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Report: Smart sensors in Florida multi-story condos should be mandated | Florida

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www.thecentersquare.com – By Steve Wilson | The Center Square – (The Center Square – ) 2025-04-04 09:09:00

(The Center Square) – Lawmakers should mandate smart sensors in multi-story condominium buildings to warn residents of potential structural failures, says a report by a Florida nonpartisan policy group released on Friday

The report by the nonprofit Florida TaxWatch group recommends that lawmakers mandate the embedded microelectronic sensors, which can measure structural degradation, metal fatigue, water leaks and stress, in high-rise buildings, bridges and dams.

They also are seeking incentives for retrofitting of the sensors for existing structures and the creation of a statewide sensor data platform to provide real-time monitoring. 

Florida has been hit hard by structural collapses. In 2021, 98 people in the Champlain Towers South condominium building died when one of the complex’s towers collapsed due to structural issues. In 2018, at Florida International University, a pedestrian bridge collapsed killing six.

The report also says there are 98 high-hazard dams and over 1,000 miles of levees protecting $100 billion in property.

According to a study from the University of Miami cited in the report, there is subsidence in 35 high-rise buildings in a 12-mile stretch from Miami Beach to Sunny Isles, with some of the buildings sinking up to 3.1 inches due to soil shifting. Half of these high-rise buildings, defined by state law as 75 feet or greater, were less than 10 years old. 

Many of these cases of subsidence are related to the deformation of limestone, which makes up Florida’s bedrock and is porous to water. The movement of tidal groundwater or stormwater injection used for flood management, according to the report, can also rearrange sand under the buildings.

The microelectronic sensors can be embedded into building columns, bridge piles (which are driven into the bedrock to support the deck structure) and used to determine water levels with dams to warn of potential collapses or breaches. Using wireless technology, these tiny sensors can report potential problems and allow the evacuation of residents and allow for possible repairs. 

“The tragic collapse of the Champlain Towers South condominium building in Sunrise, and the subsequent special session called by the Florida Legislature to enact new condominium safety requirements, allowed for immediate action to protect Floridians – but more work remains to be done to provide additional relief to condominium owners and associations,” said Florida TaxWatch President and CEO Dominic Calabro in a release. “Florida TaxWatch presents this report to underscore the critical need for early warning systems, like microelectronic smart sensors, in Florida’s vertical infrastructure to avert catastrophic failures, save lives, and preserve property values.”

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Florida student accused of punching deputy in the face

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www.youtube.com – FOX 35 Orlando – 2025-04-04 17:46:28

SUMMARY: A 16-year-old student from Matanzas High School in Florida was arrested for allegedly punching a school resource deputy while he attempted to break up a fight between two teens over stolen property. The deputy, John Landy, recounted how he was trying to secure the students when one struck him in the face. He managed to subdue the student and place him in handcuffs. Despite the incident, Deputy Landy holds no animosity towards the teen and would help him if needed in the future. The teenager was booked and later released to his parents after receiving treatment for injuries from the initial fight.

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A 16-year-old student at Matanzas High School has been arrested for punching a School Resource Officer in the face. The deputy said he was trying to break up a different fight when this happened. The teen was released to his parents after he was booked.

#florida #news #crime

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Microsoft’s AI division head wants to create a lasting relationship between chatbots and their users

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www.clickorlando.com – Matt O’Brien, Associated Press – 2025-04-04 11:31:00

SUMMARY: On Microsoft’s 50th anniversary, Mustafa Suleyman, head of the company’s AI division, envisions a future with personalized AI companions that adapt to users over time, embodying unique names, styles, and memories. This initiative focuses on creating meaningful relationships rather than solely enhancing tools, with the AI, called Copilot, already integrated into various Microsoft applications. Suleyman, a former co-founder of DeepMind, is cautious about the race for advanced AI, prioritizing practical personal assistants over abstract goals like artificial general intelligence. He believes these AI companions will revolutionize both professional and personal lives by handling tedious tasks and fostering creativity.

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Florida Dreamers aren’t giving up just yet

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floridaphoenix.com – Mitch Perry – 2025-04-04 06:00:00

by Mitch Perry, Florida Phoenix
April 4, 2025

In a sweeping immigration bill designed to help President Donald Trump enact his mass deportations of unauthorized immigrants, the Florida Legislature earlier this year repealed a 2014 law allowing individuals brought to the U.S. as children without documentation, known as “Dreamers,” to pay in-state tuition rates at Florida colleges and universities.

That abrupt change will affect approximately 6,500 undergraduates, according to the Florida Policy Institute.

When the measure went before the Florida Senate in February, South Florida Democrat Jason Pizzo offered an amendment to grandfather in any dreamer enrolled in a state college or university so they could continue pay that in-state tuition for an additional four years.

It didn’t pass.

Advocates aren’t giving up, though. This week, the group TheDream.US trekked to the Capitol to resume the fight. Specifically, they hope to revive the idea of allowing students now enrolled to continue paying in-state rates until they graduate.

“Right now, they’re working on the budget, and we know that the budget needs to pass, right?” said TheDream.US president and CEO Gaby Pacheco.

“And so it could be a potential vehicle for us to get a grandfathered-in clause. The hope is that the House as they’re working through this perhaps put in an amendment. We’re not legislators, so we don’t necessarily know the ins and outs. We’re just hoping that they know that this is important for the state of Florida, for their constituents, for these students and our college systems.”

Pacheco made regular visits to the Capitol in 2023 to defend against the threatened cutoff of in-state tuition for dreamers. Gov. Ron DeSantis announced before that legislative session a slate of proposals cracking down on illegal immigration.

Yet, somehow, the law survived that year. It wasn’t the first time that some Republicans in the Legislature had attempted to repeal the measure. But after last year’s election, in which illegal immigration was a central issue, DeSantis made it clear to state lawmakers at the beginning of this year that he wanted the law struck down.

‘Everything that I’ve fought for’

Among those joining Pacheco in the Capitol this week was a 20-year-old student from the University of Central Florida who wanted to be identified only by her first name of Callie, out of fear she could be targeted because of her immigration status.

She’s a junior majoring in advertising and public relations who has accumulated 80 credits toward her degree and says that will be up to 100 by the end of the spring semester — not enough yet to graduate.

But as of July 1, when the law takes effect, she’ll be forced to pay full tuition. “That means I can no longer afford my public education and will have to give up everything that I’ve fought for,” she said.

In addition to her studies, Cailie works between 20 and 36 hours a week at Publix and spends her free time volunteering to help students prepare college scholarship applications. Her tuition is roughly $2,800 a semester, covered through a scholarship from TheDream.US. It will more than double after the law takes effect — an amount she says she can’t bear.

Cailie, 20, migrated to the United States from Haiti almost seven years ago. Her parents aren’t supporting her, she said, as she was forced to leave home at 16. Her rough upbringing compelled her to try to make a better life for herself but, without the benefit of in-state tuition, “it’s impossible.”

She spent part of Tuesday meeting with lawmakers to explain her plight, although she knows it’s an uphill battle.

“It’s hard to get people to change their mind, so all we’re asking for are the current students to be grandfathered in and protected for now,” she said. “Because most of us only have a few more credits to go, and it’s so unfair that we had to fight so hard to get here and just knowing that all of a sudden it meant nothing? That’s hard.”

Cailie’s ambition is to start her own business helping other students from low-income families get educations like she’s been able to achieve — for now, anyway.

“I want to be a role model to show them that I come from an undeveloped country, that I didn’t have the same opportunities as everybody else, and I made it, so it’s possible. The U.S. is a country of opportunists, but now I’m wondering if that’s even true anymore.”

Pacheco acknowledges her group has limited leverage with the Legislature, but believes it’s worth the effort.

“At the end of the day, we’re practically begging,” she said. “We’re saying, ‘Please do not do this to these students. Please do not do this to 6,000 young people who have worked so hard to get so far, and that are so close to be able to get those college degrees.’”

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Florida Phoenix is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Florida Phoenix maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Michael Moline for questions: info@floridaphoenix.com.

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