.
- GCL Book Club: Beth Macy, Paper Girl: A Memoir of Home and Family in a Fractured America
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- National Art Exhibition in Punta Gorda headlines 25 shows at SWFL art centers
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